Blu-Ray Review: The Weapon

By Brad Henderson

As I’ve been going through the movies that Olive Films has reissued, I’ve been finding some that are truly unique, amazing, and kind of unknown. One of these is called The Weapon.

The Weapon has a thrilling plot for its time; it was directed by the legendary Val Guest who is well known for The Quatermass Xperiment, The Day The Earth Caught Fire, and a few more classics from back in the day. Right before Guest got into horror he was doing thrillers and dramas, and that’s where The Weapon fits in.

A group of young city boys are playing outside, but things take a dangerous turn once a they find a handgun in a pile of dilapidated bricks. When two of the boys struggle briefly for the gun while trying to pull it out of the pile, it accidentally goes off. After shooting his playmate, the boy runs. The police get involved and chase after the boy, and after a little forensic investigation, they discover that the gun was also used in an unsolved murder from ten years earlier. Naturally, the previous gun owner will go to great lengths in order to keep his secret.

This film is very stylized and maintains a consistent intensity throughout its entire running time. Val Guest does a fantastic job at keeping you interested in the characters, too. The Weapon was made in 1956 but it doesn’t feel dated or old at all; it feels timeless. In fact, the only thing that gives a clue as to the decade in which it was made (other than the technology used to determine the origin of the gun) is that it is shot in black and white.

The Weapon goes places that you wouldn’t expect it to go and that was refreshing. It seems that Val Guest wanted to push the limits a little bit in order to make a name for himself and this is exactly what he does in this film, dispensing with the traditional to tread fresh cinematic ground.

The transfer is decent with no special features but it appears in a 1:78:1 ratio, which is a nice change from the usual. The black and white picture is crisp, clear, and not too dark. The Weapon is another quality release from Olive Films that looks and sounds great for a reasonable price. It feels like a drama and thriller with a little dose of horror thrown in from time to time, which makes The Weapon one of my favorite discoveries of 2015.

The Weapon was released by Olive Films on January 20.