Weapons (2025) New Line (through Warner Bros.)/Horror-Thriller RT: 128 minutes Rated R (strong bloody violence and grisly images, language throughout, some sexual content, drug use) Director: Zach Cregger Screenplay: Zach Cregger Music: Zach Cregger, Hays Holladay and Ryan Holladay Cinematography: Larkin Seiple Release date: August 8, 2025 (US) Cast: Josh Brolin, Julia Garner, Alden Ehrenreich, Austin Abrams, Benedict Wong, Cary Christopher, Amy Madigan, Toby Huss, June Diane Raphael, Whitmer Thomas, Callie Schuttera, Clayton Farris, Justin Long, Sara Paxton, Luke Speakman, Melissa Ponzio, Scarlett Sher.
Rating: *** ½
Can we just go ahead and bestow the label “Master of Horror” on Zach Cregger? Only two movies in, the writer-director has already proven he’s got the gift. Three years ago, he frightened audiences with the truly freaky #MeToo allegory Barbarian. That’s a tough act to follow, but he manages it quite effectively with Weapons, a multi-narrative piece that takes a nightmare scenario into uncharted territory. It grabs you at the start with an eerie sequence set to George Harrison’s haunting “Beware of Darkness” and doesn’t let go for a shade over two hours.
Cregger knows what scares people. In this case, he’s out to get parents of school-age children. Nothing scares a parent more than losing a child whether it’s to a school shooting, stranger abduction or even worse, they go missing without an explanation. That’s the case here. One night at exactly 2:17AM, several third graders get out of bed, leave their homes and disappear into the dark. Nobody knows what happened to the kids, all of whom are in the same class at school. Their teacher Justine Gandy (Garner, Ozark), an alcoholic with a questionable history, falls under suspicion as does the only kid who didn’t vanish, a quiet boy named Alex (Christopher, Days of Our Lives). Justine, like everybody else in town, wants answers.
It would have been one thing for Cregger to follow a traditional story arc by having Justine play detective in a search for answers. That’s too ordinary for him. Instead, he shifts his attention to another character, grieving dad Archer (Brolin, Dune). He, like the other parents, holds Justine responsible for his son’s disappearance. He doesn’t think the police are doing all they can to find out what happened so he starts his own investigation.
From there, we watch the story unfold from the perspectives of other characters: Paul (Ehrenreich, Cocaine Bear), a cop fighting his own personal demons; homeless drug addict James (Abrams, Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark) and school principal Andrew (Wong, Doctor Strange). Their stories overlap adding context to previous events. It all leads to a wild conclusion.
Before I start talking about the movie, I’d like to give the trailer for Weapons a special mention. It doesn’t give away the whole movie as has been the trend for far too long. It gives you the premise and a few scattered shots, that’s it. It’s enough to get the viewer intrigued. That was the general feeling among those in attendance at the Thursday night preview. They loved the trailer and wanted to know the reason for the strange goings-on in the film. They had no clue where the story would go. I had a theory of my own, but it was wrong. In any event, the marketing team at Warner got it right this time. Let this serve as a template for future trailers. Less is always more.
WOW! That was my reaction to Weapons. That is my reaction to Weapons. It’s great! Cregger hits the ground running and keeps up the pace throughout with a story that’s both scary and compelling. He takes his time connecting all the dots, building suspense and anticipation. He gives us well-written characters that aren’t just warm bodies taking up space. Justine, in addition to being an alcoholic and a homewrecker, has a troubled work history. She was fired from her previous teaching gig for inappropriate behavior (NOT that!). She cares about her kids a little too much, showing a level of concern that bothers some. She wants to talk to Alex about what happened, but she’s told to keep her distance. She’s having a tough time too, but nobody seems especially concerned about her.
Cregger affords this same treatment to all. Paul isn’t just some dumb small-town cop. He has issues like drinking and a quick temper, the latter of which puts him in hot water after an arrest goes south. Thankfully, the director doesn’t try to turn this into some kind of social statement. The arrestee is white; that much I’ll tell you.
All this character development would be for naught if not for the more-than-capable ensemble cast. They work well individually and as a team. Garner displays vulnerability as the young well-meaning teacher villainized by the townspeople. Brolin is great as the one parent who takes action in the search for the truth. Ehrenreich wisely avoids playing the cliched bad cop; instead, he’s a cop with a messy personal life, a fact that affects his job performance. Wong plays his character as slightly off-center. He’s a bit of an oddball.
On a technical level, Weapons scores an A+. It’s thick with atmosphere and dread thanks to the fine work of cinematographer Larkin Seiple (Everything Everywhere All at Once) and editor Joe Murphy (Barbarian). The fluid camera work is especially impressive; it dazzles without distracting from the storytelling. The gore effects, a mix of practical and CGI, are awesome! This is one bloody movie. When somebody gets hit by a car, it’s a real mess. Cregger conducts the film’s visual aspects like it’s a symphony which it really is. Everything comes together to form a near-perfect whole.
I can’t say enough good things about Weapons. It really is that good…. I mean, great. It’s the kind of film that makes summer moviegoing pleasurable. It’s scary, unsettling, sometimes darkly funny and always entertaining. It doesn’t get any better than that.
