Weapons review

WEAPONS: 

ZACH CREGGER CRAFTS A TRULY POWERFUL AND TERRIFYING WEAPON OF A HORROR MOVIE! 

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: **** out of 4

WARNER BROS. PICTURES AND NEW LINE CINEMA

At 2:17 AM, all the kids in Justine Gandy’s class mysteriously ran away from home in Weapons

 

            Zach Cregger (The Whitest Kids U’ Know, Barbarian, Resident Evil (2026)) returns to the director’s chair with his second horror film, Weapons. This was one of my most anticipated movies of the year, I thoroughly enjoyed Barbarian and hailed it as one of the best films from 2022 and was eagerly awaiting Cregger’s next project. 

            This year, there were two projects with his name attached to them, first came Companion earlier in the year which he produced that I loved and now his next film as a director. Well, I might have done the right thing by immediately following Together up with this because Weapons is an absolutely magnificent horror movie that even surpasses Barbarian. 

            My eyes were glued to the screen from start to finish and was constantly on the edge of my seat, there was never a dull moment or weak point. Constant tension mixed with dark humor and compelling lead characters, it’s so good I think it can go toe-to-toe with Ryan Coogler’s Sinners (Yes, I just said that!). 

            The film is set in the town of Maybrook, Pennsylvania where seventeen children all got out of bed at 2:17 in the morning, ran away from their homes, and mysteriously vanished. However, these kids all had one thing in common, they were students of elementary school teacher, Justine Gandy (Julia Garner-Sin City: A Dame to Kill For, Wolf Man(2025), The Fantastic Four: First Steps). 

            Justine, father of one of the missing children Archer Graff (Josh Brolin-True Grit (2010), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Deadpool 2), and police officer Paul Morgan (Alden Ehrenreich-Blue Jasmine, Hail, Caesar!, Solo: A Star Wars Story) must race to solve the mystery behind the children’s disappearance which gets more and more frightening as time goes on. Oh, and a homeless drug addict and burglar named James (Austin Abrams-The Kings of Summer, The Walking Dead, Euphoria) somehow gets roped into all this. 

            The film also stars Benedict Wong (Moon, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Annihilation) as Principal Marcus Miller, Cary Christopher Mr. Mom, Days of Our Lives, Mank) as the only kid in Justine’s class who didn’t disappear Alex Lilly, Amy Madigan (Twice in a Lifetime, Uncle Buck, Field of Dreams) as Aunt Gladys, Toby Huss (Beavis and Butt-Head, Jerry Maguire, King of the Hill) as Ed Locke, Cregger’s wife Sara Paxton (Superhero Movie, The Front Runner, Blonde; who previously starred in Barbarian) as Erica, Justin Long (DodgeBall: A True Underdog Story, Idiocracy, Drag Me to Hell; who also appeared in Barbarian) as Gary, June Diane Raphael (The Disaster Artist, Long Shot, Freakier Friday) as Donna Morgan, and Whitmer Thomas (Stone Quackers, Friendship) as Mr. Lilly. 

            Overall, Weapons is a smart, brilliantly suspenseful, and surprisingly fun horror movie that continues to prove that Zach Cregger is an indestructible force of nature in the genre. The movie is structured in a similar way to Barbarian where it’s told from the perspectives of different people throughout the film like the teacher, one of the outraged parents, a police officer, etc. and you’re given various pieces of the bigger picture. 

            You keep getting more layers to what’s actually going on through the different perspectives to the point where you start to piece it together until you get to this truly bombastic final act where you put your hands on your head and go “OH MY GOD!” What I like about this over Barbarian is that it isn’t actually about the mysterious incident, it’s the aftermath and the town’s reactions to it as how kids mysteriously vanishing without a trace and the only connection being a teacher can bring out the worst in humanity. 

            This seems like a more high-stakes and personal story than Barbarian and what anchors the film are the performances by its leads particularly Garner and Brolin. Julia Garner is having the best 2025 having appeared in this and as the Silver Surfer in the new Fantastic Four and this is easily her best performance of the year. 

            I found Garner in this movie to be very compelling throughout and you legit feel for her given the circumstances, a bunch of kids from her class mysteriously vanished, everyone in the town blames her, she’s turned to drinking, and she only has a couple of friends to get her through it (One of which is a cop). Her performance often made me think back to Elisabeth Moss in The Invisible Man and overall a great and above all, human lead for this movie. 

            Josh Brolin is also incredible as one of the dads of one of the missing kids who at first blames Garner’s character for everything and points fingers at her, but the movie also gives him a lot of depth over the course of the film and ultimately you end up caring for him as well. The guy you’d expect to just be an angry douchebag turns out to be one of the most captivating characters of the film and Brolin sells it flawlessly. 

            The movie also does a phenomenal job depicting dream sequences with moody lighting and dark visuals thus making the audience aware that it’s a dream instead of a cheap fake-out like in other horror films. Also, massive point for using jump-scares sparingly and properly building up to them through suspense and tension thus making them more effective, good luck with your jump-scare-filled junk food, Conjuring 4! 

            With all the suspense and terror going on, the movie is also quite funny and not in a sitcom-like way that distracts from the rest of the film. When the movie goes over-the-top crazy or an actor says a genuinely witty line, it gets some huge laughs with Austin Abrams delivering some of the funniest bits in the film. 

            I loved Weapons, even more so than Barbarian, it’s a creepy, character-driven, and thoroughly entertaining horror movie that can also mix in some laughs amongst the screaming. Zach Cregger has crafted an incredible sophomore film and I eagerly await his next project given that he hit two homeruns in a row with two of the best horror movies of the 2020s. 

            The man who created The Grapist continues to amaze me!