Zach Cregger's Weapons takes a spooky, bonkers premise and runs full tilt with it. Warner Bros.' latest horror yarn is a frightening, eerie campfire tale that stands out as one of this year's most haunting.
The director already had a solid reputation as a troupe member of The Whitest Kids U' Know when he pivoted into horror territory to direct the scare-fest Barbarian. That film stars a pair of unfortunate visitors to Detroit who discover an increasingly labyrinthine set of horror-occupied tunnels beneath their Airbnb.
Barbarian was surprising for a number of reasons. The film eschewed traditional structure to set up a series of twisty acts, all building to an overall barnburner of a finale. In his films, no character is necessarily safe, and each wild plot pivot is something that couldn't be predicted.
It was a wonderful surprise for audiences, so horror fans were understandably excited for his frightening follow-up, the true story-influenced Weapons.
The latter film, written and directed by Cregger and inspired by a real-life story, begins with one of the more mysterious premises in recent cinema. One particular classroom sees almost all its children independently leave their homes at 2:17 a.m. one night, and run into the darkness. It's a mysterious, surprising horror tale with a strong command of tone, and one of the year's most shocking finales.
Weapons' Secret Sauce Is In The Structure
Weapons largely centers on Justine Gandy (Julia Garner), a teacher under considerable public scrutiny when her class goes missing. She's also devastated by the mystery and determined to find some clue to what really happened, as is Archer Graff (Josh Brolin), a determined parent of a missing boy.
That's not nearly descriptive enough, however, because Weapons, like Barbarian, has a unique structure. Whereas the latter had a series of longer segments with big twists throughout, this movie proceeds in a similarly episodic fashion.
Here, segments of the story each center a different character's perspective to build the tale, from police officer Paul (Alden Ehrenreich) to principal Andrew Marcus (Benedict Wong) to Gladys Lilly (Amy Madigan), the visiting aunt of one of the children.
The film is an easy feather in the caps of both Julia Garner and Josh Brolin, who each turn in exceptional performances. Garner is alternatingly strong and determined, then pained and vulnerable here (she even gets a seductive moment or two), allowing a full and complex range which she lands in spectacular fashion. Brolin delivers an exceptional performance as a besieged father who grieves in rage and provides a key element towards the heroes' investigation.
The performances are excellent across the board, with Amy Madigan proving notably unsettling as a mysterious child's aunt with, shall we say, quirks. It's a solid and memorable performance. The film gives each of its characters standout moments and times to shine, thanks mainly to the novelty of building its chapters around them.
In Its Best Moments, Weapons Feels Evil (Complimentary)
The choice to walk the story along successive chapters, each following a different character's perspective, is also brilliant in building the narrative. In allowing characters' subjectivities to come to the fore, the audience becomes privy to novel information that's revealing of some horrific facts while sustaining mystery around others.
It’s well used to provide unique insights into what's really going on, while providing a different tone and feeling in each unit of its journey.
Cregger's command of tone and structure is impressive, and much of the film maintains tension while immersing the tale in dreamlike energy. The switch in perspective largely works well, though it regretfully abated tension in a couple of instances exactly when the tension was building strongly.
Gratefully, the film never fully loses the plot thread, and the tension returned as the narrative evolved, but it was uneven in certain segments.
The film does have some similarities to Barbarian when it comes to theme repetition around its antagonists, and there's an uncomfortable demographic dynamic about it all that can't be thoroughly interrogated without spoiling aspects of the film.
It could also benefit from a little more detail around what's going on, though the broad strokes are mostly clear by the end. Implications aside, Weapons sticks the landing for one of the year's most satisfying finales.
All that said, Weapons is a winner. Garner is exceptional, the mystery at its heart is engaging, and Cregger showcases a solid mastery of tone and structure that's capably used to build mystery and maintain suspense.
It's the rare horror film that, at times, feels truly evil (complimentary), like something's lurking just beyond the frame. That's a rarity, making for a haunting outing that sticks with you.
Final Rating: 8/10
Weapons premieres in theaters August 8, 2025.
