Zach Cregger, the twisted genius behind Barbarian, is back, and this time he’s swinging for the fences with Weapons, a dark, surreal horror-thriller that plays like It, 28 Weeks Later, and Magnolia got locked in a basement together. It’s spooky, disjointed, and absolutely wild. Let’s get into our Weapons Review.
The plot kicks off with a haunting mystery: every child in a classroom disappears at 2:17 AM, except one. What follows is a fractured, multi-perspective descent into grief, guilt, and full-blown supernatural chaos.
This is not what I expected.
Let’s get into it.
The Good
The tension? Thick like bad gravy.

Cregger knows how to build a scene. From long stretches of eerie silence to full-sprint freakouts, Weapons delivers some genuinely terrifying set pieces. There’s a scene where Benedict Wong turns into a human horror missile, you’ll know it when you see it, and the tension is so thick you could cut it with your teeth.
Julia Garner and Josh Brolin turn chaos into characters

Julia plays Justine, a teacher unraveling at the seams. There’s something magnetic about her, shaky but sharp, soft but snapping at any moment. Her performance flips expectations, and she has a raw scene with Josh Brolin that hits like a gut punch.
Josh Brolin stays in his lane and owns it. Playing Archer, a broken dad doing the worst possible job trying to fix his life, Brolin is gruff, grounded, and believable. He might not be stretching himself here, but when he locks in with Julia Garner, you get a rare glimpse of two actors sparking off each other like flint.
Cary Christopher as Alex? Give that kid his flowers.

This is the type of child performance that stays with you. He plays it real, no overacting, no fake tears. Just raw confusion and pain. He makes you feel like you’ve seen this kid in real life. Each storyline plays like a standalone film. One’s a grief drama, another’s a buddy-cop comedy with a junkie twist, another’s a slow-burn psychological horror. It’s uneven, but it also showcases Cregger’s range. The guy’s directing seven movies in one, and somehow, it mostly clicks.
The Bad
Every time the movie leans into the supernatural… it pulls back.
This lady just pops up like an uninvited aunt at a family BBQ, and not in a fun way. We don’t know what she wants, where she came from, or why she’s suddenly collecting kids like rare sneakers. Is she draining youth? Possessing minds? Eating souls? You’ll get hints. But you won’t get answers.

There are moments, great moments, where you think, “Oh, here we go. It’s about to get wild.” The weird symbols, the eerie dreams, the tree-that-shall-not-be-named, it all builds toward what feels like a deep dive into lore. And then? The movie pulls the emergency brake and swerves into a different story.
To be clear: the new direction usually works. The dramatic chapters, the raw emotion, the multi-perspective storytelling, it’s all solid. But man… what we almost got from the supernatural plot felt richer, darker, and way more unhinged. That version of this movie? Would’ve haunted me.
The police officer arc? A whole detour.

Alden Ehrenreich does his thing, no complaints there, but his storyline feels like a side quest from a different game. It’s compelling in a vacuum but doesn’t stitch well into the main narrative. Take his chapter out, and nothing about the final act changes. It’s like the horror version of a filler episode.
Some chapters drag.
When the structure works, it really works. But when it doesn’t? It feels like the story’s running in place. Some character arcs linger longer than they should, repeating emotional beats instead of escalating them. You’ll want the movie to move forward, especially when it teases deeper mysteries.
The Verdict

Weapons is bold, bizarre, and bursting with ideas, but not all of them land. Zach Cregger swings for the fences again, and while he connects more than he misses, some of those wild pitches leave you wishing he’d just committed to one lane. This movie teases a full-on descent into supernatural horror, then backs away just as it gets juicy. What we almost saw? Might’ve been unforgettable.
Still, there’s plenty here to chew on: strong performances, unsettling atmosphere, and a unique narrative structure that dares to be different. It’s horror by way of a mixtape, and while some tracks hit harder than others, the vibe is undeniable.
And that final chase scene? Equal parts bonkers and brilliant. It feels like the director took a break from horror and shot a scene for the new Scary Movie. It doesn’t really match the tone… but weirdly, it kind of works.
Go in blind. Expect nothing. Embrace the chaos.

Weapons (2025) – The Horror Mystery That Won’t Give You Answers, But You’ll Want to Keep Watching Anyway

Acting – 8/10

Cinematography/Visual Effects – 8/10

Plot/Screenplay – 5/10

Setting/Theme – 9/10

Watchability – 7/10

Rewatchability – 5/10

User Review

3
(2 votes)

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