Weapons Review – Zach Cregger Delivers a Masterclass in Mystery, Horror, and Twisted Storytelling
After his breakout success with 2022’s Barbarian, writer-director Zach Cregger returns with Weapons, a sprawling, genre-blending horror mystery that cements his status as one of the most exciting voices in modern genre filmmaking.
Where Barbarian was a claustrophobic nightmare with a singular premise, Weapons opens the canvas wide, weaving multiple perspectives, timelines, and tones into a film that is as riveting in its mystery as it is unflinching in its horror.
The movie begins with a chilling prologue: a young, unseen narrator recounts what they claim is a “true story” in which “a lot of people die in a lot of really weird ways.” Then comes the haunting inciting incident — at precisely 2:17 a.m., seventeen children from the small town of Maybrook simultaneously wake, leave their homes, and run into the night with their arms eerily outstretched, vanishing into the darkness to the strangely serene strains of George Harrison’s Beware of Darkness.
From here, Cregger structures Weapons into six chapters, each told from a different character’s perspective. This Rashomon-inspired approach not only builds suspense but constantly reframes events we thought we understood. The first chapter follows Justine Gandy (Julia Garner), a schoolteacher whose entire class disappears, save for one quiet boy named Alex (Cary Christopher). The community quickly turns against her, branding her a witch, vandalizing her car, and bombarding her with threats. Garner delivers a performance that is both defiant and deeply human, embodying the paranoia and grief swirling around the town.
Next, we shift to Archer Graff (Josh Brolin), a father desperate to uncover what happened to his missing son. Archer’s investigation leads him to comb through home security footage and piece together the last known movements of the children. Brolin plays him as a man teetering on the edge — part determined investigator, part grieving parent unraveling under the weight of unanswered questions.
As the film progresses, Cregger pulls us into the lives of other key figures: a morally compromised cop (Alden Ehrenreich), a drug-addicted drifter (Austin Abrams), and the school principal (Benedict Wong). Each chapter adds new puzzle pieces and hidden connections, with characters crossing paths in ways that deepen the mystery without ever feeling contrived. Even seemingly minor characters become vital to the story, such as the unsettling Aunt Marjorie (Amy Madigan, almost unrecognizable under heavy makeup and a bizarre wig), whose demented presence will haunt viewers long after the credits roll.
Cregger’s greatest trick is balancing tone. Weapons is undeniably dark, touching on themes of grief, addiction, small-town prejudice, and even real-world horrors like school shootings and systemic distrust. Yet it’s also unexpectedly funny, peppered with moments of absurd gallows humor and sly visual gags (keep an eye out for a perfectly placed Willow DVD). The humor never undercuts the horror; instead, it humanizes the characters and makes the moments of violence — some of which rival Evil Dead Rise in sheer squirm factor — hit even harder.
Visually, the film is a standout. Cinematographer Larkin Seiple (Everything Everywhere All at Once) crafts a dynamic visual language that keeps the audience embedded in the action, whether it’s through a camera mounted on a slamming car door or a dizzying spin through a neon-soaked, blood-slick room. Editor Joe Murphy ensures that the non-linear structure flows seamlessly, avoiding the kind of narrative clutter that often bogs down films with multiple perspectives.
The final act is nothing short of extraordinary — a cathartic, unhinged, and meticulously staged crescendo where all the threads converge. It’s a sequence that rewards patience, delivering an explosion of tension and chaos that should have audiences cheering even as they squirm in their seats.
At 128 minutes, Weapons is long, but it never drags. The constant shift in perspectives, the slow unspooling of clues, and the layered performances keep the momentum alive. It’s a film that invites both close thematic reading — from allegories of mass tragedy to subtle commentary on societal fracture — and pure, pulse-pounding entertainment. Cregger refuses to spoon-feed answers, trusting the audience to connect the dots, yet the story always feels coherent and purposeful.
With Weapons, Zach Cregger has delivered his second genre triumph in a row. It’s bold, unpredictable, and utterly gripping from first frame to last. As he prepares to take on the Resident Evil franchise next, this film is proof that both horror fans and major studios should be very excited — and maybe a little afraid — of what he’ll do next.
In a year already packed with standout horror, Weapons stands tall as one of 2025’s best. Like Sinners, it’s destined to be talked about long after the year ends — the kind of film that reminds us horror can be both deeply unsettling and wildly entertaining in the same breath.
