Weapons
Studio: Warner Bros.
Zach Cregger
Aug 11, 2025
Zach Cregger, a member of the comedy troupe The Whitest Children U’ Know, reinvented his profession by writing and directing the wild horror movie Barbarian (2022). Following that movie’s essential and monetary success, he determined to remain on the horror path. His new movie, Weapons, is one other eccentric and well-crafted mission, although it’s a slight step down from Barbarian.
Weapons has a killer setup. At 2:17 a.m. one evening, a bunch of younger children—all from the identical classroom—out of the blue depart their houses and run off into the evening. Their trainer, Justine Gandy (Julia Garner), is shortly seen as a possible suspect, however even she is baffled by the incident. One of many fathers of a lacking baby, Archer Graff (Josh Brolin), takes it upon himself to analyze after the police fail to find the youngsters.
Additionally getting into the image are a cop, Paul Morgan (Alden Ehrenreich), and a drug addict and burglar, James (Austin Abrams). Paul has a romantic historical past with Justine and struggles with alcoholism. James, in the meantime, suits into the story in sudden methods and delivers lots of the movie’s funnier moments.
Cregger follows all of those characters—and others—in an episodic vogue, specializing in one for a number of minutes earlier than shifting to a different perspective. This construction is sometimes participating, however it begins to really feel contrived over time, with many sequences ending on pressured cliffhangers.
Extra problematic than the construction, nevertheless, is that the movie’s eventual reveals are fairly predictable. This predictability may have been prevented. For some cause, Cregger permits the opening title card and sure early scenes to incorporate apparent visible cues about the place the plot is headed. Eradicating these moments would have allowed extra surprises to land organically.
Regardless of its irritating construction and predictability, Weapons nonetheless has a lot to supply. Cregger’s oddball mix of humor and terror usually shines, with even some gorier moments eliciting chuckles. Cinematographer Larkin Seiple contributes a variety of placing photographs, reworking odd suburban places into eerie areas.
The solid is uniformly sturdy. Garner and Brolin play nicely off one another as Justine and the suspicious Archer. Ehrenreich will get one of many extra layered roles as Paul, a person usually caught between a rock and a tough place. Amy Madigan, in a unusual supporting function as a toddler’s aunt, steals scenes within the second half of the movie.
Weapons is a satisfying mix of horror, thriller, and comedy from Cregger. The script stumbles in locations, however the characters are compelling, the visuals are arresting, and the performances are sharp. Whereas it doesn’t fairly attain the heights of Barbarian, it’s removed from a misstep for Cregger. (www.warnerbros.com)
Writer ranking: 7/10
