When all but one child from the same classroom mysteriously vanish on the same night at exactly the same time, a community is left questioning who or what is behind their disappearance.
Director: Zach Cregger
Cast: Josh Brolin, Julia Garner, Cary Christopher, Alden Ehrenreich, Austin Abrams, Benedict Wong, Amy Madigan
Release Date: August 8, 2025
Genre: Horror, Mystery
Rated R for strong bloody violence and grisly images, language throughout, some sexual content and drug use.
Runtime: 2h 8m
Review:
Zach Cregger's sophomore film, Weapons, is a Pulp Fiction style maze that's equal parts unnerving and hilarious, powered by stellar turns from Josh Brolin and Julia Garner. Cregger's film is visually potent from the start, and he delivers a series of shocks that are sure to leave an impression long after you leave the theater. That shouldn't come as a surprise after his debut film, Barbarian, which was populated with more than enough nightmarish imagery but here he uses structure to slowly unfurl the central mystery from different points of view. It keeps everything off balance and unpredictable, particularly in the first half of the film before it shows its hand. Its grabs and holds your attention for the majority of the film but it might lose some more hardcore horror aficionado once it reveals the game Cregger is playing since it blends more than a few genres with its twisted sense of humor. The characters are all damaged individuals that are dealing with variety of issues that makes them feel more three dimensional than you'd expect from most horror films. It helps that his cast is fully committed to his brand of madness and deliver strong performances across the board. Julia Garner leads the way with a multilayered turn that really shows off her immense talent in a way the other films she has been part of this year have not. Her alcoholic, obsessive teacher is a treasure trove of complexity and imperfections even before her class goes missing. She's traumatized and ostracized by the event but Garner is still able to give her an authentic sense of caring about the kids and what happened to them. Josh Brolin's character is obsessive, to a fault, about finding out what happened to his child and aims his ire at Garner's character initially. Brolin brings the appropriate sense of misguided parental intensity that just comes through the screen especially early on. Alden Ehrenreich's recovering alcoholic cop who's involved in affair with Garner's character is a bit more straightforward and one dimensional with his subplot being used more as connective tissue for the overall narrative as opposed to a fully formed character. Cary Christopher, Austin Abrams and Benedict Wong are solid in smaller supporting roles even though their character could use a bit more depth before the wheels start to fly off in Weapons rather nutty finale that's sure to be contentious with some people.
B+
