After watching the 2025 horror film Weapons I let out a pent up breath and said, “What a ride.” It is a rollercoaster of a film, it may be over 2 hours long, but it feels like you are running a race while it lasts. The nonlinear storytelling, a device I’d seen first with Takashi Shimizu’s Juon films, works brilliantly. Writer/Director Zach Cregger gives us a horror tale that is easily the most exciting thing I’ve seen this year.
The Weapons Story
Every child bar one disappears from a single classroom. All the missing children run out of their houses at 2:17. The town is up in arms about the disappearances.
The Main Weapons Cast
Julia Garner is Justine.
Josh Brolin is Archer.
Benedict Wong is Marcus.
Alden Ehrenreich is Paul.
Scarlett Sher is the narrator.
Cary Christopher is Alex.
Austin Abrams is James.
Whitmer Thomas is Alex’s Dad.
Callie Schuttera is Alex’s Mum.
Amy Madigan is Gladys.
Interesting Cameos
Sara Paxton is Erica.
Justin Long is Gary.
Cast is King/Queen
Julia Garner can be seen as the new resident “Scream Queen” with her recent appearances in horror films. After knocking it out of the park with the television series Ozark, she proves that the big screen is no real challenge. Brolin sells whatever character he plays with his own brand of truth. Young Christopher plays Alex straight as a string and Sher is brilliant as the narrator. The whole cast work well and a special shout out to Benedict Wong. He rocks it as Marcus.
Let’s Talk Weapons
Cregger killed it with Barbarian (2022) and he proves that was no fluke. Unlike the 2022 horror film, he utilizes a very nonlinear approach. Similar to Shimizu’s Juon franchise, each part of the tale is subtitled with the character’s name. This device works well, especially when the separate parts meet to create a climax.
There are moments of sheer black humour, combined with spurts of visceral horror. Not quite blood and guts, but doggone close. We are given glimpses of the gore. In fact, the violence, such as stabbing oneself in the face with a kitchen utensil, is much more “in your face.”
The “jump scares” happen less at these “bloody” moments and more after Cregger builds the suspense to a jangling chord of tension. *That window scene with Justine made me jerk back from the telly. I honestly feel that seen in the cinema, I would have been a nervous wreck midway through the film. *
This Works
The director keeps things as discordant as possible. Moments jar. Whether the interactions between Paul and James, or the meeting between Donna and Justine at the liquor store, these occurrences krank up the volume. Weapons is another film that fires on all cylinders. Despite the somewhat contrived feeling to the ending, it takes nothing away from the overall film.
DP Larkin Seiple never falters with a single frame. Editor Joe Murphy meticulously puts each scene together and the score is spot on. The FX are superb and help move things alone nicely. *Kudos for Marcus’ eyes in the chase scene.*
The make up is brilliant. If you look closely at Gladys, it is apparent that one pupil is larger than the other, noticeably so. Amy Madigan’s performance goes a long way toward being much more than evil, she is disturbing.
The Verdict
With just under 300 critic reviews for this one, I feel that adding my own two penneth worth may be overkill, but here goes. Weapons should earn 6 out of 5 stars. Cregger has shown, twice now, that his heart beats to a horror drum of majesty. Well done sir, well done. The film can be rented, or purchased, via Prime.
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