Weapons
August 5th, 2025
MOVIE: WEAPONS
STARRING: JULIA GARNER, JOSH BROLIN, ALDEN EHRENREICH, AMY MADIGAN
DIRECTED BY: ZACH CREGGER
AMovieGuy.com’s RATING: 3 ½ STARS (Out of 4)
RATED: R
RUN TIME: 128 MINUTES
The word trauma could sum up the entire horror genre of the past decade. Seven years ago, it reached a peak with Ari Aster’s Hereditary—a film that explored generational trauma, the stress of parenting, and the hollow reality of death. Now, writer/director Zach Cregger continues the genre’s evolution, diving headfirst into the trauma cycle with his newest film, Weapons.
In his previous film, Barbarian, trauma was hiding in a basement and eventually inflicted on unsuspecting victims—innocents caught in the crossfire of other people’s broken lives. Weapons is not a repeat of Barbarian, but it’s thematically connected. Cregger is fixated on the ripple effects of suffering, and Weapons channels that into harsh, jarring moments that both shock and unsettle. This is the kind of horror audiences don’t forget.
It begins with a haunting voiceover: a little girl recounts how, in a small suburban town at exactly 2:17 a.m., an entire class of children got out of bed, ran into the night—and vanished. The incident leaves families, teachers, and the community in collective horror. No answers come easily. Instead, Cregger builds the mystery slowly and methodically, piece by piece, until it explodes in a chaotic, climactic finale.
The narrative is structured around individual characters, allowing the audience to immerse themselves in the community. It starts with Ms. Justine Gandy (played pitch-perfect by Julia Garner), the teacher of the missing class. She becomes a key suspect, along with the only student who didn’t disappear—Alex Lilly (Cary Christopher). We also follow Principal Andrew (Benedict Wong), Paul (Alden Ehrenreich), a police officer with ties to Justine, and Archer Graff (Josh Brolin), a father desperate to find his missing son. As the film progresses, these stories intertwine. The puzzle slowly assembles—only for Cregger to throw in more pieces and challenge the audience to keep up. Getting to the final picture is the real joy of Weapons.
It’s that gradual unraveling that works so well. My only real critique is when Cregger feels the need to spell out the film’s metaphors visually—images the audience could’ve decoded on their own. But that also forced me to notice other underlying tropes. Yes, it’s a film about trauma and family secrets—about the things our parents asked us to sweep under the rug, which fester and grow into something monstrous. But it’s also about generational failure. About how older generations feed off the young. About innocence lost due to the neglect and apathy of those who came before. Cregger seems to believe we’ve failed our children, and the only appropriate response is rebellion.
One of Weapons’ greatest strengths is how it rewards multiple viewings. While Bring Her Back might feel more straightforward and complete as a horror film, Weapons is built on mystery and metaphor. It’s a film meant to be unraveled, analyzed, and discussed long after the credits roll. And yes, there are moments here that send chills down my spine. That’s thanks to the unnerving imagery, pitch-perfect tone, and precision pacing from Cregger and his team. It’s safe to say he’s no one-hit wonder.
By the end, Weapons leaves audiences buzzing—shocked, disturbed, and maybe even a little awed. It draws inspiration from classics like The Shining, Hereditary, Day of the Dead, and a kind of reverse Village of the Damned. And yet, it still feels entirely its own—proof that the horror genre remains a space for bold, original storytelling.
Weapons lingers in all the right ways. It’s a horror film I won’t soon forget—and one of the standout movies of 2025.
3 ½ STARS
WEAPONS IS PLAYING IN THEATERS FRIDAY, AUGUST 8TH, 2025.
Written by: Leo Brady
