Zach Cregger has evolved from promising newcomer to horror master. After 2022’s shape-shifting Barbarian, his follow-up Weapons represents a quantum leap in filmmaking confidence—a deliciously twisted thriller that never loosens its grip.
The Hook That Won’t Let Go
Weapons opens with an irresistible premise: Why did nearly 20 children from the same Maybrook classroom suddenly wake up one night and vanish into darkness? The haunting image of kids streaming into streets with arms outstretched like “effed-up little airplanes” immediately establishes the film’s eerie urban legend atmosphere.
Suspicion quickly falls on their teacher, Justine Gandy (Julia Garner), whose checkered past with student boundaries makes her the obvious target. When grieving father Archer (Josh Brolin) publicly confronts her, the stage is set for a mystery that refuses easy answers.
Time-Scrambled Brilliance
Cregger structures Weapons as time-hopping chapters that explore how the disappearances ripple through the small town. This isn’t just clever storytelling—it’s weaponized tension. Each segment builds to fever pitch before resetting from another character’s perspective, banking anxiety for a finale that cascades into unforgettable chaos.
The chapter structure serves dual purposes: giving every character meaningful depth while creating multiple cliffhangers that propel viewers toward a shattering conclusion. Even if you deduce where it’s heading, the journey remains absolutely gripping.
Tonal Mastery
Where Barbarian occasionally wavered between horror and humor, Weapons achieves perfect balance. Every dark house exploration could yield genuine scares or unexpected laughs—sometimes both. When Cregger chooses violence, he delivers squirm-worthy brutality, but he’s equally skilled at building dread through lingering shots of approaching danger.
The result feels like “Russian roulette for the senses,” keeping audiences perpetually off-balance.
Stellar Ensemble Work
Julia Garner anchors the film as Justine, expertly balancing paranoia and good intentions. Her fragile teacher feels simultaneously sympathetic and suspicious, with Garner delivering a nuanced performance that keeps viewers guessing.
Josh Brolin excels as Archer, the hot-tempered father whose desperation drives increasingly questionable decisions. Brolin lets enough vulnerability bleed through to keep him rootable despite his missteps.
Alden Ehrenreich brings complexity to cop Paul, whose history with Justine complicates every interaction. Austin Abrams nearly steals scenes as drug-addled James, providing pure comedy gold, while young Cary Christopher handles impossibly heavy material as Alex, the sole remaining student.
Technical Excellence
Cinematographer Larkin Seiple (Everything Everywhere All at Once) creates a visual language that perfectly serves Cregger’s genre-bending vision. From shadow-filled homes to a brilliant gas station chase that seamlessly blends farce with terror, every frame supports the film’s delicate tonal balance.
The nightmare sequences deserve special mention—impressionistic imagery that captures the unsettling logic of actual dreams.
The Verdict
Weapons represents horror filmmaking at its finest. Cregger has refined his voice into something razor-sharp, crafting a genre-bender that honors classic thriller conventions while forging something genuinely fresh. The mystery’s layered revelations, stellar performances, and technical mastery combine into a film that demands to be seen.
This is how you follow up a breakout hit—by proving it wasn’t a fluke.
★★★★½
