Zach Cregger had some big shoes to fill with the highly-anticipated Weapons. His previous film, 2022’s Barbarian, was a slow burn success, with word-of-mouth and social media buzz making it a sleeper horror hit. Weapons had a lot more money – and marketing – behind it, and luckily for him, the huge cinematic swing turned out to be a hit.

​

Weapons had a lot going against it thanks to the pandemic, and like many movies scheduled to film around that time, scheduling and casting was thrown into turmoil. Clearly, these setbacks weren’t enough to soil the end product. The movie, from its cast to its intoxicating soundtrack to its creative cinematography, is a total blast.

​

Featuring the typical horror offerings (jumpscares, creepy kids, bloody violence, etc.) Weapons gives its audience what it wants while adding something fresh to the horror genre by blending horrific scares with hysterical laughs. The story begins with narration by an unknown child who, as she explains, lives in a town where a huge scandal was covered up by police. All but one child in a classroom of 17 students ran off in the middle of the night, sending authorities into a tailspin and leaving parents desperate for answers. Needing someone to blame, the town launches its aggressions at the kids’ teacher, Justine Gandy (Julia Garner), who in turn develops an obsession with following around the one remaining child from her class. She really doesn’t do herself any favors in that regard.

​

Making matters worse for her is an angry, grieving dad named Archer (Josh Brolin) who antagonizes Justine at every turn. There’s also her off-again, on-again cop boyfriend Paul (Alden Ehrenreich) who seems to only serve as an unhealthy distraction. The movie is very much an ensemble cast, with minor characters played by Austin Abrams and Amy Madigan giving two of the most memorable and hilarious performances I’ve seen all year.

​

I’m a huge fan of stories retold over and over from different points of view, and Cregger does this masterfully in Weapons. The symbolism is at times incredibly in-your-face, and at other times mind-bogglingly tough to decipher. The real triumph of Weapons is how it uses that imagery to challenge its audience to find meaning in the mayhem. It’s creepy, it’s funny, and it’s one hell of a fun time at the movies. Much will be debated about the movie’s overarching message and tonal shifts, and that’s part of what makes Weapons one of 2025’s horror movies to remember.