Weapons (United States, 2025)

Weapons is a step up for writer/director Zach Cregger from his promising horror debut, Barbarian – funnier, more unsettling, and ultimately more satisfying when taken as a whole. Identified by the filmmaker as having been in part inspired by Paul Thomas Anderson's Magnolia, Weapons defies many of the genre's rigorous conventions by paving its own path. It often intersects with well-trodden routes before quickly diverging. The comedy – always dark, always intentional – reaches laugh-out-loud proportions during a chase scene, but Cregger's assured handling of the material ensures that he never loses the story or the audience. The narrative remains firmly anchored in the horror/suspense tradition and builds both toward a revelation and a resolution, neither of which ultimately disappoints. 

Weapons tells a single story across six point-of-view "chapters." Each perspective revisits key events from earlier segments while adding new information and advancing the overall story. Although the structure is unconventional, it keeps the viewer engaged (discouraging distracted viewing), allows for some surprises, and tells the full tale without requiring excessive exposition. (There is a narrator, but she speaks only at the beginning and the end, and then primarily to provide context.) 

The film opens with the incident that sets everything in motion. At 2:17 am in the suburban town of Maybrook, Pennsylvania, 17 elementary school students from the same class disappear. No one from any other class in the school has vanished, causing the eyes of law enforcement to turn to the children's teacher, Justine Gandy (Julia Garner), and the sole member of the class still around, Alex Lilly (Cary Christopher). However,  Justine is just as perplexed and upset as the parents and can offer no explanations. And the shy, withdrawn Alex also has nothing to say. That doesn't prevent one angry father, Archer Graff (Josh Brolin), from demanding that the police do more, including aggressively investigating Justine, whom he believes to "know something." 

Ceding to public pressure, the school's principal, Andrew Marcus (Benedict Wong), suspends Justine with pay. Depressed, she starts drinking and embarks on a one-night stand with her ex-lover, police officer Paul Morgan (Alden Ehrenreich). Paul is fighting his own demons, including an altercation with a suspect, James (Austin Abrams), whom he punches while in custody. As these things unspool, the mystery about what happened to the 17 children remains unsolved. 

In crafting Weapons, Cregger draws inspiration not only from Magnolia but from Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray, vampire legends, and tales of witchcraft. The film incorporates elements of small-town paranoia into its tapestry, and some aspects can be read as a school shooting allegory. The movie resembles a drama tinged with supernatural elements more than a conventional horror film – at least until the story moves beyond the setup phase. 

In an indication of how widespread the tendrils of Marvel Studios have become entwined in the roots of Hollywood's acting pool, three of the six viewpoint characters are played by MCU veterans: Julia Garner (Silver Surfer), Josh Brolin (Thanos), and Benedict Wong (Wong). Originally, Pedro Pascal was in the cast but a schedule upheaval caused by the actors' strike forced him to drop out so he could make Fantastic Four: First Steps (although Garner, with her more limited exposure in the comic book movie, was able to work around it). Getting a chance to play human beings unencumbered by special effects enhancements, Garner and Brolin turn in stellar performances – intense interpretations of individuals who are on edge and obsessive. 

If Barbarian was Cregger's calling-card, Weapons shows his evolution as a filmmaker. Thus far, 2025 has been a strong year for horror, with unconventional productions expanding the tent and allowing filmmakers greater latitude for exploration and experimentation. With Weapons, Cregger has taken a compelling concept and expanded it in a fashion that few other directors would consider, let alone execute. From its twisted humor to its unapologetic gore, the movie offers something for viewers craving a fresh take on familiar horror themes.

Weapons (United States, 2025)