Weapons
★★★★
If you haven’t seen Zach Cregger’s first feature film, Barbarian, you may not know what you’re getting into with Weapons. I went into Barbarian completely blind—no plot, no expectations—and it defied everything I thought I knew about horror. So naturally, I was curious to see what Cregger would do next with a bigger budget and a recognizable cast.
For a sophomore effort, he once again knocks it out of the park. While Weapons should still be categorized as a horror film, it leans more into the thriller aspect—and I loved that. Yes, there are jump scares, and true to form, Cregger isn’t afraid to dip into the grotesque. But what makes the film so effective is how deeply it’s rooted in character and concept.
Cregger has described Weapons as Magnolia meets Hereditary, and that’s honestly the perfect comparison. The film revolves around a shocking and inexplicable event: an entire classroom of children—except one—sprinting into the darkness in the middle of the night. Like Barbarian, the less you know going in, the better.
I was impressed by Cregger’s use of deliberate, hypnotic camera movements that turn the film into a sort of horrific fairy tale. The cast is outstanding—Julia Garner, Josh Brolin and Alden Ehrenreich (an incredibly underrated actor) all deliver layered performances. Amy Madigan, whom I’ll forever associate with Field of Dreams, adds a surprising horrific depth to the story.
Much like Barbarian, Weapons juggles wildly different tones—from dread-filled horror and fever-dream sequences straight out of David Lynch, to moments of pitch-black comedy. Somehow, Cregger balances it all, crafting a movie that dares you to dissect it—but also reminds you not to take it too seriously.
You can tell this is a filmmaker who genuinely loves the craft, and it’s exciting to see such impressive talent rally behind his vision. Like Barbarian, Weapons leaves you with a sense of unease—not necessarily from what you’ve seen, but from the strange world you’ve just visited. It’s disorienting, thought-provoking and completely original.
And honestly, that’s what I love most—a story so unpredictable that you can’t see where it’s headed, and a filmmaker bold enough to take you there anyway.
