Review: Weapons (2025)

Weapons

Rating

Director

Zach Cregger

Screenplay

Zach Cregger

Length

2h 08m

Starring

Josh Brolin, Julia Garner, Alden Ehrenreich, Austin Abrams, Cary Christopher, Toby Huss, Benedict Wong, Amy Madigan, Sara Paxton, Justin Long, June Diane Raphael, Whitmer Thomas, Callie Schuttera, Luke Speakman, Clayton Farris, Scarlett Sher

MPAA Rating

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Review

Is Weapons a reinvention of the genre, a clever cobble of other concepts, or uniquely situated in the horror realm?

As the child narrator (Scarlett Sher) says, all of the children in Justine Grandy’s (Julia Garner) elementary class abruptly depart their homes in the middle of the night and disappear completely. Her description of the events, despite recalling them rather than participating in them, has one of the film’s biggest plot holes. Regardless, the story proceeds from this juncture taking perspective of several characters in the film, including Justine, one of the missing children’s dad Archer (Josh Brolin), and the heavily made-up Aunt Gladys (Amy Madigan) and her nephew Alex (Cary Christopher). As the plot unravels over the course of the film, we find the supernatural disappearances are fodder for a malevolent entity whose identity is no major secret.

It’s this quick identification of the killer that sets director Zach Cregger’s film apart most. Historically, either we’re introduced to the figure in the opening scene or their identity is kept a mystery until the end. Like Hereditary, there is a purpose to the mid-film twist changing the picture’s direction. The audience goes from curiosity about the events to moral rectitude against the monster while hoping against hope that their wholesale slaughter doesn’t claim the film’s central trio (Justine, Archer, or Alex).

Taking primeval concepts of malicious magic and bringing them into modern horror can be beneficial for audiences who are looking for something a little bit different. Weapons doesn’t exactly break new ground, nor does it sit itself in a staid genre environment. There are unique twists that entertain while familiar tropes play out to the delight of audiences. A questionable assault on the film’s sole gay couple feels too much like the weaknesses of ’80s virtue horror (the Friday the 13th series for example) but for the most part, the script is tightly constructed and the visceral assaults and murders are grim and largely inventive.

Pulling in experienced actors helps lend the film some gravitas with Oscar nominees Brolin and Madigan anchoring the ensemble. With the genre finding so many interesting ways to get at the heart of modern sociology, it’s expected that quality actors will sign on for the projects. Unfortunately for them, few are given such juicy and believable characters to latch onto. Brolin’s Archer is certain that he can uncover the source of the event before the bumbling police detective (Alden Ehrenreich) whose aggressive personality leads him into danger. His performance is not entirely one-note but his self-assurance and aggressiveness wears thin as the film progresses.

Garner is the defining catalyst of the early section of the film, her naivety breeds suspicion in others. She isn’t incapable of handling the situation, she’s just suffered reputational harm for something she knows is not her fault and while she turns to alcohol to numb that pain, she remains purposeful in her desire to find the culprit. Rounding out the cast and giving a sweet malevolence to Aunt Gladys, Madigan delivers one of her best performances in years. She’s a journeyman actor whose most notable moment in the last couple of decades was the steadfast insistence of not applauding Roman Polanski when he claimed the Oscar for Best Directing for The Pianist (perhaps only familiar to Oscar enthusiasts). This character upends all of that and gives her a new lease on the last decades of her career. It’s an indelible performance even if not a stretch for her talent.

The number of times horror has been reinvented in the last two decades suggests that the genre is in a constant state of flux rather than being a genre in a rut. Series such as Paranormal Activity, Insidious, Saw, and others suggest a stagnation in the industry but when attempts are made to subvert expectations (such as Get Out or Sinners), they catch the audience’s attention and keep horror films fresh and relevant.

Weapons doesn’t so much break ground as take elements of the genre that work and craft them into something engaging. You can find plenty of inspiration throughout the film as it pulls ideas and concepts from seminal works and fashions them into a whole that is at least modestly fun even if not groundbreaking.