Movie Review: WEAPONS

By ABBIE BERNSTEIN / Staff Writer

Posted: August 8th, 2025 / 07:45 PM

WEAPONS movie poster | ©2025 Warner Bros.

Rating: R
Stars: Josh Brolin, Julia Garner, Amy Madigan, Alden Ehrenreich, Austin Abrams, Benedict Wong, Cary Christopher, Toby Huss, Whitmer Thomas, Clayton Ferris, Callie Schuttera, Justin Long
Writer: Zach Cregger
Director: Zach Cregger
Distributor: Warner Bros./New Line Cinema
Release Date: August 8, 2025

WEAPONS has a climactic sequence so striking, so perfect in its contemporary fairytale horror, that we wonder if writer/director Zach Cregger didn’t start with this and build backwards.

As it is, Cregger presents us with a major what’s-going-on-here mystery at the outset, which is revealed in segments, each devoted to a different character’s point of view.

An unseen little girl tells us that it’s been two years since the events we’re about to witness. The authorities have covered it up due mainly to embarrassment that they were unable to solve the crimes, but if you ask anyone in town, they’ll tell you what happened.

This lets us know perhaps more than we’re supposed to, namely that both the world as a whole and the town of Maybrook survived.

One night, at exactly 2:17 AM, all the students except one who attend third-grade teacher Justine Gandy’s (Julia Garner) class at Maybrook Elementary walked out the front doors of their homes and into the night without a trace.

Justine, who is a compassionate and attentive educator with a messy private life, has absolutely no idea of what happened to the kids. The problem is that a lot of grieving, bewildered, furious parents settle on the premise that since the children were in her classroom, surely Justine must know something and just isn’t telling.

This overlaps with the journeys of others who are directly impacted by the tragedy, those who are looking into it, and one poor fellow who keeps being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Cregger shows a great scary visual style throughout, which peaks at the aforementioned finale. He also delivers some punchy jump scares and maintains an ominous but humor-punctuated mood throughout.

The filmmaker is greatly aided in this by several key performances, starting with Garner, who radiates kindness and recklessness at the same time. Josh Brolin as a devastated father conveys deep emotion. Austin Abrams has some hilarious moments as a small-time thief, and Cary Christopher is affecting as Alex, the one child to return to class after the vanishing of his peers.

Benedict Wong as the school principal, attempting to balance all sides, is excellent. Amy Madigan has quiet intensity but also displays a flair for farce as Alex’s aunt. Alden Ehrenreich, as a police officer being pulled every which way, has an air of resigned exasperation that serves him well.

Something that WEAPONS can’t quite do is entirely live up to the wide open possibilities of its opening. The more we learn, the sooner we place WEAPONS within a specific subgenre and guess where we’re headed. Once this happens, it feels like scenes could move a little quicker.

There’s also a slight mislead in the little girl’s starting exposition and on the poster; this seems less intentional than an issue of precise wording.

Still, there’s a lot of originality and skill in WEAPONS, as well as a few images that are unlikely to leave the mind’s eye anytime soon.

Follow us on Twitter at ASSIGNMENT X
Like us on Facebook at ASSIGNMENT X

Latest Buzz

Good what's-going-on-here horror told in interlinked chapters

Article Source: Assignment X
Article: Movie Review: WEAPONS

Related

Related Posts:

Leave a Comment

Assignment X Poll

Newsletter subscription status