Film Review: WEAPONS (2025): Zach Cregger is Back in Top Form With a Masterfully Constructed Tale of Terror

Julia Garner Weapons

Weapons Review

Weapons (2025) Film Review, a movie written and directed by Zach Cregger and starring Julia Garner, Josh Brolin, Alden Ehrenreich, Benedict Wong, Amy Madigan, Scarlett Sher, Cary Christopher, Jason Turner, Anny Jules, Ali Burch, Michael Gene Conti, Austin Abrams, Eric Jepson, Whitmer Thomas, Callie Schuttera, June Diane Raphael and Melissa Ponzio.

Zach Cregger follows the brilliantly conceived Barbarian with Weapons, a horror movie that knows no boundaries when it comes to effectively scaring the audience and smartly developing its very intriguing characters. Told in a style in which each character’s point-of-view is integrated into the action, there are occasionally scenes which overlap, but for good reason. Cregger has mastered the art of telling a suspenseful tale and the cast that is employed here is more than up to the task of creating one of the most effective horror movies of the year. Keep in mind, we’ve had Sinners and Bring Her Back so far this year. Weapons is definitely on the level of the latter movie even if it falls a bit short of the former.

In Weapons, Julia Garner plays an elementary school teacher named Justine whose entire class disappears one night save for one child, Alex (Cary Christopher). These children have been caught on camera leaving their homes in the middle of the night with their arms out as if they are headed to a very specific place. It’s a creepy scenario that keeps the audience guessing as to where the children went and why. Justine is ridiculed at school by the kids’ parents who believe she must have had something to do with their children’s disappearance. Justine becomes an outcast and as her superior, Marcus (Benedict Wong), points out, she’s been a little too nice in the past doing things for kids that she shouldn’t like driving one home.

This movie alternates between characters frequently after a pretty fair amount of time is devoted to Justine who has an affair with a local married man (Aiden Ehrenreich) she re-connects with at a bar. The next character who gets a lot of screen time is Archer (Josh Brolin), a man who has been messing up at work since the disappearance of his child who was in Justine’s class. Archer ends up saving Justine from a gruesome fate at one point when a key character running with his arms out attacks her at a gas station as he comes at her in the same fashion as the kids who disappeared and ran off.

VEJA  Vie Priveé – first-look review

A petty thief, James (Austin Abrams), soon comes into the action and finds out where the kids are, but complications ensue after a run in with the law. Meanwhile, Aunt Gladys (the absolutely fabulous Amy Madigan), an eccentric aunt of Alex’s, pops up with lipstick on and sunglasses as she tries to fill in for Alex’s parents by meeting with Marcus instead of the parents to talk about the issues Alex has been experiencing.

This film is more interesting the less you know about the plot. There is a structure employed here that has been compared to Paul Thomas Anderson’s masterpiece, Magnolia, but this technique is more inspired than always effective. Sometimes, one could get whiplash as the movie rewinds the story as it shifts to another character’s scenario and point-of-view. Still, the way Weapons is constructed is certainly impressive from a cinematic standpoint. There was a lot of work done in the editing room that is tight and very precise.

Julia Garner is perfectly cast as the shy teacher who ends up in a nightmarish situation that is amplified by the presence of the crazy aunt. As Gladys seems to have a knack to do certain wicked things, there is just cause to suspect either something weird is going on with her or that she is a lunatic. Madigan is the most valuable player here, bar none. She takes the movie up several notches whenever she appears on-screen with her twisted characterization and the actress proves herself worthy of an Oscar nomination with an unprecedented comeback in motion for the actress who was very prolific in the late 1980’s.

Benedict Wong is also in fine form. He plays the one who tries to be Justine’s gatekeeper and ends up going bonkers due to the script’s developments. At one point in the picture, he’s wearing a Mickey Mouse shirt in one of the most violent scenes in the film which makes for some disturbing images that are appropriate to give the movie the edge it needs to tell its twisted tale. It’s also great to see Brolin working again with a solid performance in a role that gives him the chance to strut his acting chops. Brolin and Garner have a terrific rapport together.

VEJA  Kevin Jonas says he was hit hardest by Jonas Brothers breakup, nearly lost all his money – We Got This Covered

What is Cregger’s film saying underneath all the violence it displays on-screen? This film explores small town obscurities and weird or ordinary characters whose lives intersect as a tragedy arises. As events spiral out of control, the film shows people from different paths of life coming together in moments of need and in moments of terror. Cregger effectively stages his scenes in such a way that they hit hard when the answers regarding the mystery here do arrive. This film offers a terrifying glimpse of what happens behind closed doors in this seemingly normal neighborhood.

Weapons is directed with substantial style by the incomparable Cregger. This movie takes the premise it imagines to the fullest extent possible and audiences will enjoy the results immensely if they can tolerate the constant character shifts and the graphic bloody scenes later in the picture as well. Horror film audiences will appreciate the performances by Garner and Brolin, but Madigan’s work is what Weapons will be remembered for most come Oscar nomination time. Weapons hits hard and is well worth seeing.

Rating: 8.5/10

Leave your thoughts on this Weapons review and the film below in the comments section. Readers seeking to support this type of content can visit our Patreon Page and become one of FilmBook’s patrons. Readers seeking more film reviews can visit our Movie Review Page, our Movie Review Twitter Page, and our Movie Review Facebook Page. Want up-to-the-minute notifications? FilmBook staff members publish articles by Email, Mobile App, Google News, Apple News, Feedly, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr, Pinterest, Reddit, Telegram, Mastodon, Flipboard, Bluesky, and Threads.  

Postagem recentes

DEIXE UMA RESPOSTA

Por favor digite seu comentário!
Por favor, digite seu nome aqui

Stay Connected

0FãsCurtir
0SeguidoresSeguir
0InscritosInscrever
Publicidade

Vejá também

EcoNewsOnline
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.