‘Weapons’ Review – Zach Cregger’s Suburban Shocker Is a Dementedly Funny Crowd-Pleaser for Sickos

A classroom of elementary school children, all save for one, disappearing into the night at 2:17 am without explanation is merely the opening catalyst for the methodically unfurling insanity in writer/director Zach Cregger’s Weapons. Armed with more confidence and a larger sense of scale, the Barbarian filmmaker expands on his ability to keep audiences on their toes. Not just with horror that’s as savage as it is funny, but with a clever disregard for narrative convention designed to keep you guessing until what’s arguably destined to become one of the year’s most talked about finales.

The story picks up in the immediate aftermath of the bizarre vanishing, leaving the small suburban town of Maybrook completely shaken. The fact that all the students who went missing came from Justine Gandy’s (Julia Garner) class marks her as a prime suspect, though neither she nor the sole remaining student, Alex Lilly (Cary Christopher), have any ideas or clues to provide authorities. While that clears them both of police suspicion, the rest of the town believes Justine is culpable or at least knows more than she’s letting on.

Especially Archer Graff (Josh Brolin), the distraught and angry father of one of Maybrook’s missing. As tensions rise, the suburbs descend into paranoia and violence.

Whereas Barbarian toyed with the three-act structure to shift perspectives and expectations in the process, Weapons lets Cregger further break from convention through his ensemble cast. To fully encapsulate the scale of this shocking event and its ripple effects throughout the community, Cregger employs an ambitious narrative structure broken down through chapters, each told from a different perspective. It’s not just Justine’s story, but also Alex’s, Archer’s, beat cop Paul’s (Alden Ehrenreich), slippery drug addict Anthony’s (Austin Abrams), and kind principal Marcus’s (Benedict Wong). Each brings fascinating new viewpoints to the central mystery, all meant to slowly inch us closer to discovering the deranged truth, but also present a twisted vision of the suburbs, warts and all. 

What’s most fascinating about this structure is the way Cregger is fearless in writing deeply flawed characters. Justine, at first glance, is the picturesque vision of a doting teacher who deeply cares about her kids. She’s just as shook as the rest of Maybrook, and the way she weathers the constant ire from heartbroken parents earns allegiances early. But she’s also flawed and deeply human, prone to making terrible choices in her personal life. That applies to every Maybrook resident; each tow the line between likable and messy in engrossing and often hysterical ways. Abrams, in particular, stands out as the film’s comedic punching bag.

It’s through these richly rendered and plausibly messy characters that Creggers demonstrates that he’s learned from Barbarian; Maybrook residents are just as prone to making choices that could cost them as Barbarian‘s lead protagonist, but here it’s much more organic to the characters and their bizarre plight.

While Maybrook’s quirks add new dimensions to the mystery that bides its time to take shape, Cregger slowly layers in the horror. Gone is the non-stop suspense and energy of his previous work, replaced by a character-driven story that ramps up the violence and nightmare imagery in a measured clip. The horror is more subdued, at least at first, until Cregger finally pulls the rug out for an absurdly raucous and insane third act that instantly catapults Weapons into a crowd-pleaser for the sickos. 

Weapons is shocking, but the shock has value. There’s meaty subtext to be mined, but there’s a refreshing lack of handholding here. Cregger gives just enough to let you draw your own conclusions, without over-explaining itself once the reveals finally come fast and furious. That it does so while delivering satisfying, complete arcs for its ensemble characters is impressive.

This is a horror movie that trusts its audience, while also delivering on practical effects-driven violence, methodically employed scares, and a biting sense of humor that’ll leave you squealing and squirming in equal measure. 

Weapons releases in theaters on August 8, 2025.

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