by Tim Gordon
When all the children from the same class except one mysteriously disappear on the same night at the same time, a community is left questioning who or what is behind their disappearance in Weapons.
One morning, at 2:17 am, all the children of Ms. Gandy’s fifth-grade class, except for one, disappeared without a trace. The only evidence was the neighborhood home cameras that captured each of the children running out of the front door of their homes and off into the darkness. After over a month of investigations from all levels of authority, there is no solution to the case in sight. Naturally, this type of occurrence changes a community. This movie documents that story.
Written and directed by Zach Cregger (Barbarian), Weapons stars Josh Brolin, Julia Garner, Alden Ehrenreich, Austin Abrams, Cary Christopher, with Benedict Wong, and Amy Madigan.
Zach Cregger, an actor with comedic tendencies and founding member of The Whitest Kids U’ Know comedy troupe, exploded onto the horror landscape with 2022’s Barbarian, a film he wrote and directed. When the former Alexandria, VA native, Zach Cregger, announced and shopped this latest project, a bidding war started for the rights to the film. Jordan Peele and his Monkeypaw Studios were thought to be the favorite to acquire the film, but they were beaten out by New Line Studios. Rumor has it that Peele fired two of his studio chiefs because they could not acquire the film.
The trajectories of Cregger and Peele resemble each other. Both of them came from backgrounds in comedy. Both of them delivered exemplary, groundbreaking horror films in their debut. Both of them faced intense scrutiny in their sophomore effort. Perhaps this is why Peele wanted to be a part of Cregger’s project so intensely.
Weapons is a tale told in style reminiscent of the classic movie Rashomon. After its introduction, the movie documents a part of the story from the perspective of each character in the film. In this film, each perspective feels awkward and completely disjointed as it ends and turns to the next. Yet each time a new segment dives a little deeper into the story than the last one, giving the audience more than just the character’s perspective, but also unraveling the subsequent events of the story.
Each segment also allows the actors to flex their acting muscles. Julia Garner has the first vignette as the teacher of the class that disappears, Ms. Gandy. Garner has been one of those actors who create characters through vocalizations, yet in this movie, she uses nothing distinguishable. Her plain voice accents the plain character that Ms. Gandy is. Garner is outstanding as the naïve and insecure teacher who wants to get to the bottom of things as much as everyone else does. Josh Brolin, who claims this movie as his first horror film, is equally intense as the father of a missing son who believes he must solve the crime that no one else can or wants to solve.
In comparison, Zach Cregger’s second feature horror film is much more successful than Jordan Peele’s. Not being bogged down by the need to make a social commentary, Cregger just focuses on creating a thrilling environment that would be seen in any mystery movie, and then he injects his brand of horror, completely off-putting and creepy, and, at the same time, absurdly hilarious.
Rated R for strong bloody violence and grisly images, language throughout, some sexual content, and drug use. Weapons is a horror tale without equal. Even those who are usually turned off by the genre will find this movie smart and accessible. The really creepy part about the movie is how completely real Cregger makes everything seem. It feels like the most twisted of true crime dramas unfolding before your eyes.
Weapons is in theaters starting August 8, 2025.
Grade: A-
