Title – Weapons (2025)

Director – Zach Cregger (Barbarian)

Cast – Julia Garner, Josh Brolin, Alden Ehrenreich, Benedict Wong

Plot – When a group of children all from the same school class mysteriously go missing in the middle of the night, seemingly without rhyme or reason, softly spoken teacher Justine Gandy (Garner) becomes embroiled in a situation no one could have foreseen.  

“What do you see that I don’t?”

Review by Eddie on 12/08/2025

Further adding fuel to the fire that 2025 may just be the best calendar year for the horror genre of the modern era, if not cinematic history, Zach Cregger’s follow-up to his breakout 2022 effort Barbarian is one of the years wildest cinematic rides, one that’s brimming with creativity, surprises and a sense of playfulness not often found in studio backed offerings, making this a must-see affair.

Centred around the brilliantly marketed concept of a group of school children disappearing at the same time of 2.17am and how the small community in which they live tries to come to terms with the mystery and also find a resolution, Weapons is a film best watched as blind as possible, as in a day and age where so much predictability has become part of the package of how we consume content, Cregger’s original offering stands out above the crowd as something special and unpredictable.

Promoted as more of a straight up horror mystery, Weapons moulding together of genres that includes hearty doses of thriller elements and even against the odds seriously comedic ingredients (no doubt familiar to those that remember Cregger’s work in hit sketch comedy outfit WKUK) works wonders to keep things fresh and exciting throughout its two hour plus running time that culminates in one of the years most unforgettable and frantic final acts.

Broken up into distinct chapters that each focuses on an individual character caught up in the core mystery, a highlight of which ends up being Austin Abrams as down on his luck junkie James, Weapons rarely pauses for breath and while it takes a while to get going during the initial periods where we are introduced to Julia Garner’s unfortunate school teacher Justine Gandy, once the pieces of the puzzle start to become more apparent, there’s no stopping Cregger and his ingenious imagination.

Equal parts scary, equal parts violent and even working well in its quieter character driven moments that includes Josh Brolin’s grieving father Archer and Cary Christopher’s unfortunate sole classroom survivor Alex, Weapons is a lot of things all at once and while arguably not every element of its wide-spanning narrative pays off as some might hope for, there’s no denying that Weapons is major bang for buck cinematic spectacle that deserves its breakout box office success and critical/audience adoration.

Based off what we have been gifted here and all the highs that the flawed but highly entertaining Barbarian provided, it’s safe to say Cregger has quickly become one of the most notable and original creative voices in Hollywood with his upcoming take on the Resident Evil series likely to be a blockbuster to keep a very close eye on.

Final Say –

If you let yourself be taken willingly on the ride Weapons provides it’s likely to provide you with one of the most memorable, unpredictable and outrageous feature film experiences you’re likely to come across in the near future.

4 1/2 bowls of water out of 5