There are numerous skills that one needs to master in order to become an efficient horror filmmaker: timing, tone, pacing, etc. One skill that isn’t often discussed is manipulation. It’s a tool that every storyteller works with, no matter the genre, but in horror, it’s especially important to play an audience like an instrument. With his debut horror film, Barbarian (2022), writer-director Zach Cregger demonstrated his sharp talent for viewer manipulation, delivering an anxiety-inducing and unexpectedly hilarious narrative packed with horrifying surprises. Cregger’s follow-up feature, Weapons (2025), reaffirms his slyness, specifically his knack for leading his audience — and characters — down paths they are not adequately prepared for.
As with many breakout successes, Barbarian’s rapturous reception has led to Zach Cregger being hailed as a new master of horror. This has led to extreme anticipation for Weapons, which has so far received some of the highest critical acclaim for a horror movie this year, alongside Sinners and Together. The danger of a new horror release becoming overhyped is prevalent these days, and it certainly exists in this case as well. Yet, the hype ironically helps Weapons more than hurts it, as it plays into Cregger’s plan for the film to use audience expectations against them.
Weapons is full of surprises rather than “plot twists.” It’s shockingly violent, but wryly funny. It’s a true original, and in a landscape of studio horror that’s been particularly formulaic recently, it feels like a breath of fresh air.
Weapons Recalls Stephen King and Even Paul Thomas Anderson
While it blazes its own unique narrative, Weapons has what every horror movie worth its salt has: a killer hook. One night in the fictional suburban town of Maybrook, 17 children wake up at 2:17 in the morning and leave their homes, running into the darkness and disappearing without a trace. In addition to this bizarre occurrence are two equally strange wrinkles: all of the missing children were in the class of teacher Justine Gandy (Julia Garner), and one member of her class did not go missing: Alex Lilly (Cary Christopher). It’s a premise worthy of Stephen King, and indeed, his works (especially It and Salem’s Lot) are notable influences on Zach Cregger here.
Cregger doesn’t approach this story in a fashion common to the horror genre, though. Instead, he takes a cue from Paul Thomas Anderson’s Magnolia (1999), structuring the story around six segments, each focusing on one of the principal characters. Watching the movie somewhat feels akin to bingeing a season of television, similar to how Bad Times at the El Royale (2018) was structured. Weapons is strongly reminiscent of HBO’s The Leftovers, too, as it tells the tale of a community rattled by this unfathomable mystery. Those affected are nearly blinded by their trauma, leading them to make less than ethical choices and ask the wrong types of questions.
Zach Cregger Assembles a Terrific Ensemble Cast
Like any film with a sprawling scope, Weapons is elevated by the strength of its ensemble cast, and Cregger has put together a damn strong group. Joining Julia Garner (who’s a delightful mix of vulnerable and messy) and Cary Christopher (who’s equally sympathetic and eerily distant) is Josh Brolin as Archer, a father of one of the missing kids whose grief has turned aggressive. There’s also Paul (Alden Ehrenreich), a cop who keeps getting himself into trouble, Andrew (Benedict Wong), the school’s principal who’s desperately trying to keep everyone calm, Anthony (Austin Abrams), a local junkie who will do anything for a buck, and Gladys (Amy Madigan), Alex’s aunt, who has a series of quirks all her own.
Any one of these actors could carry the movie, and indeed, that’s exactly what most of them do, if for a short period of time. Unlike a normal anthology, in which a character is given a beginning, middle, and end to their individual tale, Zach Cregger makes a habit of abruptly stopping each segment at a particular point of danger. In effect, this makes Weapons into a film that’s almost a collection of cliffhangers, leaving the viewer with some immediate unanswered questions on top of the larger mysteries. What’s impressive is how this approach makes Weapons that much more engaging, rather than frustrating. It’s the cinematic equivalent of a page-turner.
Weapons May Be Supremely Eerie, But It’s Also Emotionally Cold
There’s a trade-off to that choice, however. Despite its packed ensemble and multiple storylines, Weapons is oddly emotionally cold, constantly moving on to the next moment before the last one can properly land. That’s not to say the characters aren’t fully developed or that the pace is too fast, merely that the game Zach Cregger is playing here has evidently chosen plot over character. Weapons is a film filled with characters who are so obsessed with matters at hand that there’s not room for much else. If you’re looking for a horror movie with rich, uncompromising characterizations, you would be better served by Bring Her Back or 28 Years Later. Weapons is simply too busy for all that.
What lends itself to this emotional coldness is the film’s highly formalist aesthetic. Cinematographer Larkin Seiple and Cregger have crafted an exceptionally handsome horror picture, featuring precise compositions and beautiful, gliding steadicam shots. Furthermore, Cregger has a remarkably balanced hand on the entire project; he even co-composed the hypnotic score! All of this serves the movie’s creepy quotient, and Cregger uses it to his advantage, springing something fearful when you least expect it. Yet, frustratingly, it seems like the IMAX release was a bit of an afterthought. It seems like no one tried to use (or wasn’t made aware of) the IMAX frame, making this the one Warner Bros. title of 2025 where seeing it in IMAX isn’t necessary.
Zach Cregger’s Script is Consistently Funny
That said, whatever shortcomings Weapons has are more than forgiven due to how frequently hilarious it is. Between this and Barbarian, Zach Cregger obviously hasn’t let go of his history in comedy (see the Whitest Kids U’Know) and is now using it to fantastic effect in his horror work. The director isn’t lazily throwing in one-liners or gross-out gags, either. Cregger’s sense of humor is primarily felt in the extreme buildup of tension, which is then relieved by a laugh and occasional scare. There’s a good deal of satirical absurdity in Weapons as well, surrounding the social foibles that these characters experience and perpetuate. It’s another sublime layer to Cregger’s screenplay.
Weapons may not be that emotionally deep, but is nonetheless clearly personal, and that counts for a lot. Filmmaker Zach Cregger’s signature style is so captivating that it cannot be denied. While it might not linger within your heart, like any incredible horror movie, there is a ton of eerie ambiguity left to linger in your mind afterward. As the narration from an unseen, unnamed precocious child (Scarlett Sher) indicates, Weapons is like a dark bedtime story. It’s an urban legend that takes you to some totally unusual or dreadfully anticipated places, depending on how closely you had been paying attention.
Don’t worry if you get fooled, however — with Cregger, you’re in the hands of a master manipulator. He knows just how to turn your brain (and fears) against you.
Weapons hits theaters on August 8!
Release Date: August 8, 2025.
Directed by Zach Cregger.
Written by Zach Cregger.
Produced by Roy Lee, Zach Cregger, Miri Yoon, J.D. Lifshitz, & Raphael Margules.
Executive Producers: Josh Brolin, Richard Brener, & Michelle Morrissey.
Main Cast: Josh Brolin, Julia Garner, Alden Ehrenreich, Cary Christopher, Austin Abrams, Benedict Wong, Amy Madigan, June Diane Raphael, Clayton Farris, Whitmer Thomas, Callie Schuttera, Toby Huss, & Luke Speakman.
Cinematographer: Larkin Seiple.
Composers: Ryan Holladay, Hays Holladay, & Zach Cregger.
Production Companies: New Line Cinema, Subconscious, Vertigo Entertainment, & BoulderLight Pictures.
Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures.
Runtime: 128 minutes.
Rated R.
