Film Review: Weapons
Last Night, At 2:17 AM, Every Child From Mrs. Gandy's Class Woke Up, Got Out Of Bed, Went Downstairs, Opened The Front Door, Walked Into The Dark...And They Never Came Back
INTRODUCTION
This is a quick review of the newly released film Weapons. Please note that this is just one of the many movies I will have watched each year, and my initial grade for this film may change over time, for better or worse. To stay up to date on my thoughts about other movies and any potential changes in my opinion on this one, follow me on Letterboxd.
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PLOT
Via Letterboxd: When all but one child from the same class mysteriously vanish on the same night at exactly the same time, a community is left questioning who or what is behind their disappearance.
REVIEW
After cutting his teeth directing himself in comedic projects, Zach Cregger completely blew the doors off the horror film community in 2022 with Barbarian, a twisted, darkly funny descent into nightmare fuel that became one of that year’s most talked-about genre films. It not only pulled in a devoted fanbase, but also sparked debates that still rage today over whether it was the best horror flick from that already amazing year for cinema.
The success of Barbarian clearly didn’t go unnoticed at Warner Bros., who handed Cregger a bigger budget, a stronger marketing push, and an ensemble stacked with more recognizable names for his next project - Weapons.
This time, the cast boasts Julia Garner, Josh Brolin, Alden Ehrenreich, Benedict Wong, and Amy Madigan, among others. And if Barbarian was Cregger’s “I am now a horror director” moment, Weapons is being touted as his “It wasn’t a fluke” statement. Early reactions from critics and general audiences have been generally glowing.
As someone who liked Barbarian quite a bit, I’d been keeping an eye on this one from the moment it was announced. But the wave of raves rolling in from early screenings? That’s when curiosity turned into genuine excitement. So, with a few hours to kill before picking my wife up from the airport, I snagged a Friday night ticket and joined a packed crowd, ready to see what fresh hell Cregger had cooked up this time.
I’ve got to be honest, during the first half of Weapons, I was starting to wonder what movie my fellow critics had seen. Technically, I was impressed. The direction, cinematography, score, and overall aesthetic were clearly a step up from Barbarian. But in terms of pure engagement? The sluggish pacing and a roster of protagonists I found largely uninteresting, and in some cases downright unlikable, kept me at arm’s length.
Cregger opts for a Pulp Fiction-style narrative structure, cycling through different perspectives that gradually fill in the bigger picture. On paper, it’s a smart way to slowly reveal all the secrets to us. In practice, at least on my first watch, there’s definitely some fat in the first half that could have been trimmed without losing much. Even the central hook, the question of what happened to this group of kids who vanished, couldn’t fully overcome the drag in momentum for me.
The second half turns Weapons from a slow burn into a wild, twisted horror ride that I didn’t want to get off of. The turning point is Amy Madigan, entering stage right as “Aunt Gladys.” This is where I have to dip into light spoiler territory, so if you want to go in completely fresh, stop reading now.
Gladys is the catalyst that shoves the film headfirst into full-blown horror, and Madigan plays her with such unhinged precision that I bought every second of her as an eccentric, malicious, and dangerously unpredictable presence. Her performance isn’t just good, it’s the first of the year, across any genre, that truly floored me.
A quick but important shout-out also goes to Cary Christopher, who delivers standout work as the lone child who didn’t join his classmates in walking off into the night. It’s a grounded, depressing, traumatic, and quietly affecting turn in a film that thrives on chaos when the final act hits.
I wish I didn’t have the reservations I do about the first half, because if it matched the energy and engagement of the second, Weapons would be one of my favorite films of the year so far. I’m already planning to give it a rewatch, partly to see if the early pacing lands better knowing where it’s headed, but mostly to revisit Madigan’s insanely phenomenal work. As it stands, the first half is a mixed bag for me, but the second half is exactly the kind of horror I enjoy. With room for the grade to potentially climb after a revisit, Weapons earns a solid B+ on first watch.
GRADING
