There’s an odd correlation between comedy and horror. The timing, build-up, and payoff to both laughs and scares are very similar. This is why comedians can be such great horror filmmakers, as evidenced by the likes of Jordan Peele and John Krasinski. A few years back, writer/director Zach Cregger from the sketch comedy troop The Whitest Kids U’Know splashed into horror with the incredible Barbarian. And now, he’s back to show that his first horror movie was no fluke with Weapons.
Weapons is about a town in which, one night at 2:17am, an entire class of third graders got up out of their beds and ran from their houses into the night. Well, almost an entire class. One kid was left. And no other children from the school disappeared, just the one class.
That’s the setup. And, as was the case with Barbarian, Weapons is best approached with little to no preconceptions or knowledge of the plot. The movie itself is about the town trying to solve the mystery of the missing kids, and it’s shown from the perspectives of several different characters, everyone from the teacher of the class (Ozark’s Julia Garner) to one of the parents (Thanos himself from Avengers: Inifinity War and Endgame, Josh Brolin) to the remaining child (Cary Christopher from Days of Our Lives). And it’s a wild ride.
Weapons is the kind of movie that is always one step ahead of the viewer, right up until the end. Zach Cregger has crafted a chilling and suspenseful vision of a town where hope is basically lost, but no one wants to admit it. There’s a lot of finger-pointing, which results in plenty of false flags and red herrings, all of which just adds to the mystery. There’s always a surprise or a twist up ahead.
Weapons is a very cold movie. Cregger has captured both the eerie chill of the small town as well as the frozen desperation of its confused citizens. It’s a community in crisis, and along with cinematographer Larkin Seiple (Everything Everywhere All at Once), Cregger approaches it with a creepy detachment, almost as if the viewer is seeing things that they shouldn’t be seeing. Which leads to them seeing some really disturbing stuff.
Cregger knows his horror. Although Weapons is unlike anything else, it still feels familiar, as Cregger wears his influences on his sleeve. The film’s overall atmosphere reeks of modern masterpieces like Sinister, Longlegs, and Get Out. Visually, Cregger winks and nods to (and sometimes even downright quotes from) classics like The Shining, Curtains, and The Brood. Despite all of these mashed-up ingredients, Weapons still manages to hold on to its own firm identity. Cregger tosses all of his favorites into a blender and puts his own spin on his unique story.
Of course, Cregger also knows his comedy. While Weapons is by no means a comedy, it does have moments of “intentional unintentional” humor, meaning that what is happening is played completely straight (even horrifically so), but some of the situations are so outlandish that they border on humorous. Weapons is a smart movie, but in typical horror movie fashion, it’s filled with dumb decisions made by the characters. These dumb decisions are driven by grief, curiosity, anger, and even greed, and they all boil over into a seriously crazy climax. With no other emotions left to go on, the audience can only laugh.
Weapons hits all the right notes. It’s a psychological thriller, a bloody slasher movie, a cunning mystery, and a supernatural horror flick. It’s scary, shocking, gory, and, in its own weird way, funny. Overall, it’s just plain entertaining. While Zach Cregger’s resume may still be a bit too short for him to be considered a “master of horror,” he’s definitely on the right track. He’s one to keep an eye on.
GRADE: A
Rating: R for strong bloody violence and grisly images, language throughout, some sexual content, and drug use
Running Time: 2 hours 8 minutes
Release Date: August 8, 2025
Studio: New Line Cinema
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