Weapons

Weapons is without a doubt one of the most intense and fascinating horror movies I've ever seen. I rarely give good reviews to any horror film but this one went above and beyond my expectations. The premise is quite simple, a classroom of kids goes missing. It sounds normal, but something about the plot is so eerie and terrifying it keeps you on the edge of your seat throughout. The film does a good job of balancing the horror with some comedy to alleviate the underlying tension that is there. Weapons has so many twists and turns that will keep you guessing throughout. Josh Brolin and Julia Garner carry this film. I highly recommend seeing this movie in theaters with an audience, it really makes the experience a whole lot better.

I liked Creggers' Barbarian a lot, but he didn't entirely stick the landing for me. Weapons is his sophomore effort, and you can see the confidence in direction and story telling is more refined. I had a blast watching this, as much as i love serious horror, Weapons wasn't afraid to inject some huge laughs to release the tension. Its gonna be hard to choose between this and 'Bring her Back', as my fave horror of the year thus far...

Exceeding all my expectations, "Weapons" is an incredibly powerful film where Zach Cregger masterfully blends tension and dark humor to a new level of sharpness.

The mystery of a mass disappearance and its impact on a small town unfolds in a mesmerizing, layered way, giving each character a chance to shine. The story is divided into several nerve-wracking chapters, ending with a gripping finale.

Special credit goes to Josh Brolin and Alden Ehrenreich, though the entire cast delivers strong, harmonious performances that brilliantly maintain the balance Cregger has created.

1) I love horror movies.

2) I avoided all trailers, marketing and reviews, so I am not a victim of overhyping.

3) I felt like this would be another example of a movie that will be unanimously praised and lauded as the best/scariest horror movie of the year. That seems to be the case.

4) Six stars is a positive score, but this review will be mostly negative as I try to explain why I didn't like this more.

5) The mystery is built masterfully. But once we find out who or what is behind the horror, all I could think is, "That's it?" I hoped there was more to the story or somewhere interesting the plot could go from there. But there really isn't.

6) They keep telling us more about the flawed characters, and have them involved in drama, which I enjoyed as it happened. But it doesn't come into play even a tiny bit, not with the story or any character arcs.

7) There are some really good horror elements and jaw-dropping moments. But I ask myself if I would watch this again, and the answer is... probably not.

8) It's a good movie, but I can't help but feel underwhelmed.

(1 viewing, opening Thursday EMX 8/7/2025)

If you are debating to either go to the theaters and watch Weapons or wait to rent it at home, I would wait it out. Weapons is another one of those, "Greatest movies of the year!" That falls short of just being ok.

After watching it in theaters, I realized Weapons was simply a long drawn out witch movie, with weak character plotting, very few scares, and cringe jokes. Although these things made this movie seem very underwhelming, it wasn't terrible. There were a few good gory scenes that had me disturbed and the writing was decent, but that alone couldn't change my mind that this was just a mediocre movie. I feel that people don't remember great movies anymore, so when a halfway decent movie comes out everyone is so surprised.

So in my opinion, save the bucks and wait for it to go onto streaming services. You're not "missing out."