🎬 The Setup
When 17 children from the same classroom all mysteriously vanish one night at the exact same time, the community descends into chaos. Only one student remains behind. Tensions boil, suspicions fly, and the schoolteacher at the center of it all (Julia Garner) faces not only grief-stricken parents, but a mystery no one can explain.
Is it trauma? A coordinated kidnapping? Paranormal? Something worse?
Weapons asks the audience to play detective alongside its characters as it unspools a multi-perspective, slow-burn horror mystery that’s less about jump scares—and more about dread.
🧩 Structure & Storytelling
Without spoiling anything, Weapons doesn’t play out like your typical horror movie. This is a fractured narrative, with multiple character POVs, timelines, and reveals. Think The Witch meets Prisoners meets Barbarian.
What begins as a community crisis turns into something far stranger—something layered, sinister, and surreal. It balances grounded emotional horror with elements of folklore, spiritual horror, and even a touch of the fantastical. The film constantly keeps you guessing.
One minute, you’re sure it’s about grief. Next, you’re convinced it’s aliens. Then it pivots again.
And that’s the genius of Cregger’s approach: Weapons gives you just enough information to stay locked in, but never enough to feel safe.
🌟 The Performances
- Julia Garner, as the embattled teacher, delivers a performance that feels genuinely raw. Her descent from composed educator to terrified suspect is layered with restraint and tension.
- Josh Brolin, playing one of the grieving, possibly unstable parents, brings a grounded intensity that slowly cracks into something more desperate and vulnerable.
- The child actors—especially the one who remains behind—are surprisingly effective, carrying complex emotional beats without it feeling forced or melodramatic.
- Supporting roles (like Benedict Wong and Paul Walter Hauser) bring depth and credibility to the town’s unraveling psyche.
✅ What Works
✦ Intriguing, multi-layered mystery
The non-linear format and shifting POVs let you experience this event through a kaleidoscope. Each character’s version brings new questions and fresh dread.
✦ World-building through tension
The town itself feels like a character. This is horror where the people are just as scary as the unknown threat—mass hysteria, mistrust, mob mentality.
✦ Smart direction
Zach Cregger doesn’t spoon-feed anything. Like Barbarian, he trusts his audience to keep up. Hints are buried in set design, dialogue, and even character placement. It rewards attention.
✦ Genre fusion
What starts as small-town psychological horror shifts into something folkloric and supernatural—without losing its emotional weight.
❌ What Doesn’t Work
✦ Pacing issues
The film runs over 2 hours and feels like it in parts. A couple of character POVs don’t meaningfully advance the story and slow the film’s momentum.
✦ Slight tonal clash
In the final act, some moments veer toward unintended humor or camp, clashing with the slow-burn dread established earlier. It’s a small stumble, but it may lose some viewers.
✦ The “twist” lands softly
There is a big reveal—but it may not blow everyone’s minds. For some, it’ll be satisfying. For others, it’ll feel like a solid story ending, but not a mic drop.
👥 TheBigBois Reactions
The team had a lot to say—here’s the quick version of their takes:
“I was locked in the whole time. I still don’t know what the hell was going on until it clicked—and I loved that.”
“One too many perspectives. One too many minutes. But still worth it.”
“Felt like a 6-part miniseries crammed into one movie. That’s not always bad, but it dragged a little in the middle.”
“Final act was a little goofy, but overall this is one of the better horror flicks I’ve seen this year. Legit.”
🧠 Spoiler Section (⚠️)
WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS BELOW.
Okay, here’s the deal:
It’s not aliens. Not mind control. Not a school shooting metaphor.
It’s a witch.
A real one. And she’s been hiding in plain sight. She manipulates the last remaining kid, takes over the parents, and uses voodoo-like magic to create a horrifying army of child “weapons” to drain life and gain power.
The town thinks the teacher is to blame. But she’s not. She’s just caught in the crossfire of suspicion and trauma.
There are forks to the face, zombie-like teachers, horrifying possession sequences, and yes—a horde of kids dismembering the witch in the final act. It’s intense, messy, and occasionally silly. But it hits.
It ends on a somber note: trauma lingers. The kids may be rescued, but the scars remain. And one character—the young boy at the center of it all—knows how to do what the witch did.
And he kept the tree.
🎟️ Should You Watch It?
Yes. Absolutely.
If you’re a fan of:
- Hereditary
- Barbarian
- The Witch
- Smart, slow-burn horror with a supernatural twist
Then, Weapons should be at the top of your watchlist. It’s not a scream-fest—it’s more about dread, mystery, and slow-rolling realization.
It might lose a few casual horror fans in its length and structure, but it rewards attention and invites conversation. You’ll want to talk about it after.
Weapons: Zach Cregger proves Barbarian wasn’t a fluke. Weapons is bold, ambitious, and creepy in all the right ways. It stumbles a little in pacing and tone—but sticks the landing. It’s easily one of 2025’s best horror entries so far. – Asmodeus