NFL
By: Matt Overton
Zach Cregger’s long awaited follow up to his smashing debut Barbarian has finally hit theaters, and I’m overjoyed to see it receiving such an overwhelmingly positive reaction. Continuing to hone what seems to be his trademark in blending horror and comedy, Weapons has joined the very short list of must-see 2025 movies. When 17 school children all leave their homes at 2:17 AM and never return, a small town is left with nothing but questions as they grapple with this profound loss.
As Weapons begins, there’s an unseen child narrating this “true” story and introducing us to the town where these strange events occurred. When the clocks strike 2:17, George Harrison’s “Beware of Darkness” hits the audio mix. As the innocent children hit their best Naruto run and flee for safety, the song strikes a dissonant chord with what we’re being shown and told. Whereas Barbarian hid some of its genre play until later in the film, Weapons comes out swinging with its bold tonal blend. Cregger appears to be immediately comfortable with his burgeoning style and right back at home with his creative flow.
After the brief introduction and memorable needle drop to open the film, the movie slips into the first of its five chapters. Each one being titled after the character we follow, and the structure of the story is intentionally vague at times. More than once, these segments would end on a frustrating cliffhanger right when the story is ready to deal out some answers. But this tension became more serviceable and unsettling the further we waded into the mystery, especially as I started to grasp Cregger’s vision.
The main players include Justine (the teacher), Archer (the father), Paul (the cop), James (the crackhead), and Alex (the kid). I’m glad I avoided all promotional material for this because, just like Barbarian, it behooves the viewer to go in knowing as little as possible. I didn’t even realize Josh Brolin was in a starring role, and he turned out to give one of the most affecting performances. His emphatic WTF after a terrifying nightmare provided the heartiest laughter of the night, and his son being named Matthew gave me extra immersion into this story. You’ll never know how badly I wanted to call out to him to let him know I was safe and sound.
There continues to be a debate about what constitutes elevated horror, and I’d wager there are many more films being categorized as such that don’t deserve the distinction. For example, there’s the entire brand of horror that A24 has cultivated for the better part of a decade; NEON seems to have joined the bout as well, but only a handful of films from the last ten to fifteen years should qualify. I’d comfortably slot Weapons into this sub-genre, as Cregger’s script incorporates a ton of brilliant ideas that can provoke deeply personal discussions. He seems to be successfully tapping into the zeitgeist here and carving out his own little corner, where he can playfully mix terrifying, skin-crawling horror with laugh-out-loud humor and slapstick.
Even with such a distinct style already assembled, Cregger is unashamedly borrowing from so many other cinematic giants, and not solely from the horror corner. Weapons has the same suburban dread of Prisoners, the cosmic coincidences of Magnolia, and the psychological horror of The Shining. It helps that Cregger is an unabashed cinephile who reveres film in all its forms. It’s safe to say with his exciting pivot from comedy to horror, plus being a huge nerd, Zach Cregger is one filmmaker to follow closely.
While I may have bristled with the structure a bit and wished it unfolded in a more cohesive manner, Weapons is a more than admirable follow up to the groundbreaking Barbarian. The story is so unpredictable until it reveals its hand, but even after, the climax is so intense and chaotic and funny it’ll leave you on the edge of your seat. I went into the movie genuinely worried I was going to embarrass myself and let out a frightened yelp at some point; luckily I avoided such a blunder but there were at least three sequences during which I aggressively clenched my hands together out of profound fear for what was to come. Weapons is a special film that effortlessly oscillates between genres. One second it is making you kick your feet and giggle, the next you’ll be hiding behind your hands trying not to defecate in your pants.
