Zach Cregger had everyone’s attention after Barbarian in 2022. That debut felt like a filmmaker taking a swing for the fences and connecting hard. With Weapons, he’s not just connecting again — he’s moving the fence back and still clearing it.
At its core, Weapons starts with a nightmare premise. Seventeen children from the same class walk out of their homes at 2:17 in the morning and vanish into the dark. One child stays behind. What follows is part horror mystery, part emotional drama, part dark comedy — and all of it feels unpredictable.
The cast is a movie fan’s trivia night dream. Julia Garner, who recently soared as the Silver Surfer in Fantastic Four: First Steps, brings a completely different energy here as Justine Gandy, the teacher whose students disappear. She carries the film’s creeping paranoia and frustration on her shoulders with raw precision. Benedict Wong, familiar to MCU fans as Doctor Strange’s trusted sorcerer ally, plays the school principal with a grounded presence that adds even more intrigue to the mystery. Josh Brolin — yes, Thanos himself — delivers one of the film’s most quietly powerful performances as a grieving father. Alden Ehrenreich, who once piloted the Millennium Falcon as young Han Solo, is here as a flawed local cop, and Austin Abrams turns up as a wandering addict who stumbles into danger. It’s an ensemble built for big swings, and they all hit.
Cregger tells the story in chapters, each from a different character’s point of view. It’s a structure that lets us see the same moments reframed, shifting our assumptions and deepening our understanding. One moment you’re in Justine’s claustrophobic headspace, the next you’re following Brolin’s haunted Archer as he quietly puts clues together, then you’re with Ehrenreich’s weary Paul, juggling personal disasters and the investigation. It’s a narrative trick that could have felt gimmicky, but here it makes the film feel alive, always shifting under your feet.
The influences are worn proudly — you can spot the echoes of Magnolia, Prisoners, even the creeping dread of The Shining. But Cregger isn’t just name-dropping cinematic moods. He blends them into something that feels fresh, balancing sharp tension with unexpected laughs. The humor never undercuts the horror, it humanizes it. People in impossible situations sometimes blurt something absurd, and the film knows how to make that feel true.
Visually, Weapons is as precise as it is unsettling. Working with cinematographer Larkin Seiple (Everything Everywhere All at Once, Beef), Cregger keeps us close to the characters until the frame feels suffocating, then snaps the perspective wide to let us spot danger before they do. It’s the kind of visual storytelling that doesn’t just show you fear — it lets you feel it settling in.
The horror here isn’t about jump scares or buckets of gore. It’s about the tension of not knowing what’s lurking outside the frame, and the way grief, guilt, and suspicion can tear through a community. There are basement scenes that will have Barbarian fans grinning nervously, but also moments of stillness where the dread comes from the silence between words.
If there’s a stumble, it’s in the pacing. At just over two hours, the film sometimes drifts in certain chapters, then suddenly slams the gas in others. But even when the momentum slows, the performances keep you locked in. And by the time the final act hits — a wild, unpredictable crescendo — you realize Cregger’s been winding you up for it the whole time.
Weapons isn’t just a great follow-up to Barbarian. It’s the kind of film that rewards you for leaning in, piecing together clues, and savoring the way each perspective reshapes the truth. It’s chilling, funny, and at times, oddly beautiful.
And if you’re keeping track of cinematic universes, it’s a fun bonus to see Silver Surfer, Wong, Thanos, and Han Solo all in the same movie — just not in the way you’d expect.
Thanks for reading AlexisSemder.com — where fandom meets journalism! I’m Alexis Semder, an indie media journalist sharing fan-first takes on superheroes, sci-fi, fantasy, and all things pop culture. Whether you’re here for reviews, deep dives, or the latest rumors, you’re in good company. Let’s get nerdy!
