Zach Cregger began his career in comedy with The Whitest Kids U’ Know and starred in the sitcoms Friends with Benefits, Guys with Kids, and Wrecked. I have never heard of him or seen his comedic works, but I am familiar with Barbarian (2022). It was a decent horror story about guests at an Airbnb who have a bad time when it turns out a monstrous witch is lurking under the house.
Barbarian was interesting for melding genuine suspense and bizarre comedy to almost Sam Raimian levels. It was a huge hit with audiences and was curiously never released on physical media as of this review. Fortunately, his next film would not only be an even bigger success, but it would get a proper physical release, and in 4K too.
Cregger may have gotten his start in comedy, but he is quickly becoming the next horror golden boy. His 2025 film proved to be an even more refined and personal experience. What is it about? Are the kids alright? Find out in our Weapons review!
Weapons (2025)
Production Company: New Line Cinema, Subconscious, Vertigo Entertainment, BoulderLight Pictures
Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures
Director: Zach Cregger
Release Date: August 8, 2025
At exactly 2:17 a.m. on a Wednesday, 17 out of 18 children from the same third-grade classroom, taught by Justine Gandy (Julia Garner), simultaneously wake up, leave their homes, and vanish into the night, running with their arms outstretched toward an unknown destination.
The police are at a complete loss, utterly incapable of solving the mystery, as tensions mount as parents begin to suspect the third-grade teacher. The community spirals into paranoia and grief, with parents like Archer (Josh Brolin), grappling with loss and desperation, as he conducts his own investigation on Ms. Gandy.
The narrative expands in a Roshamon-like style to include other townsfolk: Paul, a local cop (Alden Ehrenreich), James, a troubled addict (Austin Abrams), and Marcus, the kindly gay school principal (Benedict Wong).
Weapons’ structure jumps around from character to character and plays fast and loose with chronology. When the story begins, you think that Ms. Gandy is going to be your strong female lead. As pieces fall into place, it’s revealed she is hopelessly damaged from years of alcoholism, displays very questionable morals, and probably should’ve been fired years ago.
Brolin as Archer is a very believable depiction of a father whose soul has been ripped apart by his son’s disappearance. It’s heartbreaking seeing him sleep in his son’s bed, unable to move on and ignore his responsibilities, while he harasses a third-grade teacher.
The intricacies of how all of the characters connect and how their actions impact each other are agonized like an elaborate chain of events that connect smartly. It deviates from a traditional three-act structure, employing a fragmented, episodic approach to heighten suspense and gradually reveal its interconnected themes.
The first half of the film focuses on mystery and suspense, with grounded, character-driven drama. The structure gradually introduces supernatural elements like rituals, curses, and eerie surrealist symbolism and foreshadowing, shifting from psychological horror to visceral, gore-heavy ultraviolence.
The story reaches its peak when it settles and focuses on its true protagonist: Alex, the sole student who didn’t disappear from Ms. Gandy’s class.
The ensemble cast and multiple perspectives lead to some characters, such as Paul or James, receiving insufficient development. Their subplots, while thematically relevant, felt truncated or overshadowed by the main arcs of Justine, Archer, and Alex.
Some of the more abstract and surrealist plot elements are too ambiguous for their own good.
The dream sequence where Archer sees a massive machine gun in the sky with 217 on it is so vague that it can mean too many things to make sense. It doesn’t spark conversation; instead, it only leads to confusion and arguments. Even the film’s title, cool though it may be, is ripe for misinterpretation.
It’s impossible to discuss Alex’s arc without mentioning the enigmatic Aunt Gladys (Amy Madigan), Weapons’ main antagonist. She is a master manipulator, using eccentric old lady behavior to disarm people to get what she wants. Watching her operate is entertaining, and it’s no wonder that there are talks of a prequel film that focuses on her in development.
Aunt Gladys extorts Alex in one of the cruelest scenes in a film where a man headbutts another man’s face into a pile of pulpy jelly. It’s never outright explained, but the implications are that Gladys is much older than she appears and is a witch who feeds off the life force of others, like some kind of vampire. The recurring parasite motifs corroborate the symbolism.
Her witchcraft has rules and makes sense in the reality of the film. Usually, magic in movies has flimsy logic, but Weapons makes it work. It becomes incredibly satisfying at the end of the film, where the rules are used to their fullest, creatively and unexpectedly.
The framing of the story’s events is almost mythical, as if they are an urban legend. The opening and closing narration is done by a character who isn’t in the film, and she talks about how the media didn’t care about the missing kids. It’s very real and brings to mind how the media will focus more on killers than the victims.
An interpretation I had is how the story alludes to war themes. The “weaponization” of people is effectively how soldiers are made and programmed to do whatever they’re told to do. Archer has a line of dialogue that directly references how victims under Aunt Gladys’ spell become like “heat-seeking missiles” that zero in on their target.
Aunt Gladys’ victims run with their arms outstretched, reminiscent of the haunting photograph of a little girl who was doused in napalm during the Vietnam War. These weaponized individuals attack like drones used in warfare. The targeting of children can be viewed as a form of spiritual warfare, aiming to turn youth against their parents.
One of the magical aspects of Weapons is how dense it is with things to think about. While some of the symbolism is a bit too far out there to make a concrete connection to anything, for the most part, it’s an engaging watch with a lot of things to think about.
As a 4K release, there isn’t any room for error for such a recent release. It was shot in 4K and with IMAX cameras, leading to the absolute best image quality you’re going to get. Weapons’ lighting is creamy like most modern films, relying on heavy gradients and low contrast.
The 4K UHD and Blu-ray editions offer a Dolby Atmos audio mix, which folds down to Dolby TrueHD. The sound channels are very immersive and create an incredible atmosphere in scenes toward the end when multiple characters are scrapping in Alex’s house. It sounds like people are fighting in your house if you have the optimal surround sound system.
The special features are very light and are a couple of very short puff pieces. They’re insubstantial interviews with cast and crew, and go over some of the more superficial aspects of the film. There are no commentaries, no bonus short films, no deleted scenes, and no alternate cuts.
Weapons is an exceptional horror film with a novel and inventive premise and execution. The cast elevates it, especially Cary Christopher as Alex, who is the emotional anchor of the film, and Amy Madigan as Aunt Gladys, who deserves an award for her unsettling portrayal of an absolute monster. It’s enjoyable to rewatch, and you may find new clues and hints when you do.
Weapons (2025) was reviewed with a 4K Blu-ray copy purchased by Niche Gamer. Additional information about Niche Gamer’s review/ethics policy is here. Weapons is now available via Amazon.
