by Jeffery Rahming, Contributing Writer
Zach Cregger’s Barbarian was the surprise horror hit of 2022, but no one quite expected what came next for him. His follow-up screenplay, which would become Weapons, ignited a multi-studio bidding war that netted him a $38 million budget and resulted in Jordan Peele firing his longtime managers for losing the project. This, of course, generated curiosity about what a story this in demand must be about. After having seen it, Peele’s decision seems completely reasonable. Weapons is an instant horror classic that is both intensely personal and uncomfortably universal.
In the small town of Maybrook, Pennsylvania, at 2:17 AM, 17 kids from the same third grade classroom run full speed out of their houses and into the darkness. The kids who ran out belong to Justine Gandy’s (Julia Garner) classroom — and Justine is a young teacher with a troubled past. As you could imagine, the event sends shockwaves through the community, including one parent, Archer Gaff (Josh Brolin), who suspects Julie might know more than she’s letting on about the disappearances. The other mystery is Alex Lily (Cary Christopher), the only child from the class who didn’t vanish but refuses to answer anyone’s questions.
Genre-wise, Weapons is more thriller/drama than horror. Not that there aren’t plenty of supernatural jump scares and frightening moments, but the focus is on exploring these characters. They don’t just feel like cannon fodder for gory deaths. Cregger centers their emotional pain from these traumatic events and lets the viewers sit in it. It allows the horror to transcend mere killing and bloody moments. When people die, you’re more upset than entertained. The tragedy of the events hits with a gut-level viscerality you usually don’t get in horror films. The story unfolds in a series of vignettes, shifting between different characters and times. At first, it’s a little disorienting, as without warning, you’re dropped into a scene with no context of how it fits in with what you just saw. But it plays out like a puzzle slowly coming together, and when the picture fully forms, it is both satisfying and disturbing.
Nowadays, it’s rare that a horror movie doesn’t have some kind of allegory, and you could make several interpretations as to what Weapons is about, from school shootings to domestic abuse. The general theme revolves around adults’ inability to keep children safe in a world where danger is everywhere. It’s an existential fear for any parent and always has been. The utter helplessness and panic the community feels in the face of this event is what drives the tension. The image of kids running full speed out of their houses into the darkness is enough to send chills up your spine, regardless of all the insanity that proceeds after.
The cast is stunningly good. Even more impressive is the fact that, due to the 2023 strikes, the majority of the main actors are replacements, as most of the original actors had to drop out. These are all second choices, and yet I can’t see anybody but Garner playing the nervy Julie or Alden Ehrenreich playing her awkward love interest, Paul. Everybody feels perfectly handpicked even though that wasn’t the case.
Cregger’s ambitious scope does result in a few blind spots. A lot of what are considered standard horror tropes come off campy compared to how grounded the rest of the movie is. It can be a bit distracting when characters who otherwise feel very realistic suddenly lose a few brain cells to make a decision only a horror protagonist would make. I think in general, audiences have said, “Don’t go in there” enough, and that gag is getting pretty old. There are also some attempts at comedy that don’t really mesh with the rest of the tone, but are still appreciated in a story this relentlessly sad. Even though moments like that briefly took me out of the movie, it still all comes together incredibly by the time the credits roll.
Without saying too much, I’m sure most audiences will agree that, in a sense, Weapons will end up being the movie of the summer for 2025. The timing of this release in America’s current political maelstrom is more than a little unsettling. The themes it plays with have been endlessly discussed in political and public conversation for years, and in many ways, it feels like a film that we’ve been waiting on without knowing it. This is not meant to be a crowd pleaser. Even in its more outlandish movements, it hits very close to home. Weapons will make you uncomfortable, but it’s also likely to be one of the best theater experiences you have this year.
Rating: Loved It
Weapons is currently playing in theaters
You can read more from Jeffery Rahming, and follow him on Letterboxd