WEAPONS is thrilling, hilarious, and terrifying

“Are you watching?”

Zach Cregger’s WEAPONS hit theaters this past weekend under a mountain of expectations.

Could Warner Bros. maintain its unlikely 2025 winning streak—fueled by surprise juggernauts like MINECRAFT, SINNERS, FINAL DESTINATION, SUPERMAN, and F1—and prove that its comeback isn’t just a fluke?

Could Cregger, who exploded onto the scene with 2022’s BARBARIAN, prove that his breakthrough wasn’t a one-time lightning strike?

And would audiences—so unpredictable when it comes to original horror—show up in force, or would the film meet the same fate as Blumhouse’s recent run of misfires?

The answer: yes, yes, and yes.

WEAPONS opened to $42 million, roughly $15 million above projections, earning a 95% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes, an 87% audience score, and an A– CinemaScore. It’s a win with critics, fans, and the box office. But numbers aside—how’s the movie?

After seeing it twice in one weekend, I can say with confidence: WEAPONS isn’t just good. It’s phenomenal.

The cryptic marketing sets the hook: at 2:17 a.m., seventeen children from Ms. Gandy’s elementary class in the small midwestern town of Maybrook leave their homes and vanish into the night—except for one boy.

From there, the story fans out, following multiple townsfolk: grieving father Archer (Josh Brolin), haunted teacher Ms. Gandy (Julia Garner), corrupt cop Paul (Alden Ehrenreich), strung-out James (Austin Abrams), worried principal Marcus (Benedict Wong), and the lone child survivor, Alex (Cary Christopher). Their stories weave together into a mystery that’s gripping from first frame to last, culminating in a finale that feels destined for horror history.

Cregger’s comedy roots—he was part of the late-2000s troupe The Whitest Kids U Know—were a secret weapon in BARBARIAN, where the mix of humor, gore, and heart felt fresh. In WEAPONS, he sharpens that blend. The result is a horror-comedy that’s funnier than the trailers suggest, but when it turns frightening, it’s deeply unsettling and executed with surgical precision.

Comedy and horror both thrive on timing, set-ups, and payoffs, and Cregger uses those instincts to keep the audience on edge. Over two hours, he juggles a large ensemble without a wasted beat, ensuring every character earns their screen time.

The cast is stellar—Garner and Brolin are predictably magnetic, but the real surprise is newcomer Cary Christopher, who delivers a layered, heartbreaking performance as Alex. Sharing scenes with Oscar nominee Amy Madigan—who plays Aunt Gladys, one of the most memorable horror villains in recent memory—Christopher more than holds his own. Madigan’s Gladys is vile, terrifying, and, somehow, occasionally sympathetic.

The title WEAPONS is more than just a hook. Beyond the obvious parallels to real-world tragedies, Cregger explores the idea that “weapons” can be intangible: grief, manipulation, innocence, loneliness, aging. The film asks—sometimes quietly, sometimes brutally—what we do with these weapons, and whether we ever learn from the destruction they cause.

With WEAPONS, Zach Cregger cements himself alongside Carpenter, Craven, and Raimi. This is a bold, unforgettable piece of genre filmmaking—one of 2025’s defining films.

See it. Now.