Ever since the bidding war for Weapons (2025) hit the news cycle, it has been one of the most talked-about movies of the year—especially with the news of Jordan Peele firing his manager for not getting the script to this movie. The film’s strong box office performance has proved the hype is real, as it pulled in $42 million domestically over its opening weekend.
Zach Cregger’s surprise hit Barbarian (2022) was a standout, putting him on the must-watch list for whatever he does next. Cregger’s style and tone are no different in Weapons, using his signature story structure and a sprinkling of humour throughout. Coming from a comedy background, it should be no surprise that the comedy plays so well in here.
Much like Longlegs (2024), Weapons had a brilliant marketing plan behind it, gearing up hype all year after the trailer and initial teaser were released. It’s an intriguing premise—17 kids disappear in the middle of the night for no apparent reason. A setup like that is enough to get me to the theater. This setup leads to a smart story structure, expanding and interconnecting various separate storylines.
Cregger has long said Weapons is a horror version of Magnolia (1999), and that makes a lot of sense after seeing the film. Each chapter gives us more and more information as we try to uncover the reasoning behind these missing children. He intelligently chooses how to reveal such information, as I was glued to my screen trying to piece together this mystery.
What is great about the structure is how Cregger balances tone so well, juggling serious moments with good comedic bits that had me laughing the hardest I had in theaters all year. It never felt out of place; the absurdness only adds to the striking mystery at play. Cregger’s comedic background shines through as the story here feels like a setup for an incredible bit that is the third act. It’s an insane, insightful finale with camerawork to complement the absurdity.
The cast is stacked big. This film’s central characters include Justine (Julia Garner), Archer (Josh Brolin), Paul (Alden Ehrenreich), Marcus (Benedict Wong), James (Austin Abrams), Alex (Cary Christopher), and Gladys (Amy Madigan), who each have a central chapter in the story.
The cast all work extremely well for their respective parts, but the standouts are Abrams as a drug user named James and Madigan as Alex’s aunt Gladys. Abrams easily switches between being the main comedic relief and the character who responds to tragedy by exploiting it for wealth.
Madigan is the prime performance of the entire film, though; it would not work without her. The way she fluctuates between sinister and kindness is a special talent, and Cregger has stated he pictured her immediately when writing this character. The kind, light-hearted side of her shines in Field of Dreams (1989), and the sinister, stern side takes hold in Gone Baby Gone (2007). It’s great she gets to flex both of those muscles in this film.
While the structure may not be for everyone, Cregger deserves praise for his ambitious second feature. It requires piecing together so many elements, figuring out when to reveal certain information, and making sure each character is fleshed out enough that their chapter doesn’t feel out of place. The passion and intelligence in the screenplay, as well as the patience Cregger utilizes in making sure each character has a point, is what make this film distinguished among other films this year.
While the screenplay is significant, the camerawork and direction are the strongest aspects of Weapons. Similar in style to Barbarian, Cregger obviously got a bigger budget this time around, allowing him to be more creative with his camerawork. Whether that be the recentering of frames (a callback to Barbarian) or the Evil Dead II (1987) type camerawork that flourishes in the third act, the bold camera decisions set this apart from the majority of releases this calendar year. Each aspect was heavily cared for and given 110%, which makes a lot of sense if you know why Cregger made the movie:
Cregger’s former comedic partner, Trevor Moore, passed away four years ago on Aug. 7, 2021. In response, Cregger made this film to process his grief and use it as a vehicle to honor his fallen friend while giving him a therapeutic experience in coming to terms with losing someone so close in his life. Weapons’ themes of how people respond to mass tragedy, how each person thinks tragedy affects them the most, and ignoring the signs of harm from the victims of this tragedy are deeply prescient.
It’s sombering to know he wanted to tackle all of these ideas while grappling with these feelings himself, making the film feel all the more cared for. The film was released a day after the fourth anniversary of Moore’s death.
Weapons is one of the year’s best films and makes Cregger a director to look out for as he upgrades his skills with each subsequent movie he makes. While not on the same level yet, it would not shock me if he finds himself in Jordan Peele territory with the direction he is going in the horror genre, using these films to talk about cathartic themes and evolving the genre as he does so. With Barbarian and Weapons, it is clear he has an eye for what horror can do.
Review Courtesy of Jacob Diedenhofer
Feature Image Credit to Warner Bros via The New York Times
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