Weapons Review

By Bridget Drayne

With only three directing credits under his belt, Zach Cregger had his breakout moment with “Barbarian” in 2022, and quickly followed up with “Weapons” earlier this year. It received generally good ratings across the board, with 7.6 on IMDB and a 94% on Rotten Tomatoes. Though its gross surpassed its initial budget by almost 7 times, it fell short of excellence.

The 2025 film follows the investigation into a class of children who mysteriously ran out of their homes in the middle of the night. Interestingly, one child, Alex, doesn’t leave and claims he has no idea where the rest of the children are. As the police search dwindles, some members of the public decide to take matters into their own hands. “Weapons” explores themes of grief, addiction, and family dysfunction conveyed through writer, producer, and director Cregger’s eyes. 

“Weapons” provides a thrilling suburban mystery with surprising elements like comical dialogue and disturbing cinematography. It leaves viewers on the edge of their seats countless times, with riveting moments sprinkled throughout the two-hour-long film. A deep dive into each character and their background is a unique approach to this horror film that gives more perspective into what truly occurred and warranted the disappearances of the children. 

However, an interesting answer to the query sparked by the movie poster (why did the children run off?) leaves watchers with more questions than answers by the end. This ends up being a common theme throughout the film, with many moments having little context to explain them, which incidentally led to plenty of plot holes, such as the background of the antagonist and the lack of caution during the investigation. 

Along with an occasionally unclear storyline, the movie lacks any real depth. Cregger claims the theme focuses on themes of addiction and loss, saying, “this foreign substance comes in and it changes everyone’s behavior.” But truthfully, viewers grasp at straws to come to that conclusion. It feels as if the movie was made without any deeper meaning assigned to it, and then “profound” ideas were slapped on after the release. The movie felt more like a fun concept. However, an explanation was not necessary to make it an enjoyable watch.