Remember Zach Cregger? The guy who made you terrified of Airbnbs and tape measures with 2022’s Barbarian? Well, he’s back, and this time he’s trading a single creepy basement for an entire town full of paranoia, dread, and… kids doing the Naruto run into the woods? Yep, it’s weird. Weapons, his highly anticipated follow-up, has finally hit theatres, and the internet has been buzzing about whether it’s a “full-on horror” or something else entirely.

From Barbarian Basements to Missing Kids: What is ‘Weapons’?

The setup for Weapons is the kind of chilling urban legend you’d hear around a campfire. One night, in the sleepy town of Maybrook, a classroom’s worth of kids simultaneously wake up, walk out of their homes, and just… disappear into the forest. No ransom note, no eye-witnesses, nothing. The story picks up a few months later, with the town simmering in a pot of grief, suspicion, and unanswered questions. Their teacher, Justine, played by the absolutely phenomenal Julia Garner, has a slightly checkered past and is barely holding it together, a fact that grieving father Archer (a perfectly cast Josh Brolin) is all too happy to point out.

But here’s where Cregger pulls his first trick. This isn’t just Justine’s story. The film is broken up into chapters, each following a different character through the same few chaotic days. We see events from Justine’s perspective, then rewind and see them through Archer’s eyes, and then again from the viewpoint of a local cop played by Alden Ehrenreich. It’s a bold narrative structure that could easily become a confusing mess, but in Cregger’s hands, it’s a masterful way to build suspense. Each chapter re-contextualizes what you thought you knew, adding new layers to the mystery and making you constantly second-guess everyone’s motives.

A Perfect Cocktail of Scares, Laughs, and ‘WTF’ Moments

Julia Garner is a force of nature. She carries the emotional core of this film, portraying Justine’s paranoia, guilt, and frayed nerves with a jittery intensity that’s impossible to look away from. You feel every ounce of the town’s accusatory glare through her performance. Brolin is also fantastic as the desperate, angry father who takes the investigation into his own hands, but it’s the way the film balances these heavy performances that makes it truly special. Because for a movie about missing kids and a town on the brink, Weapons is also surprisingly hilarious.

This is where Austin Abrams’s character, James, a transient drug addict who stumbles into the middle of the mystery, comes in. Abrams is an absolute scene-stealer, playing the character with a wide-eyed, perpetually confused energy that provides some of the biggest laughs in the film – an unexpected suprise in a movie often being referred to as a horror. It’s this masterful tonal balancing act that defines the movie. One minute you’re gripping your armrest as someone creeps through a dark house, the next you’re laughing out loud at James’s latest screw-up.

The horror, when it does arrive, is brutally effective and suspensful. Cregger knows it’s not about the number of jump scares, but the quality of the dread. He and cinematographer Larkin Seiple (Everything Everywhere All at Once) are experts at using shadows and negative space to make you feel like something is always lurking just out of frame. There are a couple of genuinely squirm-inducing moments of violence and some surreal, nightmarish sequences that will stick with you long after you leave the theatre.

Is It Really a Horror Film? (And Other Burning Questions)

If you walk into Weapons expecting a non-stop, blood-soaked slasher or a supernatural spook-fest, you might be a little thrown. The marketing has leaned heavily on the “horror” label, but honestly, this film feels much more like a high-tension psychological thriller that just happens to have some terrifying moments. It’s more Prisoners than The Conjuring. The real horror isn’t a monster in the woods; it’s the paranoia, the grief, and the suspicion tearing a community apart from the inside.

This leads to some of the film’s more… interesting choices. The pacing is very deliberate. It’s a slow burn that builds its atmosphere brick by meticulous brick. Some might find it a little slow, especially in the first act. And without getting into spoilers, there’s a particular scene involving Josh Brolin and a gun that felt a little jarring. It’s a moment that seems to push his character’s actions a bit beyond what the film had established, leaving us scratching our heads and briefly pulling us out of the otherwise immersive story. It’s not a deal-breaker by any means, but it was a definite “huh?” moment in an otherwise tightly-scripted movie. The ending is also bound to be divisive, offering less of a neat resolution and more of a “chew on that” final note that’s both brilliant and a little unfulfilling.

The Bottom Line: Get Yourself to a Cinema, Stat

So, what’s the final verdict on Weapons? It’s fantastic. It’s an intelligent, masterfully crafted thriller that expertly juggles multiple tones and perspectives to create something truly unique. Don’t let the marketing confuse you. The genre-bending isn’t a flaw; it’s the film’s greatest strength. It’s a movie that will make you laugh, make your skin crawl, and make you think.

Julia Garner gives a career-best performance, and the entire cast is operating at the top of their game. It’s the kind of complex, layered film that demands to be seen on a big screen, where you can fully immerse yourself in the oppressive atmosphere of Maybrook and appreciate every clever detail of the cinematography and sound design. Zach Cregger has once again proven that he’s one of the most exciting directors working today. Is it a perfect movie? Maybe not. But it’s an unforgettable one. Stop what you’re doing and go see it.

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