Movie lovers who agreed that 2022’s Barbarian was pretty intense even for seasoned horror fans have likely been anticipating Zach Cregger’s next directorial outing. That wait is now almost over, as the mystery-horror Weapons is set to hit the 2025 movie calendar on August 8. Early screenings are underway, and first reactions are all talking about the “off the rails” ending that left one critic “cackling with twisted glee.”
Josh Brolin leads Weapons as the father of one of 17 children from the same class who all went missing at the same time one night. Regardless of whether or not you’ve been waiting for this release, CinemaBlend’s own Eric Eisenberg assures us that this is one that needs to be on our radar, posting:
If you’re not already excited for Zach Cregger’s Weapons, know this: it’s one of 2025’s best films. Its story & structure are fascinating and gripping, it’s deliciously scary and it has a wicked sense of humor. Oh, and the ending is among the greatest things I’ve seen on the big screen this year.
Well you have to love the promise of a strong ending. The plot of Weapons sounds really intriguing, too, with Julia Garner playing Justine, the teacher of the 17 missing children (and main suspect of the investigation). Chris Evangelista of SlashFilm calls the movie “a memorable suburban nightmare,” writing:
WEAPONS is an absolute blast: a creepy, funny ensemble piece that takes a MAGNOLIA/PULP FICTION/SHORT CUTS storytelling approach to unleash a memorable suburban nightmare. The grand finale had me cackling with twisted glee.
Shak Lambert of CGMagazine, meanwhile, is already thinking about catching the upcoming horror movie for a second time, saying he can’t wait to see it again with a crowd. Lambert says:
Weapons is fantastic. Bigger in scope than Barbarian but a much tighter focus. Cregger makes great use of his ensemble cast and their interconnected stories, and the third act goes off the rails.
Germain Lussier of Gizmodo has lots of adjectives to describe Weapons’ ending, and while it may be less shocking than Zach Cregger’s previous movie, Lussier says this one is “better” (and with nearly 10 times the budget of Barbarian, I’d say “better” was definitely the goal). The critic posts:
Weapons is beyond messed up & I loved every second of it. It’s Magnolia the horror movie, as multiple characters circle a big, creepy mystery. Bit of a slow burn, but it pays off in huge, awesome, gory, disturbing ways. Less shocking than Barbarian, but much better.
Critic Edward Douglas says to be wary of spoilers for this one, but seems to agree with others that the movie builds to a wild conclusion, writing:
It’s a very different movie from Barbarian, definitely more of a slow-build than some might be expecting, but the last act is absolutely HORRIFYING AF!
Griffin Schiller of FilmSpeak calls Weapons “a horror masterpiece and the best film of the year,” using other highly regarded movies and filmmakers to try to explain what Zach Cregger has accomplished. Schiller says:
It’s Prisoners by way of Magnolia with some of the Coen’s absurdist humor. An absolutely BRILLIANT commentary on the attitudes and institutions during the fallout of a communal tragedy. The destructive sensationalism, our obsession with knowing WHY, our insistence on jumping to blame and hyper fixating on the irrelevant inhibits our ability to be productive and find solutions so that way the objectively abnormal does not become…normal. A chilling masterclass in suspense and POV storytelling that exposes a society with dwindling empathy that tolerates dehumanizing acts. I’m OBSESSED. This is one film I won’t be able to shake!
First reactions are indicating a lot of excitement around Zach Cregger’s Weapons, especially that apparently wild conclusion. I love that even after reading these opinions, there’s still so much mystery surrounding the story, and I look forward to checking this horror movie out when it hits theaters Friday, August 8.
In the meantime, if you want to relive Cregger’s previous work, Barbarian is available to stream with a Netflix subscription.
