"Weapons" (2025) Film Review-The year's fresh takes on horror revels in originality once more

“THANK YOU, Zach Creggar!” Back in 2022, this now established star in the horror film genre gave us the quirkily creepy, unexpectedly funny (at times!) cinematic gem that was “Barbarian“. It felt like a cool breeze just washed over us as, for ONCE, the much traversed roads these films tend to go with got an upgrade of uniqueness without sacrificing the ambiance of uneasiness you desire. Well, I at least desire this, given that’s the form of these movies I prefer.

All this notwithstanding, when seeing that it was Creggar behind “Weapons”, it piqued my interest immediately. And while slightly delayed in seeing it, I finally took it in and……”THANK YOU once AGAIN, Zach Creggar!!” By golly, the filmmaker carried it off in absolutely fantastic form, deftly maintaining his blend of haunting atmospheres tempered with splashes of humor, a stellar cast, and one whopper of a tale to spin that certainly delivers the unnerving with style.

The initial but very effective slow burn approach the film takes serves it so adeptly as it purposefully spells out the events in a small town where, in one night, at precisely 2:17am, 17 children ran out of their homes into the dark, never to come back. Additional catches….they were all from ONE local teacher’s elementary school classroom, and ONE student DIDN’T vanish. From there, it’s mystery, suspense, tension, and the beautifully executed revelations..piece by disturbing piece.

When it all REALLY starts boiling over….WOW!! This critic will not delve into any direct spoiler territory (that kind of thing drives me NUTS) as no matter how many weeks the film has been out, there are still plenty of people who HAVE NOT SEEN IT. Anyway, the film magnificently manifests into an amalgamation of psychological and supernatural horror elements that just hit you squarely in the face during those sequences over the course of the film’s 128-minute runtime.

However, it’s more so WHEN these instances come into play that is so smartly engineered to keep you in JUST enough unsettledness before allowing a bit of levity to break it up, though NOT detrimentally so. Masterfully crafted spooks are present as well, not necessarily jump scenes, but rather well-orchestrated ominousness that simply throws you for a chilling loop, making you consistently wonder “What the *&$* is going on??!!”…..until that ALL gets unveiled. Again….WOW!!

The finale is one for the horror movie ages in my opinion, SO perfectly apropos given everything witnessed up to that point, which equals one wild ride that’s been so nicely expanded on via multiple perspectives of events as they unfold. Julia Garner is genuinely fitting for this role as Justine, a school teacher who loves her kids, does have a past she’s attempting to put behind her, but remains steadfastly dedicated to all under her care.

When all but one student in her class vanish in a single night, her life becomes decidedly more complicated as the town quickly starts pointing fingers and assigning blame. Still, Justine’s dogged inability to leave things alone drives the investigation forward….to utterly frightening ends. Garner so wonderfully embodies the chaotic nature of her character’s plight and involvement with what’s taking place, totally someone you root for.

Josh Brolin, as always, brings his virtually patented aura of strength and driving energy to the character of Archer, a local parent whose path begins with blame and ends with collaboration in discovering what happened to the children, including his own son. Alden Ehrenreich‘s Paul, a local cop with ties to Justine, a drinking problem-laden past, and a rocky marriage, is actually a character you feel sorry for, as all he’s attempting to do is his job, which has become all sorts of upended thanks to what is happening in the town.

Cary Christopher is Alex, the one little boy from Justine’s class who strangely doesn’t vanish, and HIS story becomes a waking nightmare as we watch it be uncovered. Benedict Wong‘s school principal Marcus really ends up embodying the portrait of a tragic character. Finally, THE scene stealer of it all descends upon the narrative in the form of veteran actress Amy Madigan‘s Gladys. That’s all I will say because this critic its not exaggerating when I advise to reveal anything else would be a crime for those not yet “in the know”. It is GENIUS.

This film easily ranks amongst my top horror films of 2025, up there with “Bring Her Back” and “Together“, offering us intelligently written, blunt force eeriness, but wrapped in a package that takes us into the realms it does with new flair.