In my opinion, we’re living in a very strange but thrilling cinematic year—especially for horror. While many other genres feel like they’re simply coasting, horror is out here delivering peak storytelling, standout direction, and some of the most emotionally and thematically rich screenplays we’ve seen in a long time. From Sinners to Bring Her Back to the unsettling resurrection of Final Destination: Bloodlines, the genre is flexing. And now, right at the start of August, Zach Cregger’s Weapons has arrived, hitting theaters alongside juggernaut superhero franchises—but unlike those 200-million-dollar spectacles, this film chooses eerie restraint and deeply human fear over bombastic CGI.

With an estimated budget of $38 million, Weapons was produced by New Line Cinema after a heated bidding war (which, fun fact, included Netflix, Universal, and Sony/Tristar). I have to say, I’m personally grateful that Pedro Pascal ultimately didn’t take the lead role. Don’t get me wrong—I love the guy, and yes, I sobbed my way through The Last of Us Season 2 like the rest of us. But after seeing him in three movies in under two months, I was due for a Pascal pause. Instead, we’re gifted with a pitch-perfect ensemble: the phenomenal Emmy-winner Julia Garner (Ozark, The Wolf Man), the ever-commanding Josh Brolin (Avengers: Endgame, Outer Range), the criminally underrated Alden Ehrenreich (Fair Play, Oppenheimer), and Benedict Wong (Doctor Strange, 3 Body Problem). Interestingly, most of them have ties to the Marvel universe—yet here they are, grounded in an indie horror thriller that ditches capes for real dread and a creeping sense of paranoia.

As a fan who rushed to the very first 4 PM screening (the later ones were already sold out), I can tell you this movie delivers. With a 79 Metascore and a sure-to-rise Rotten Tomatoes rating, Weapons is more than just hype. Cregger, who blew everyone away with Barbarian, has leveled up. While Barbarian was scary in a “what-the-hell-is-in-the-basement” way, Weapons is slow-burn, suburban paranoia horror that unravels like a nightmare you can’t wake up from.

What starts as a surreal and disturbing event—17 kids from the same third-grade class wandering out of their homes at 2:17 a.m.—becomes a twisted, layered mystery told from six different perspectives. The storytelling structure is genius, revealing just enough with each chapter to make you feel both empowered and helpless, like you’re solving a puzzle with half the pieces still upside down. Julia Garner’s Justine Gandy is a standout—flawed, empathetic, and deeply human—and watching the town turn on her echoes real-world fear-mongering and cancel culture panic. Josh Brolin’s grieving father plays like a powder keg of rage and guilt, while Alden Ehrenreich’s cop gives us moments of vulnerability that hit surprisingly hard.

Without spoiling too much, the film’s villain—a disturbing, almost fairytale-like figure—doesn’t appear until late in the story, but the psychological dread simmers long before that. When the horror finally erupts, it’s brutal, stylized, and weirdly funny in that signature Cregger way that messes with your head. Amy Madigan, in particular, will haunt your dreams with a performance so bizarrely unforgettable that I wouldn’t be surprised if she becomes this Halloween’s most recognizable costume. The funny thing is, Gladys Lily’s look carries an eerie resemblance to Nicolas Cage’s unsettling Longlegs character—I even caught myself thinking for a split second, “Wait… is that Cage in a red wig and heavy makeup?” The similarity is uncanny, right down to the strange aura, though Gladys is notably shorterWeapons doesn’t just aim to scare—it holds up a mirror to the quiet rage and unease simmering in today’s American suburbs. It turns PTA meetings, bedtime routines, and schoolteachers into touchpoints of terror. And in doing so, it crafts one of the most original horror films of the year.

Zach Cregger isn’t just proving Barbarian was no fluke—he’s building a new cinematic language for horror that blends social commentary, character-driven storytelling, and jaw-dropping WTF moments in the best possible way. This is easily my favorite horror film of the year so far, and I don’t say that lightly.
Especially that mind-blowing ending—it leaves you shocked, squirming in your seat, shoving whatever popcorn you have left into your mouth, or, like my seatmate, screaming at the screen, “What the hell are we watching?!” It’s the perfect finale for a creative, eerie, disturbing, mind-shattering movie. Even though it irritates you in moments, it somehow also leaves you strangely relieved. You can’t help but wonder, Will there be a sequel? In my opinion, we desperately need an Amy Madigan “Gladys Lily” prequel. We meet her far too late in the film, and this eerie, unnerving entity deserves more screen time—an origin story that shows exactly how everything went so spectacularly off the rails.

Do yourself a favor: go in blind, hold your breath, and let Weapons mess with your mind.

If you want a deep analysis of how it’s rising to success with two complete newcomers, plus details on earnings, audience patterns, and my future predictions —
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Nilufer Ozmekik

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Weapons: Smartly Entertaining, Deeply Disturbing