The highly anticipated horror film ‘Weapons’ was released exclusively in theaters on August 8. After intriguing teasers and trailers, the film had a lot of high expectations surrounding it. Thankfully, expectations were matched, and ‘Weapons’ ranks toward the top half of the best movies in 2025.
WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!
Setting the stage
‘Weapons’ follows a mysterious case of 17 third graders from teacher Justine Gandy’s class disappearing after running away into the night at 2:17 a.m. The film is directed by Zach Cregger, who also directed ‘Barbarian,’ a critically acclaimed 2022 horror thriller that broke box office expectations.
‘Weapons’ has a star-studded cast, led by Julia Garner, who plays Gandy, and Josh Brolin, who plays Archer, a father of one of the missing children. Additional cast members include Aidan Ehrenreich, Austin Abrams, Benedict Wong, Amy Madigan, Justin Long, and Cary Christopher. Cary Christopher plays Alex, the lone child who didn’t disappear from Gandy’s class.
Pacing
The film was divided into six different sections, with each section centering on a different character from their point of view. Justine, Archer, Paul (Ehrenreich), James (Abrams), Marcus (Wong), and Alex were all spotlighted in that order. Each point of view did its job well. Justine set the stage for what Garner’s character would entail. She can be overbearing, she’s a drinker, and she’s going through a rough time mentally. The movie does a good job of building tension within her character. It does its job even further by developing a feeling that she has a part in the children’s disappearance. At the end of the day, she’s just a normal person who has everyday flaws. She felt real, and that’s the best thing to say about a character within a movie like ‘Weapons.’
I enjoyed Cregger’s direction with Archer’s character. He’s a grieving, disheveled father who is trying to figure out where his son and the other children went. Marcus’s section had a lot of substance. It solidified the buildup to Alex’s role and the ending of the movie. Of course, Alex’s point of view was a great final touch to lead us to the conclusion. My only gripe with the pacing was the parts with Paul and James. Paul’s in particular had a lot of nothing and seemed like it was only there to pay him for being Justine’s fling. James was a funny character, but I think even his could’ve been cut down. There was some bit of dragging going on there between both of their points of view.
Acting
With a cast like this, you can expect there to be great acting. Garner is terrific. She was in another horror film earlier this year with ‘Wolf Man,” and she did a good job with that too. So, I had no doubts she would deliver. Brolin is a decorated actor, having been in many blockbuster films such as The Avengers and the Dune franchise. His character was on point throughout. I was particularly impressed with Wong and Abrams. I thought both of their characters weren’t going to be as engaging. Wong, who plays the school principal, did a great job as the “straight man” character. He blended well with the more in-depth characters. Even though I thought Abrams’ character had a bit too much spotlight, he was an excellent change of pace. He brought a lot of unexpected comedic prowess to ‘Weapons.’
Of course, we can’t talk about the acting without talking about Gladys, played by Amy Madigan. If the Gladys character doesn’t work, this movie stinks. The villain has to be convincing, and Madigan was convincing and then some. She was creepy, vindictive, and had plenty of good one-liners to keep me entertained.
Gladys
Let’s dive deeper into Gladys. Already, her image and style have become a popular internet trend since the film’s release. She’s distinct, which is something special to have of your antagonist. There are some issues with the Gladys character. A lot of it is due to the lack of backstory. We don’t know or understand why she is this “witch-like” persona. With that type of information, I think it would’ve made the film perfect. Instead, it is missing a crucial piece to the puzzle. Right now, most are going off the theories that she is just a loner. She finds pleasure in making other people do what she wants in “fighting off her demons.” That’s at least my thought process. The fact that there isn’t a definitive answer yet might be intriguing for some, but I’m left a little bit deflated.
The ending
This is the biggest debate of the movie. Did ‘Weapons’ have a satisfying and logical ending? There are some positives to take away, like, of course, Gladys being killed and the kids reuniting with their families. However, the lead-up feels rushed. There’s a big fight seen between all the main characters, and at one point, Archer gets possessed by whatever mythical powers Gladys has. Now, in the film, whenever someone gets possessed, they become a completely different person. That does happen to Archer, but once this “spell” is reversed, he magically goes back to normal. Sure, logic in horror can be lacking, but this seems like something Cregger and his team would’ve figured out. Maybe the idea is that he was under the spell for such a small time that it didn’t have a lasting effect? Nonetheless, the ending is heartbreaking, and it’s by no means bad, but rather…empty.
While the scene of the possessed children running after Gladys, killing her, is funny and has led to some great memes online, it then quickly leads to a deflating ending. Which is that the narrator says that “some have begun to talk again” before the screen goes black. It’s so quick, and in comparison to ‘Barbarian,’ the ending to ‘Weapons’ fails in comparison.
Final thoughts
With everything said, I still believe ‘Weapons’ is a great horror film that narrowly misses the mark in becoming a modern-day masterpiece. After seeing ‘Weapons’ twice, I recommend checking it out as it’s worth watching, and there’s no better way to watch a big-time horror movie than in a packed theater. Whatever is next in this ‘Weapons’ universe, I will be checking it out and almost certainly entertained!
My Letterboxd score: ★★★★½
