Zach Cregger immediately cemented himself as a director on the rise with his smash hit 2022 film Barbarian. The twisty directorial debut made waves almost immediately thanks to its secretive marketing, tense atmosphere, and stellar performances that anchored a truly bonkers plot. Any film that follows Barbarian has a high bar to surpass, and thankfully, Creggers' next venture, Weapons, more than delivers.

One morning, at 2.17 am, 17 children from one classroom got out of their beds, opened the front door of their homes, and ran out into the darkness, baffling their parents and local law enforcement. Suspicion immediately fell on troubled teacher Justine Gandy (Julia Garner), as well as the sole student who was sitting at his desk at 9 am, Alex Lilly (Cary Christopher). But 30 days on, the mystery is no closer to being solved. Told through multiple narratives surrounding one huge central question, Weapons explores what exactly happened at Maybrook Elementary School and the sinister plot that tore the town apart.

Weapons immediately hooks viewers in with the sinister voiceover of a small girl explaining the bizarre disappearance and the fallout, reminiscent of a spooky campfire tale told in the dead of night, more akin to folklore than fact. The narrative is then told through the eyes of six interconnected characters – Miss Gandy, Alex, distraught parent Archer Graff (Josh Brolin), school principal Marcus (Benedict Wong), alcoholic police officer Paul (Alden Ehrenreich), and local drug addict James (Austin Abrams). It allows the narrative to cover an immense scope while keeping the central question relatively simple – where did these children go, and why? While this structure loses steam at points, notably when the timelines cross and cover old ground, the suffocating tension ratcheted up from the very first scene keeps the audience on edge at all times. But Weapons is not without its pitch black humour, compounding the bleakness and shocking brutality with some truly squirm-inducing moments and razor sharp quips that snowball into laugh-out-loud surrealism.

Tracking shots, placing us in the shoes of our protagonists, scenes awash with blue, and lingering shots personify the bleak, disturbing plot and help to create an oppressive atmosphere that never falters throughout Weapons‘ two-hour runtime. It is punctuated by scares that will linger in the minds of audience members for days after, when they catch a glimpse of a shadow from the corner of their eye; jump scares that, while simple, feel earned thanks to Creggers' impressive worldbuilding. It is a maelstrom of emotions from start to finish, from the bewilderment of the children's disappearances to the heartache of the parents looking for their loved ones, and the cruelty experienced by many of our central characters. The themes of Weapons will bore under your skin, festering and becoming increasingly potent after the credits roll.

These unforgettable images and feats of sheer terror would not be as impactful without the career-defining performances of its cast, notably in Garner's perpetually tormented Justine and Christopher's scene-stealing Alex. Brolin embodies the grieving parent doing anything they can to not face the gravity of their loss, becoming so consumed by the minute details of their missing son's case that he cannot function in his everyday life.

In a year of impeccable releases, Weapons is the gem in the 2025 horror crown. Proving that he is far from a one-hit wonder, Cregger once again showcases a masterful grasp of storytelling and worldbuilding, crafting a harrowing, shocking, hilarious, and all-out terrifying tale that never lets up. It's a chilling, all-out nightmare that is sure to linger in the minds of cinemagoers for a long time to come.

Weapons is released in cinemas on 8 August