Weapons Movie Review

Weapons (2025)

Rent Weapons on Amazon Video (paid link)
Written by: Zach Cregger
Directed by: Zach Cregger
Starring: Josh Brolin,Julia Garner, Alden Ehrenreich, Austin Abrams, Cary Christopher, Benedict Wong, Amy Madigan
Rated: R
Watch the trailer

Plot
When all but one child from the same class mysteriously vanish on the same night at exactly the same time, a community is left questioning who or what is behind their disappearance.

Verdict
This is a surprise at every turn. We never quite know what's going on, and that keeps driving the tension and fear factor higher. Everyone seems suspicious, and parents want someone to blame. We see the paranoia of a teacher erroneously being scapegoated as well as the anguish from parents that have no explanations. Even when suspects narrow, that doesn't make things much clearer. The children may have been weaponized, but to what purpose? While this doesn't answer every question, the focus is what fear and confusion pushes people to do. When it's 'for the children,' some people lose all rational thought.
Watch It.

Review
Cregger's previous movie was Barbarian, an unsettling yet smart slasher set in an Airbnb.

A bunch of children leave their homes in the middle of the night and run away without a trace. Only one child in Justine's (Julia Garner) class didn't disappear, Alex (Cary Christopher). No one knows why the children left or where they are. The police interrogate Justine and Alex, but neither know anything. Parents blame Justine anyway. It was her class either she brainwashed them, suggested they run, or took them herself. She's paranoid and rightly so. The parents want answers, and without that they want a scapegoat. While she's told not to by her principal Marcus (Benedict Wong), Justine wants to talk to Alex since they are the only two left. She also wants answers, and she goes to Alex's house anyway where the windows are covered and his parents are inside sitting in darkness and not moving. This movie knows how to be unsettling, from the timing and pace to the strange dreams characters have.

Julia Garner plays Justine

Justine parks in front of Alex's house, waiting for the parents who won't open the door. That night the door opens, and this is intense. We don't know what's going to happen, and we still don't understand why the kids disappeared. We're left on a cliffhanger as the narrative shifts to Archer (Josh Brolin), the father of a missing child. His point of view overlaps with Justine. He's following her, convinced she knows something. Archer has a dream similar to Justine's. I love how dark the scenes are. We strain to see while also fearful something might leap off the screen.

Josh Brolin plays Archer

After studying video footage, Archer thinks all the children ran in the same direction to a cell phone tower. Archer confronts Justine, but that's violently interrupted where Archer pivots to help Justine.

This switches the point of view again, focusing on Paul (Alden Ehrenreich). He has problems on the job after punching a suspect due to getting stabbed by a needle in James's pocket during a search. He has a relationship with Justine which creates problems at home. Paul lets James go in an attempt to avoid any repercussions from their encounter. James inexplicably ends up at Alex's house, breaking in. We wanted to know what's inside, and while we get answers it's also bewildering.

Amy Madigan plays Gladys

We're introduced to a woman claiming to be Alex's aunt, but I doubted it. If her appearance doesn't undermine her claim, the fact that we've seen her briefly earlier does. This movie keeps shifting view points, and each sequence becomes more intense. This "aunt" seems to have some kind of power. When the narrative shifts to Alex, I wasn't sure what would be revealed. His "aunt" Gladys (Amy Madigan) seems to be the root of the trouble. Following Alex answers some questions about what we've previously seen but it also generates more questions about Gladys.

Cary Christopher plays Alex

This movie is wild. Alex will be traumatized forever. It provides few answers, but the final sequence is such a striking image. We watch a dozen children compelled to attack with no concern to their own well being. I like the lack of explanation. It underscores that this movie's goal is to unnerve you. It does that rather effectively.

SPOILERS

The most we know is that Gladys stated she was sick and hoped Alex's parents could make her better. I'm not sure how specifically. I doubt she was actually related to them. When that proved ineffective, she kidnaps all the kids in Alex's class, using him to steal an object from them so she could control them. We don't know her intentions, but she seems to be using some kind of witchcraft to control others.