Written, produced, and directed by Zach Cregger, Weapons is an original mystery horror film with a story told from different points of view. Starring Julia Garner, Josh Brolin, Cary Christopher, Alden Ehrenreich, Austin Abrams, Benedict Wong, Amy Madigan, and more, Weapons is now terrifying audiences in cinemas worldwide.

Almost an entire classroom of children has mysteriously gone missing on the same night, with only one student remaining and still attending school. Justine Gandy is the teacher of that classroom, which makes her a target to the parents of those children, believing she was responsible, but just like everyone else, she doesn’t have the answers. Alex is the one student who didn’t go missing, which raises suspicion, but he doesn’t seem to know anything either. With the police having no leads to the children’s whereabouts, Justine and one of the parents, Archer, each decide to take matters into their own hands in an attempt to find the children. During their search, they experience some unusual and bizarre events.

Julia Garner stars as Justine Gandy, the teacher of the class at school where the missing children were attending. Julia’s performance shows that she cares deeply about her students and is just as confused and distraught as the parents that they’ve disappeared. Because it’s her classroom, the parents believe she was behind it, and this frustrates her, making it difficult for her to be out in public, adding to her distress. After being given some time off work until things settle down, she decides to use her free time to try and find some answers.

Josh Brolin plays Archer Graff, a construction worker and the father of one of the missing children, Matthew, played by Luke Speakman. He misses his son deeply and sleeps in his bed every night. He has an aggressive behaviour, especially with his son gone and has been the most outspoken amongst the parents who believe Justine was behind the children’s disappearances. Despite his short temper, he also shows great determination and actually makes more progress than the cops have done.

Cary Christopher portrays Alex Lilly, the one student remaining and still attending that school. He is smart, quiet, keeps to himself and was bullied by his classmates before their disappearances. His already quiet and shy nature makes it difficult for anyone to question him if he knows anything about the other kids’ whereabouts. Even though him being the only student raises suspicion, they don’t feel it’s right to pressure him too much. Alex lives with his parents, played by Whitmer Thomas and Callie Schuttera and his aunt, played by Amy Madigan, who has some unusual quirks that make Alex uncomfortable.

Amongst the cast are also Benedict Wong as Andrew Marcus, the principal of that school, Alden Ehrenreich as Paul Morgan, a police officer who has a complicated relationship with Justine and Austin Abrams as James, a junkie desperate to make any amount of money to fund his habits. The film’s story is told from various points of view, all linking together as the mystery behind the missing children is slowly uncovered. The performances of the entire cast are solid, and everyone, or at least the ones acting normal, feels relatable and believable, allowing you to feel empathy for them.

Seeing all the different perspectives is an interesting way to allow the story to unfold. Things begin to make more sense as story elements begin to unravel bit by bit, as each character’s point of view is shown and how they fit into the overall plot. It’s similar to crime movies that have used this concept, and it works incredibly well for a mystery horror film. The premise was already a creepy thought, and things become even more intense as the film progresses. The plot is the biggest highlight of the movie, and it’s hard to go into details without spoiling anything, but the story is told brilliantly and will have audiences engaged all the way through.

Weapons is certainly a scary film, and even though there are some jump scares, they’re not even the scariest parts of the movie. The way the story is told and repeated from a different perspective while slowly filling in pieces of the puzzle is what adds to the eerie feeling and creepy atmosphere.

The town it’s set in seems perfectly normal with a mostly friendly and welcoming community despite the circumstances, but that never affects the unnerving feeling this film gives you.

Not everything is doom and gloom either, as there is some comedy and just regular moments between the majority of the cast, but none of that ever takes away from that uneasy feeling in the back of your mind. A lot of the film takes place during the day, and the normal interactions between characters are what make this film feel realistic and that the unusual events that occur could happen in real life. There are, of course, a lot of scenes that happen in the dark and not just for the sake of it, because those moments play a big part in the plot and add to the mystery of the kids that disappeared into the night. The scenes in the dark aren’t just scarier, but they feel more important than how they’re done compared to other horror movies. It will all make sense when you see the film.

Director Zach Cregger has truly made something unique and unlike anything we’ve seen before. Along with the commercial and critical success of his other big horror film, Barbarian in 2022, he has proven to have an artistic eye and creative mind for horror flicks. He has already been attached to direct the new upcoming Resident Evil reboot film due for release in 2026. It’ll be interesting and exciting to see his unique take on the based on the hit horror video game series of the same name by Capcom, but if Barbarian and Weapons are any indication, the next Resident Evil film is no doubt something to look forward to.

The solid cast, excellent storytelling, suspense buildup and the eerie and unnerving feeling it gives you all make this film something unique and a true standout in the horror genre. The plot is the best thing about this film, with how the story is told and retold from different points of view and how everything connects and the mystery slowly unravels. Director Zach Cregger has made something truly special. Weapons is a horror film unlike any other and needs to be seen to be believed.

Written by: Sammy Hanson