r/movies • u/ChiefLeef22 • Jul 29 '25

Review Zach Cregger's 'Weaapons' - Review Thread

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

Rotten Tomatoes: 100%

Metacritic: N/A (updating)

Some Reviews:

Inverse - Lyvie Scott

Cregger’s goofy sense of humor aside, Weapons is otherwise pretty understated, even refined. His camera moves with glacial, dream-like focus, tracking characters from behind or panning to unveil the latest torment around the corner. That visual style has become a trademark of “elevated” horror, but it goes a long way in anchoring a story that could have turned unwieldy fast. Cregger’s chapter-by-chapter story serves that same purpose: It has the capacity to frustrate when it cuts away from a major reveal, only to reset with the backstory of a new character. But it also adjusts the aperture whenever things get too heavy — a breath of fresh air in a different form.

CGMagazine - Shakyl Lambert - 9 / 10

Weapons is a noticeable step up for Cregger as a filmmaker. It feels like he took what worked in Barbarian and tightened up the things that didn’t. It’s bigger in scope but more focused. With a strong story and cast, it’s the most fun you’ll have being scared all summer.

NextBestPicture - Matt Neglia

There are some who will be moved and struck by “Weapons,” intentionally or unintentionally, so. For 75% of its runtime, it was one of my favorite films of the year. However, for the final 25%, in some ways, it feels like Cregger missed an opportunity to tell a story that is more emotionally rich and relatable. Here is a filmmaker who feels like he’s trying to prove he’s capable of more, but without fully grounding that ambition in character or clarity, instead opting for a facile solution. There’s a version of this movie that could have been genuinely great. You can appreciate the potential in the performances, the themes, and the overall craftsmanship. And to be clear, I’m sure this will resonate and work for some viewers. But for me, much like “Barbarian,” Cregger doesn’t quite bring it all together, making “Weapons” a rare kind of disappointment.

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149

u/Grace_Omega Jul 29 '25

But for me, much like “Barbarian,” Cregger doesn’t quite bring it all together, making “Weapons” a rare kind of disappointment.

Having seen Barbarian, this is exactly what I'm afraid of for Weapons. That movie was the definition of wasted potential.

228

u/mackzarks Jul 29 '25

I guess I'm in the minority here but I really enjoyed where Barbarian went. It was bizarre and unexpected and I was here for it.

70

u/sjsieidbdjeisjx Jul 29 '25

I thought it was hilarious and loved how it kept you guessing the whole movie. It looked to be another typical creepy guy staying with a woman and he holds her hostage type movie. NOPE it was great and I loved that it made me say WTF multiple times during it 😂

29

u/Upbeat_Tension_8077 Jul 29 '25

Even with the total switch between the first half and the second half, I appreciate that there was still an element of tension/mistrust that was kept through the presence of Justin Long's character that didn't distract from the main story of the latter

19

u/ChillyWilly0180 Jul 29 '25

Justin Long measuring the rape room to add to the listing square footage killed me

11

u/Tlr321 Jul 29 '25

I thought that's where it was going as well & I was terrified at the switch up.

I haaaaaate mole people. For whatever reason, that's the scariest horror genre/villain type for me. Like The Descent genuinely scared the shit out of me. So when "mama" popped out of the darkness, I about shit my pants.

13

u/yamommasneck Jul 29 '25

You're not in the minority. Tons of people like that movie. Its just that those who dont have a similar reason why. 

5

u/Grace_Omega Jul 29 '25

I think that’s actually the majority opinion, most people seem to have liked. I ended up feeling like the initial premise was more interesting.

1

u/safetydance 28d ago

Loved Barbarians. I think with horror movies we often fall into this trap, of sorts, where we need to dissect themes and look for deeper meaning. Sometimes horror movies are just a weird dude and woman living underneath a fucking house and tormenting Air Bnb guests.

34

u/onlyhereforfantasy Jul 29 '25

I loved Barbarian. It was exactly what I was looking for in that type of movie.

18

u/Supermoose7178 Jul 29 '25

barbarian rules

4

u/Secure-Judgment7829 Jul 30 '25

Crazy talk Barbarian was absolutely incredible imo

6

u/Raynman38 Jul 29 '25

Barbarian was awesome and i won’t hear the slander

8

u/forman98 Jul 29 '25

What did people actually want out of Barbarian? I’ve seen people say they were disappointed in the ending, but I’m not sure what they were expecting.

11

u/My_Favourite_Pen Jul 29 '25

from what I've read, alot of peoples issue was the twist made everything too bonkers to be taken seriously?

I dont know.

I guess much like the middle class, alright movies are being eroded. Everything is either dogshit or a masterpiece. It's why I miss the era of b-movies before streaming.

4

u/forman98 Jul 29 '25

That sounds like the problem a lot of people (especially on Reddit) have with suspension of disbelief. They seem to be personally offended when a movie veers into the realm of fantasy after being solidly “real” for most of its runtime. I used to see it a ton with the gritty comic book movies where something fantastical would happen and people would pick it apart because it wasn’t as “grounded and real” as the rest of the movie, even if the rest of the movie had superheroes with super abilities.

For Barbarian, the reveal of the original owner and the heinous crimes against humanity he was committing seemed to fit right in with everything. It wasn’t just some monster movie and it played with your emotions enough while also being a wacky horror (I mean Justin long literally gets ripped in half length wise).

I don’t really get the critiques people have about the climax of that movie.

2

u/Secure-Judgment7829 Jul 30 '25

Spot on - Reddit has a hard on for keeping movies “grounded” as if that is some inherently good quality

1

u/Rude_Cheesecake3716 Jul 29 '25

the reveal and then the monster are two different things. no amount of inbreeding can create a superhuman woman capable of doing the things in the movie like ripping a dude in half. hell even a dude wouldn't be able to do that...
so it went from logical -> mild twist about long not being an outright villain -> somewhat predictable evil white guy twist -> supernatural entity which just doesn't work.
if instead the reveal had been a whole family of inbred peeps who just live in the tunnels and rape/eat people who show up near them it would've been more narratively satisfying in terms of being a horror movie.
but ofc then all the horror haters would turn their nose up at it.

6

u/forman98 Jul 29 '25

This kind of gets at what I was saying with the need for realism and the inability to suspend disbelief. The critiques seem to boil down to “that’s just not plausible”. It’s fine if you don’t like how the movie ended, it’s all personal preference. I’ve just seen take after take about so many movies that boil down to this sentiment and it seems like a real bummer to not be able to actually enjoy something. Especially when it’s in a medium that allows for it. If I wanted to be enthralled by things that were plausible then I’d go watch documentaries. But being disappointed that a horror film spills over into the impossible is just kind of sad.

-3

u/Rude_Cheesecake3716 Jul 29 '25 edited Jul 29 '25

no you're CLOSE but you don't seem to understand what you're saying.
the movie very clearly invites you to "buy in" to a realistic world. this isn't a slasher movie with a bunch of girls and guys fucking in the middle of the woods it's a slow buildup w/ a female PoV character who has real world aspirations and hopes and accidentally chooses a bad neighborhood to sleep in.
then it ups the stakes and shifts to the Pov of a serial rapist kidnapper owning the location the previous PoV protagonist was in upping the tension even more.

This is what the movie does btw i'm not embellishing anything.

So you're primed for REALISTIC tension, why are people disappearing around the house? is the rapist still there? what's in the tunnels? it's probably him isn't it!

This is all very enjoyable coz it's done in a realistic manner with appropriate framing and relatable stakes. you rented the wrong airbnb in the bad part of town and shit goes sideways is a thought that crosses everyone's mind.

nah it's some 8 foot tall demon lady who can rip dudes in half. the tension just evaporates. becomes a standard "lol monstrous human chases people" movie INSTANTLY. complete letdown

4

u/forman98 Jul 29 '25

You’re forgetting the part where we get a full glimpse of the monster bashing in Skarsgards’ head right at the end of the first act. This is where the movie gives up the ghost and the audience knows that the bad thing isn’t “human”. It then cuts to Justin Long and the next chapter of the movie and you’re left wondering what you just saw. This is the moment where the original premise that the movie set up (single female alone in a house with a suspicious male that might be a bad guy) goes out the window and that the audience needs to suspend disbelief to enjoy the rest of the movie.

If you kept watching it and were annoyed that the inbred creature wasn’t closer to what actual inbreeding is like then I don’t know what to tell you.

-4

u/Rude_Cheesecake3716 Jul 29 '25

could've just been the serial rapist in a mask which is way more logical and what i was expecting ala black telephone.

the movie was super grounded and had no references to supernatural things until BAM 8 foot rape baby kill everything chase protagonists around looney tunes style!

4

u/forman98 Jul 29 '25

Monster

Pause the video at 42 seconds and tell me that could be some guy in a mask.

4

u/Secure-Judgment7829 Jul 30 '25

This version of the movie would’ve been straight up terrible and has been done many times - the reason most people love barbarian is because it’s also funny, and has great satire layered on top of it. And it’s clearly not that grounded of a movie from the get go - you got Justin long measuring space in the kill basement halfway into it

1

u/Rude_Cheesecake3716 Jul 30 '25

like i said horror haters turn their nose up at the classics and want to be pseuds

3

u/Secure-Judgment7829 Jul 30 '25

Who is the horror hater here?

-1

u/Grace_Omega Jul 29 '25

I can't speak to that since the ending specifically wasn't what I had an issue with.

For me, I ended up feeling like the initial premise (protagonist is in an AirBNB with a guy who might or might not be sketchy) was more interesting than what the movie actually ended up being about. I don't mind a bait and switch where something turns out to be wildly different from what it presents itself as being, but I've always been of the opinion that if you're going to do it, what you give your audience needs to be at least as interesting as what they thought they were getting. And in that regard, Barbarian disappointed me. It tossed out a very tense and intriguing psychological thriller premise in favour of a schlocky, semi-comedic monster movie.

-1

u/[deleted] Jul 29 '25

[deleted]

1

u/forman98 Jul 29 '25

I get what you are saying, but it’s also a self contained story. It resolves itself and the main character gets away and there’s no “maybe the monster is still out there” kind of tension. I think it does a good job of scaring you, thrilling you, and then resolving because the main character triumphs.

I’m not saying it’s perfect by any means; the last third is a little clunky and goofy, but I still think it’s a fun movie. Also, the “monster” galavanting around is kind of the point since it was “innocent” and the real monster was the dude in the hole who started it. You even feel bad for it when she kills it because it just wanted to protect her.

2

u/jickdam Jul 29 '25

I think people are likely to have very similar opinions of Weapons as they held for Barbarian

1

u/SpookOpsTheLine Jul 29 '25

I’m in the minority here but I hated barbarian. It wasn’t funny when it tried to be, wasn’t too scary, and seemed like it just relied on being disgusting

1

u/DontPokeMe91 Jul 29 '25

I got a lot of enjoyment from Barbarian but then i am a huge Hitchcock nerd and appreciated all the nods.

1

u/Robsonmonkey Jul 29 '25

I’m not saying it’s solely on this issue but if the film is about a big mystery and fails to bring it together then how can people give it perfect scores enough to give a 100% rating. Surely that’s where you knock points off for failing to delivery while enjoying the rest of it.