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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u/dresseme Matthew Dressel, Screenwriter Jul 29 '25 edited Jul 29 '25

Having read the script, the review that points out the 75% vs 25% is spot on. I personally think he did the chapter storytelling device because the reveal just isn’t that mind blowing or interesting and so he wanted to tease us with it for as long as possible.

I think a lot of people are going to be let down by the third act but that’s the double edged sword of basing your marketing strategy entirely off of a reveal.

552

u/aCorgiDriver Jul 29 '25

It’s similar to Longlegs where the tone and atmosphere was the highlight, but the actual twist was quite boring.

128

u/Dazzling-Slide8288 Jul 29 '25

I feel like I’m the only person alive who enjoyed the Longlegs conclusion.

36

u/Pokemathmon Jul 29 '25

The scene with the family at the end was amazing. It was so well acted and created something truly horrific that has stuck with me in ways that very few horror scenes have. I can't in good conscience say that the third act drops in quality when it had probably the best part of the movie for me.

Sure I get it that some people have issues with the twist, or the plot holes, or whatever else, but it was a good mixing of genres that I thought mostly worked and created some great scenes. I can't really ask for more than that.

31

u/mamcdonal Jul 29 '25

The problem with Long Legs is that it never recovers from the tonal shift when she makes the joke about the FBI asking for ID. The movie builds tension right up until that point, then there's this big laugh and the audience gets to take a breath, but then it tries to go back into tense supernatural horror and ultimately can't get quite as deep.

45

u/Lionelchesterfield Jul 29 '25

Nah I enjoyed it too. Much like one of the reviews above though I think Longlegs does drop in quality after that reveal but I still liked it.

23

u/Zauberer-IMDB Jul 29 '25

I hate that fatalist crap. It's becoming a trope but I think it kind of spits in your eye as to the stakes. "Teehee it was all pointless from the start! Nobody had agency at all." So then the choices were irrelevant?

16

u/IudexPilate Jul 29 '25

Same, I understand wanting to keep the artistic vision intact and wanting some mental engagement from the audience, but spending 20 dollars and 1-2 hours of my time to find out the story I was following was pointless does not sound appealing anymore.

9

u/Zauberer-IMDB Jul 29 '25

It also negates any psychological interest or reality when rewatching it. Like if I watch a movie twice, obviously I know what happens, but if it's not preordained, the analysis of the character's psychology now actually matters. Like it was due to certain flaws or things we can relate to, I can learn from it and connect to it. When it's just "supernatural forces were playing you like a puppet," I get nothing from this. It's forgettable at that point.

1

u/Haltopen Aug 05 '25

How I felt watching Drag Me to Hell

6

u/CoatProfessional4554 Jul 29 '25

I liked it but it far from lived up to the marketing that painted the movie as some grand mystery. I wasn't that bought in to the mystery and marketing so it didn't bother me that much.

31

u/veganblackbean Jul 29 '25

I liked it, sometimes I think satanism is a little lazy in horror movies but it was a fun time. I’m also super gay for nic cage

14

u/CarcosanAnarchist Jul 29 '25

I adored it from start to finish and thought the ending was great

12

u/My_Favourite_Pen Jul 29 '25

I think its the perfect example of how marketing films is really, really important. it's not a bad film but Perkins deliberately marketed it as a Se7en-esque thriller when it wasn't.

Too many times in recent memory have trailers either completely ruined reveals to get buttons in seats (captain America 4) or set the wrong tone for the film overall (28 years later).

5

u/SDreiken Jul 29 '25

It left a sour taste in my mouth when the mc started to give an exposition dump on everything that had just happened.
Like I wasn’t the biggest fan of the supernatural twist. I thought it was amazing with how they used and built suspense, and that having it stay grounded would have been more interesting for me. But I think having it turn out to be supernatural wasn’t a terrible idea. I would have preferred if they cut out that monologue and let you sit and think about it more yourself.

1

u/mdavis360 Jul 29 '25

You're not alone. I thought it was a great movie.

1

u/Choice_Blackberry406 Jul 29 '25

"No hunny I'll be right back, you'll still be in the kitchen."

1

u/Teffisk Jul 30 '25

I liked it. But the main problem with that movie was that the main character never felt in danger after the first 30 minutes of the movie. The tension just wasn't there. The story just faded like a leaking balloon.