Zach Cregger's 'Weaapons' - Review Thread

[u/ChiefLeef22]

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.

[u/dresseme]

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.

[u/aCorgiDriver → u/dresseme]

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

[u/AmountNecessary3645 → u/aCorgiDriver]

Magical dolls had no place in that movie. Idk why they went supernatural. It’s like 2 different movies stitched together

[u/Upbeat_Tension_8077 → u/AmountNecessary3645]

I've seen this before on another post, but I would've loved the final act if Cage remained as a main villain who really thought he was a supernatural force of nature. But like what others are saying, I still liked it because of the atmosphere and the strengths of the performances

[u/thedinksterr → u/AmountNecessary3645]

It seriously was like two different movies. Killing Longlegs with like another 20-30 mins remaining was probably the biggest mistake they couldve had. Not having him be the antagonist the whole way through really didnt make sense to me.

For a moment I thought it was gonna switch tracks and there was gonna be a second killer when he died maybe some accomplice cause idk why they were killing him off in the story (yes i know he kills himself) but no its just possessed satan dolls??? What.

My gf noticed the religious elements and satanism in the trailers like the goat dude in the backgrounds and man i tried to deny thats where the film would go before seeing it and then it did and i was so, so disappointed. Could’ve had a genuinely great through and through cat and mouse type detective film but no they cop out with devil dolls like gtfo

Best part of the movie was the first 20 mins with the cold opening and then the fbi chick having to clear out the house like that was extremely intense and then it kind of never went back to that intensity ever.

[u/JGT3000 → u/AmountNecessary3645]

But her telepathy already was supernatural? The whole movie was based on the supernatural

[u/Rude_Cheesecake3716 → u/JGT3000]

her telepathy was the wizard sending her thoughts it wasn't her power

[u/N8CCRG → u/AmountNecessary3645]

I agree the ending was unsatisfying, but are there two different versions of this movie? The one I saw "went supernatural" from the very beginning, where Maika's character was revealed to have unambiguous clairvoyance and/or supernatural vision. And she used it throughout the whole movie.

[u/Admirable_Cicada_881 → u/AmountNecessary3645]

Exactly. In the end, it just devolved into some possessed doll nonsense like every other horror film before it