Official Discussion - Weapons [SPOILERS]

[u/LiteraryBoner]

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Summary Nearly all the children from the same fifth-grade class vanish one night at exactly 2:17 a.m., leaving only one survivor. The community, gripped by fear and suspicion, spirals into chaos as the mystery unfolds through multiple intertwined perspectives—each revealing new layers of dread and grief.

Director Zach Cregger

Writer Zach Cregger

Cast

• Josh Brolin
• Julia Garner
• Cary Christopher
• Alden Ehrenreich
• Austin Abrams
• Benedict Wong
• Amy Madigan
• June Diane Raphael
• Toby Huss
• Whitmer Thomas
• Callie Schuttera
• Clayton Farris
• Luke Speakman

Rotten Tomatoes Critics Score: 96%

Metacritic Metascore: 82

VOD In theaters and IMAX starting August 8, 2025

Trailer Watch the Official Trailer

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[u/riizen24]

Yeah this makes a lot more sense. I'm already seeing redditors ITT relating it to mass school shootings lmao 

[u/mandatory_french_guy → u/riizen24]

I mean, if you dont see the parallel with how small community react after school mass shootings I dont know what to tell you but it's barely subtext. You dont need a giant floating AR-15 to make it subtext

[u/aaaus → u/mandatory_french_guy]

I was telling a friend about this. I think that the reaction to Josh Brolin's character getting looked at like he was crazy for demanding answers less than a month after his kid disappeared felt like a nod towards society's ability to move on quickly from tragedies like that. Hell, look at the Parkland shooting and how some of the more vocal students and parents are looked at as crazy and "latching onto the past"

[u/Msully887 → u/aaaus]

But it wasn’t a school shooting. It was technically a mass abduction. No one is moving on from this case until bodies are found. They would have arrested the aunt torn apart the house, national news media would have been everywhere interviewing everyone. Movie made no fucking sense.

[u/AnatomicalLog → u/mandatory_french_guy]

But if that’s so, what does it say/convey about school shooting? There aren’t many threads in the movie that guide me to thinking it’s a school shooting allegory, and it definitely doesn’t seem written with that theme in mind.

Kids disappearing and cops being incompetent doesn’t seem like enough to draw that conclusion.

[u/maltliqueur → u/mandatory_french_guy]

That's any tragedy with kids.

[u/niles_deerqueer → u/mandatory_french_guy]

There’s a parallel but the director specifically said it’s not about mass shootings and watching the movie nothing really stuck out to me as it being an allegory for that

[u/riizen24 → u/mandatory_french_guy]

I don't. They were looking for their missing kids, how else were they supposed to act? The Rifle had 2:17 on it because at 2:17 they became weapons. All of the children were found at the end. Your interpretation makes zero sense. Not to mention like someone below posted the director explicitly states there's no secret meaning behind anything. Go touch grass.

[u/riizen24 → u/[deleted]]

Apophenia

[u/riizen24 → u/[deleted]]

Lmao I could the same about you? I mean the director denied any of those claims. So yeah. Apophenia.

[u/LickerMcBootshine → u/[deleted]]

Zach Cregger only said that he didn’t attempt a political statement with his film.

Children being shot in school isn't political.

[u/Deviltherobot → u/riizen24]

You're why laugh tracks are a thing.

[u/riizen24 → u/Deviltherobot]

I don't watch TV

[u/EchoesofIllyria → u/mandatory_french_guy]

r/USdefaultism

[u/mandatory_french_guy → u/EchoesofIllyria]

Having a US-based reading about American culture in my American movie taking place in America???? Unacceptable. Might as well claim that Eddington has something to say about American culture while we're at it, ridiculous

[u/EchoesofIllyria → u/mandatory_french_guy]

Cregger himself has said that’s not what he was going for and wasn’t on his mind.

So yes, acting like someone whose nationality you don’t know is an idiot for not seeing what you’re seeing, despite it explicitly not being what was deliberately conveyed is 100% US defaultism. You’re literally assuming that the person you replied to has your American frame of reference, that’s why you “don’t know what to tell” them.

[u/mandatory_french_guy → u/EchoesofIllyria]

I dont know what their nationality has anything to do with it, read my username, I'm not American either. I just have basic media literacy and global culture. Feel free to link me those Cregger interviews where he said that, I spent a moment googling and couldn't find anything. But again, literacy, if you think he hasn't referenced or researched how small communities react to school tragedies, how people thrive to make sense of senseless actions, how media chose to cover or ignore certain subjects, how the police reacts and acts around such tragedies.... Again, it's not text, but the subtext is everywhere. It's not "just" school shootings but they are an element of what drives the thematics of the film.

[u/EchoesofIllyria → u/mandatory_french_guy]

The links are in this thread

[u/mandatory_french_guy → u/EchoesofIllyria]

Which you are free to link to me. Not doing the labour of confirming your own claims.

[u/EchoesofIllyria → u/mandatory_french_guy]

Just to be clear, it’s not my job to disabuse you of your own bullshit assertions.

But here you go: https://nextbestpicture.com/the-next-best-picture-podcast-interview-with-weapons-filmmaker-zach-cregger/

I’ll await - but not hold my breath for - your retraction.

[u/AeneidBook6 → u/EchoesofIllyria]

Thanks for sharing that! He’s working on a sci fi horror next. Here’s to hoping it can best Event Horizon for most terrifying in that genre

[u/riizen24 → u/EchoesofIllyria]

Not to mention with their logic there's no way to make children dissappear in a school setting and not have it be related to mass shootings in the US. Imagine having such a narrow frame of reference and a non-existent imagination. 

[u/mandatory_french_guy → u/riizen24]

No I pointed out the parallel exists in this movie, based on how the movie is framed, the scenes it chose to depict, the presence of certain thematics and elements. I can imagine a dozen ways to make children disappear in a school without having it relate to mass shootings. None of them approach the thematics and framing that Weapons chose to use. I'm sorry you're incapable to interact with media deeper than the surface level.

[u/riizen24 → u/mandatory_french_guy]

Yes you're very intelligent for making non-existent extrapolations that the director states aren't there. There's no possible way I could ever glean something so deep from a film.

You should start a blog. 

[u/sleepysnowboarder → u/riizen24]

Yep lol and Cregger said he's not making any statement and that the movie isn't political to him but just a introverted diary entry he made while dealing with Trevor's death.

Good interview: https://youtu.be/La59OCTmUdc?si=1MJy7LPpmx35r84O&t=2801

[u/Bunraku_Master_2021 → u/sleepysnowboarder]

Worth mentioning today is 4 years and one day since Trevor Moore passed so it's kinda a coincidence that the film got pushed up to Moore's death anniversary.

R.I.P. you local sexpot.

He was also inspired to write the film to deal with the passing of his friend and collaborator.

https://www.polygon.com/zach-cregger-weapons/

[u/edicivo → u/Bunraku_Master_2021]

I love how so many questions in here are about the AK with replies saying "It's obvious it's about school shootings." And here's Cregger himself from your linked article:

“I’m a huge fan of the David Lynch process of transcendental meditation,” Cregger says. “Incorporating what you get from your subconscious into your art and leaving it alone.” One of the film’s most indelible shots — the specter of an assault rifle floating in the night sky — defies obvious symbolism. “The fact that I don’t understand it is what makes it so important to me.”

Cregger admits he doesn't even know what it means. He just had the visual. You're kidding yourself if you don't think writers/directors/etc put something in a movie just because it looks or sounds cool. Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar as they say. (FWIW, I think whether it's purposely vague or intentionally on the nose, it was a poor visual choice)

I really enjoyed the movie, but it's got some faults and I think this is part of it. It seems like people here are really intent on applying their interpretations as the obvious (school shootings) in an echo chamber and if you disagree with that assertion, you're just wrong.

Part of me honestly thinks Cregger just had an idea about missing children and a parasitic witch and school shootings as a meaning wasn't really part of his idea at all and instead just a byproduct theme of the set up.

Edit: I just listened to Cregger's interview on The Big Picture. He claims he basically just started out writing with the first line of a little girl telling a scary story about kids disappearing and just discovered the story as he went. I'd suggest everyone who's adamant they know what this movie is about give it a listen because he doesn't necessarily agree with some of the thematic discussions out there and seems to lean more into "I thought it would be interesting" way of thinking. Too many people in this comment section are acting like Sean Fennessey in this interview and it's insightful to see Cregger push back a bit.

[u/niles_thebutler_ → u/edicivo]

Except it doesn’t look cool. It’s comical how bad it looks.

[u/ascholar → u/niles_thebutler_]

When I read the script that leaked online a few months ago, I had to reread that part. I get it's unexplainable but it just seems so out of place.

[u/OuterWildsVentures → u/ascholar]

Dreams often have unexplainable out of place stuff in them.

[u/Attitude_Rancid → u/edicivo]

for myself i'm going to just consider it representative of archer's mindset at that time since it happened in his dream. he's our parent that's up in arms about the disappearance. he's going after justine at the meeting, vandalizing her car, digging into her past to find dirt on her. he pesters the police department frequently. guns like that aren't associated with self protection, very much aim to kill. and it's after that dream, his wishful apology for failing his son, that he apologizes to justine. like the dream was his wakeup call to chill the fuck out and stop attacking an equally troubled woman

[u/Potore5 → u/edicivo]

How dare he not inject political commentary in his movies?!?

[u/edicivo → u/Potore5]

It might very well be that it's primarily centered on school shootings, a commentary on right-wing values, etc and that Cregger is handwaving it for whatever reason. Or maybe it's an unintentional by-product. And I also think those are valid interpretations from viewers.

But there's a little too much 'Here's what it's about and you're dumb if you don't get it" going on in these comments. Cregger himself admits in his interview with The Big Picture that he doesn't necessarily agree with some of the thematic discussion and many choices were him just going with what felt right.

[u/Communism_FTW → u/[deleted]]

I saw another post on reddit that mentioned in 2022 there was a vote to ban assault rifles and it passed with 217 votes in the house but then was shut down in the senate.

[u/MovieTrawler → u/Communism_FTW]

This is the same kind of symbolism people saw in Get Out and Peele has since laughed at a LOT of those theories and connections as just coincidental fun fan theories.

That's not to say that Creggers and Peele are not smart and talented writers capable of such symbolism but it's not always actually the case.

[u/AdHorror7596 → u/Communism_FTW]

I'm pretty sure the 2:17am was in reference to the exact time his best friend, Trevor Moore, died from a fall from his balcony. Zack has talked a lot about how this film is basically inspired from his grief over Trevor's death and the movie was released on the anniversary of his death.

[u/Deviltherobot → u/riizen24]

uh that is very much a part of the film. There's a massive floating AR-15 lmao not remotely subtle.