By Charlie Kendellen
Contains spoilers for Weapons
With only two horror features to his name, Zach Cregger has already solidified himself as a master of the genre. His horror directorial debut Barbarian (2022) was received exceptionally well by both critics and audiences alike. It goes without saying that Weapons had a lot of hype and expectations to live up to, and thus far has proven to be both a commercial and critical success.
Weapons is a non-linear episodic narrative following a classroom of eighteen kids who all bar one, disappear at exactly 2:17 am, leaving their desperate parents (standout from Josh Brolin) and their teacher (always stellar Julia Garner) looking for answers. The film plays out in an orderly yet goofy fashion, borrowing elements from auteurs like Paul Thomas Anderson and John Carpenter, whilst simultaneously feeling fresh and inspired.
The title ‘weapons’ of course, referring to the weaponisation of children by adults — our quirky antagonist Gladys weaponising her nephew Alex and manipulating him to secure her murderous life elixir, their teacher Justine weaponising her well-meaning exterior to form connections with her students, often overstepping personal boundaries, frustrated dad Archer weaponises his frustrations against his missing son’s teacher, you get the gist.
Cregger is clearly well-read in the genre of horror. ‘Elevated horror’ is a parody of itself now, and gory popcorn horror is making a welcomed comeback. The film itself in many ways weaponises our exhaustion with the grief / trauma subgenre against us — it doesn’t take itself too seriously whilst still providing meaningful commentary on generational trauma.
Weapons, while undoubtedly a fun time at the cinema, is far from perfect. There will be justified ‘hagsploitation’ criticisms as both of Cregger’s horror films feature depictions of old women as villainous and visually scary, which is a tiresome trope that demands critique, especially after recent criticisms of films like Ti West’s X (2022) and Coralie Fargeat’s The Substance (2024).
Overall, Weapons is best experienced on the biggest, loudest screen possible with an unsuspecting audience. With only two films under his belt, Cregger has established himself as a visionary director of mainstream horror to keep an eye on, and I guarantee many of us are seated for what he delivers next.