Weapons (2025)

Director: Zach Cregger

Starring: Julia Garner, Josh Brolin, Alden Ehrenreich

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

Note: Spoilers ahead! There are 18 kids in teacher Justine Gandy’s class, but when 17 of them disappear at the same time one morning, questions arise as to whether Justine had something to do with it. Only one boy, Alex, came to school as normal. However, when Justine follows Alex home one day, we realize his circumstances are anything but normal.

‘Weapons’ has a unique narration. It is told from the perspective of several individuals, so during the course of the movie we see the same scenes, but from a different angle, and each time adding more detail. It also so effectively illustrates how every action has a counter-action.

I mostly enjoyed the movie from Justine’s perspective. From the beginning, I actually never doubted her innocence. Even when she was accused of being a witch, there was still no doubt in my mind that she was a victim, and not an accomplice. I enjoyed her being a very strong and determined character, yet also vulnerable.

‘Weapons’ isn’t a horror movie. It might be phycological horror, yes, but this is not the blood and gore kind of movie. Ok, there’s one scene at the end that’s a bit gory…But ‘Weapons’ is mostly a mystery thriller – and a very interesting one at that as it keeps the viewer guessing.

I still don’t fully understand why the film is called ‘Weapons’. An ailing witch needs the energy from the kids to keep her alive, and I believe “weapons” is used figuratively. This is a very stylish film with excellent performances and good sound effects.

Would I watch it again? With the film’s hype and success, I expected to be blown away, but it didn’t do the same for me as ‘The Substance’, ‘Smile 2’ and ‘Bring Her Back’ did. I guess I would like to see it again sometime, though.

‘Weapons’ was a huge box office success, raking in $252.4 million on a budget of $38 million.