Weapons Review: 2025 Has Been Remarkable For Horror Movies, And This Is The Best One Yet

Julia Garner as Justine walking outside a school in Weapons.

There are no “rules” in storytelling that can’t be creatively and successfully broken, and writer/director Zach Cregger wonderfully demonstrated that with his 2022 horror debut Barbarian. Spending 40 minutes setting up one narrative only to pivot to a completely new protagonist with no relation to the previous story seems like a preposterous way to structure a movie, but what might be perceived as its most challenging aspect is actually its greatest strength, as the film successfully blindsides the audience in such a way as to release all expectations and open them to any wild surprise that might be coming next.

Weapons

(Image credit: New Line Cinema)

Release Date: August 8, 2025
Directed By: Zach Cregger
Written By: Zach Cregger
Starring: Julia Garner, Josh Brolin, Alden Ehrenreich, Austin Abrams, Benedict Wong, Cary Christopher, June Diane Raphael, Toby Huss, and Amy Madigan
Rating: R for strong bloody violence and grisly images, language throughout, some sexual content and drug use
Runtime: 128 minutes