10-08-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Have You Seen ‘Weapons'? We Talk About What It Might Mean
This entire article is a spoiler of 'Weapons.'
'Weapons,' the new horror movie from the writer-director Zach Cregger, is chockablock with talismans, assassins, spells and speed racing humans-turned-hell hounds. What does it all mean?
A quick recap: 'Weapons' examines what happens in an American town after all but one child in a grade school class disappears overnight, leaving behind the kids' bewildered teacher, Justine, (Julia Garner), the surviving student, Alex (Cary Christopher), and the despairing parents of the missing, including Archer (Josh Brolin). Amid the chaos enters Gladys (Amy Madigan), a witch with a nefarious plan.
Discussing Cregger in her review of 'Weapons,' Manohla Dargis wrote, 'He has a talent for both creating and maintaining an ominous mood, deploying a classic approach to freaking out audiences by suggesting the very worst (things seem bad!) and delaying the reveal (they are!)'
Cregger declined an interview request to talk about spoilers from his film, so let's take a swing at theorizing what might have inspired him.
Time Crawl
Cregger patiently paces his scares and revelations, as he did in 'Barbarian (2022),' which built dread by plucking nerve after nerve before its harrowing what's-in-the-basement reveal.
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