The Scream Queen

If there’s ever a year to release a horror movie that goes all guns-blazing when it comes to being batshit insane, then its 2025. We’ve had everything from a group of Power Rangers-esque zombie killers (28 Years Later) to two people merging into one (Together) to the return of killer log trucks (Final Destination Bloodlines). Horror has been firing on all cylinders in the weird and wonderful department as of late, and the amalgamation of such originality unsurprisingly comes from Barbarian director Zach Cregger with his sophomore feature; Weapons. Like many other horror movies in this day and age, the mysterious marketing campaign shot the film into the viral stratosphere, and as such, the hype for what has been hailed as the ‘horror of the year’ has reached soaring heights. But, does Weapons manage to live up to such acclaim? Well, Cregger certainly takes a fun stab at it.

* Major spoilers ahead.

One Wednesday, at 2:17AM, every child from Miss Gandy’s class got up, got out of bed, and ran out into the night… and they never came back. It’s the main mystery that concerns the narrative of Weapons, which follows the breakdown of a community after the aforementioned incident. The film plays out like a fairytale, split into chapters following each character’s journey, each of which acts as a vital piece of the puzzle. We start with the most obvious; school teacher Justine Gandy (Julia Garner), with whom many of the townsfolk point their pitchforks towards. She drinks away her nights after being branded a witch, although from the offset it’s clear she is merely a pawn in a much larger game being played. Opposing her is Archer Graff (Josh Brolin); the father of one of the missing children who’s grief is exploited as anger and resentment towards Justine, even though he feels partial guilt himself over not expressing his love to his child enough. Other characters filling out each chapter include morally questionable police officer Paul (Alden Ehrenreich), homeless drug addict James (Austin Abrams), well-meaning school principal Marcus (Benedict Wong), and the one child left behind, Alex (Cary Christopher). Every adult in the film is a complex and fulfilled character whom we can find flaws in as much as we can empathise with them. They themselves are not unaware of their flaws; rather they choose to ignore them and bury them away.

Neglect and ignorance are themes which prevail as the picture becomes clearer, particularly when we arrive at Alex’s chapter. The reveal of Aunt Gladys (Amy Madigan) is a welcome surprise, as instead of a convoluted twist or unexplainable imagery which is impossible to decode, the answer to what has been happening is simply that a witch is behind it all. Aunt Gladys pops up early in the film in terrifying nightmares experienced by Justine and Archer, wherein her appearance proves Cregger is a master when it comes to classic jump scares; an art form which feels long forgotten in the current world of horror. Her appearances are strange and confusing at first, until we realise she is the one pulling the strings. Once again, Weapons returns to being a fairytale, as she is all of our childhood villains rolled into one; the pied piper, the wicked hag, the big bad wolf who summons children to their doom. Played to perfection by Amy Madigan, Aunt Gladys is both comforting and terrifying at once. She is quirky and crazy old lady to the outside world, but Alex knows the terrifying truth. His story is heartbreaking, as we see him taking care of his parents (who are zombies under Gladys’ spell), and eventually all the other kids in his class too, who are hidden in his basement. Small moments of innocence, like Alex struggling to open a tin of Campbell’s soup with a can opener, remind us he really is just a child being forced to cope with the unimaginable.

But Weapons never gets weighed down in becoming too heavy-hearted, despite its distressing subject matter. As evidenced by his previous film, Barbarian, Cregger knows how to strike the balance of darkness and comic relief. Weapons is at once terrifying and funny, but the two work in harmony rather than acting as a tonal whiplash for audiences. There’s moments where you don’t know whether to laugh or be frightened (where Aunt Gladys is involved, its probably both), and although some characters feel overdrawn out for comic relief, they give the film the much needed dose of levity it requires. Like so many other horror films we have seen this year thus far, Weapons strays from the trend of psychologically inclined elevated horror to give audiences a wildly entertaining tale that turns the tables half way through, and ends with a group of children ripping an evil old witch limb from limb. There’s stuff going on below the surface which I’m sure will be deciphered through countless video essays and articles that feed audiences’ endless hunger for explanation. But, don’t think too much about that; first and foremost, Weapons is meant to be enjoyed as a fun return to the horror fairytale. It’s not perfect by any means, but it’s original, creative, and one hell of a way take a shot within the genre.

Final Verdict:

Weapons is a force of entertainment, locked and loaded with scares and surprises that cement Zach Cregger as one of the most exciting new visionaries within horror. Delightfully daring and beyond original, each chapter of Weapons’ scary fairytale reveals the secrets Cregger has hidden up his sleeve. From gruesome gore to jump-out-of-your-seat scares, Weapons will keep you entranced through to the very end. Run to the cinemas to see this on the big screen while you can.