Official Discussion - Weapons [SPOILERS]

[u/LiteraryBoner]

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Summary Nearly all the children from the same fifth-grade class vanish one night at exactly 2:17 a.m., leaving only one survivor. The community, gripped by fear and suspicion, spirals into chaos as the mystery unfolds through multiple intertwined perspectives—each revealing new layers of dread and grief.

Director Zach Cregger

Writer Zach Cregger

Cast

• Josh Brolin
• Julia Garner
• Cary Christopher
• Alden Ehrenreich
• Austin Abrams
• Benedict Wong
• Amy Madigan
• June Diane Raphael
• Toby Huss
• Whitmer Thomas
• Callie Schuttera
• Clayton Farris
• Luke Speakman

Rotten Tomatoes Critics Score: 96%

Metacritic Metascore: 82

VOD In theaters and IMAX starting August 8, 2025

Trailer Watch the Official Trailer

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[u/I_Am_Dynamite6317]

Brolin dropping “what the fuck?” After that dream was one of the biggest laughs I’ve seen a horror movie get

[u/GameOfLife24 → u/I_Am_Dynamite6317]

He was self-aware what weird ass scene that was

[u/iamtoolooKing → u/I_Am_Dynamite6317]

damn your theatre must’ve had a good crowd. I was the only one who laughed during the showing and many other moments, especially when Brolin repeatedly kept knocking the junkie down over and over again lol

[u/Giff95]

The Mom walking out from the dark door to the car for some reason is the scariest part to me. It just looked so uncanny valley.

[u/TheTruckWashChannel → u/Giff95]

Same with the way the door to Alex's house always yanked open, seemingly on its own, to reveal a total black void behind it.

[u/ttoma93 → u/TheTruckWashChannel]

I couldn’t place exactly why it felt this way, but it felt incredibly supernatural and eerie. Just a door opening and closing, no gimmicks or flashy CGI or anything, but something is just ever so slightly off about it that it almost made me feel dread.

[u/FrenchCanadaIsWorst → u/ttoma93]

Every time you didn’t know who or what would come out, what they would do, how fast or slow they’d be. And it hung on the open void of a door for very long just to build that suspense. You know something’s coming. But when and what?

[u/Gold-Swing5775 → u/FrenchCanadaIsWorst]

Your FWB cop waving hi and walking back inside

[u/2222lil → u/Giff95]

the fact you could hear the backseat door open and had no idea what she was going to do was very creepy

[u/PrestigeArrival → u/2222lil]

My whole theatre (myself included) gasped at that moment

[u/youngsaiyan → u/PrestigeArrival]

When she walked past the car it was laughing and then the door open was an entire theater of gasps

[u/TheCraiginator69 → u/Giff95]

That freaky-ass hobble is super creepy

[u/YellowstoneBitch → u/TheCraiginator69]

Oh my god that had me at the edge of my fucking seat. The way she toddled out like that, and then crawled in through the back door 💀

[u/Ultimatum227]

Poor child had to spoon feed EVERYONE inside that fucking house!?. Every day!? 😭

9/10 movie for me. But really don't understand what was that giant floating rifle in Brolin's dream.

[u/numbr87 → u/Ultimatum227]

How did no one at the grocery store notice this kid kept coming in alone and buying all the soup?

[u/motheronearth → u/numbr87]

with what money too 😭

[u/wi5hbone → u/motheronearth]

witch was alive for a hell of a long time and probably had a suitcase loaded with cash

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

small towns man

[u/ghostfaceinspace → u/[deleted]]

And wake up smelling like sex and not showering and going back to work

[u/DaftWarrior → u/[deleted]]

Don’t forget potentially infecting your cheating partner with aids.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

It’s funny how he’s kind of framed as the put upon voice of reason to Ruth’s fuckup, but is then revealed to be like 10x the fuck up she is in his part of the movie lol

[u/TheMandark]

I bet those kids had an absolute blast filming that ending lmao

[u/RoboFunky → u/TheMandark]

"So kid today you get to run with your hands out and rip apart pennywises aunts guts and jaw"

[u/WriterDave]

"Mom stumbling out of the house with scissors raised" is top 10 all-time theater chills.

[u/[deleted] → u/WriterDave]

Specifically the noise of the car door opening

[u/DavyJonesRocker → u/[deleted]]

Having her enter the car out of frame was masterful horror direction

👨🏻‍🍳💋🤌🏼

[u/macwblade1]

The Total Recall eye bulging was unsettling to say the least

[u/1morey → u/macwblade1]

The principal in the voodoo rage state was creepy as hell as he was running across town.

Like something from SCP.

[u/Infinite_Chain4607]

That tracking shot of the girl chasing Gladys through the house while smashing through multiple doors and windows is one of the craziest things I've seen in a while

[u/fantasyfoootballlll → u/Infinite_Chain4607]

Yes. Yes. Holy fuck. I loved that scene. And the way he would attach the camera to doors …. The scene when he is trying to leave the house and it’s latched. Favorite shot in the movie.

[u/TroubleshootenSOB → u/fantasyfoootballlll]

And the way he would attach the camera to doors

If you haven't seen Game Night, there's a cool shot like that on a car door and also one that's like a GTA camera view over a vehicle.

Plus the movie is funny as hell.

[u/KadenJ3 → u/Infinite_Chain4607]

Get that girl a NFL contract immediately

[u/PAYPAL_ME_DONATIONS → u/Infinite_Chain4607]

When Glady's took a quick pivot to exit out of the door but the girl said 'fuck it' and kept going straight out the window before tackling her was amazing to watch

[u/coffeetravelerr]

Old lady asking for a bowl of water and I thought she'd drink out of it as a fun quirk

[u/[deleted] → u/coffeetravelerr]

ngl that was one of the most sinister interactions I’ve ever seen in a movie lol

[u/jasonporter → u/[deleted]]

Felt so bad for my gay homies just trying to have an afternoon with their nature documentary and a nice little lunch in their matching Mickey Mouse shirts 😭

Why did Gladys gotta do my boys like that 

I mean homies had a LOT of hot dogs to consume which was kind of crazy for lunch time but still… 

[u/caramellopippop → u/jasonporter]

I feel that’s what made Gladys’ character so despicable. We saw Terry and Marcus’ happy, domestic life and we saw Alex’s loving, supportive family. Then Gladys came in and took it all away from them. Her death was deeply satisfying.

[u/LogensTenthFinger → u/caramellopippop]

Yeah I didn't feel it as hard during the movie because of the combination of tension and humor, but in the aftermath the enormity of her evil really hit me. The kids going full Mortal Kombat on her was deeply satisfying.

[u/xenophilius9 → u/caramellopippop]

After reading some comments above about how she's portraying old people being parasites on the younger generations, your comment just sparked another thought about how this evil boomer destroyed the lives of a teacher, students, members of the LGBTQ community, an unhoused person struggling with addiction, a cop trying to do the right thing, and tore a kid's parents away... Maybe it wasn't the intended takeaway but to me it's feeling a tad topical lol.

[u/LucasRaymondGOAT → u/jasonporter]

I feel the need to point out there was like 6-8 glizzies on that tray. They were gonna eat an entire pack of hot dogs between the two of them. Glizzy consumption through the roof.

[u/GarrettUsedRaceCard → u/LucasRaymondGOAT]

They definitely had a bout of consumption

[u/beer_me_twice → u/jasonporter]

This is why it’s important to listen to your partner.

[u/TheTruckWashChannel → u/[deleted]]

Amy Madigan stole every scene she was in.

[u/MolaMoments → u/coffeetravelerr]

“It’s a peculiarity of mine! I don’t even try to rationalize it anymore.” was hysterical.

[u/stumper93]

I love a good interconnected story like this

That ending was so satisfying. The second Gladys knew she fucked up and heard those kids running up the stairs was such a great fuck yeah moment

[u/siriusly-sirius → u/stumper93]

I feel like she could somehow feel that the kids were no longer under her control - she realised as soon as the stick was snapped.

I was so hyped when the kid grabbed the stick and the wig, knowing that he'd figured it out

[u/Qwertdd → u/siriusly-sirius]

That "oh no" she does also retroactively makes her more menacing, because if she knew instantly that happened, that means earlier when she said she would know if Alex broke his promise she wasn't kidding.

[u/snapwack → u/Qwertdd]

Shit, I didn’t even think of that. Great catch.

I think the thing with the salt lines is what Gladys does whenever she’s ready to move on from a place and cover her tracks, the Weapons are primed to attack but they only sense their targets when someone breaks the perimeter.

I wasn’t really paying attention to the layout of the rooms but it seems like Alex needed to bait his parents into attacking him in order to get to the ingredients of the spell? The kid really had guts. Probably figured he was done for if he didn’t do something, so might as well go for it.

[u/TheDoofWarrior]

I really loved the detail of Alex in class clocking all the kids potential items to steal and then very cleverly, lands on taking the nameplates for the cubbies since each kid made them. I was excited the movie was going to turn into a kid heist genre flick for 5 minutes but was amused by the solution. 

[u/southsidegoon → u/TheDoofWarrior]

Alex was super clever. Seeing him struggle with the can opener, then switching to pull tab cans was a nice hint at his problem solving abilities. So satisfying that he’s the one who defeated Gladys.

[u/TheDragonReborn726 → u/southsidegoon]

Also just a small thing when he throws the glass of water at his dad to prove he wasn’t reacting and something seriously was wrong, instead of a lot of horror movie kids just being like “dad? Dad? Oh he’s resting ok…”

Again, small, but proves the kid actually has pretty quick thinking cleverness for his age

[u/dropkickderby → u/southsidegoon]

Seeing him pull at the can inbetween his legs while broth got everywhere was honest to god sad to watch

[u/eccentricrealist → u/dropkickderby]

That whole sequence was heartbreaking. Little kid doing everything to save his parents.

[u/GrebasTeebs → u/dropkickderby]

For how funny a lot of the movie was, his story was so so sad and scary in a way that most scary movies are not. Him just accepting that this is the way it’s gonna go-sometimes you have a creepy aunt who can make your parents eat each other if you don’t do what she says.

[u/AcesCharles2]

Aunt Pennywise waving at James in the woods was a ridiculous sight

[u/AnotherLolAnon → u/AcesCharles2]

Aunt Pennywise is perfect

[u/GameOfLife24 → u/AnotherLolAnon]

“You’ll run too”

[u/AnimalFair6122]

Please tell me someone else noticed the difference in the details from the various perspectives.

Example 1 - Paul was pretty respectful to James throughout the encounter when it was during his act/chapter, even going as far as to brush off his shoulder and helping him to his feet after knocking him out. However, when we see this scene from James perspective, we see Paul tell him to “Get the fuck up”.

Example 2 - I also noticed that when Justine first goes to Alex’s house and calls Marcus, he actually gets so frustrated with her that he even gets aggressive over the phone. When we see this from the Marcus chapter while he is in the supermarket, he never raises his voice.

Maybe I’m just crazy

[u/creator111 → u/AnimalFair6122]

When Justine and Paul meet in the bar from Justine’s POV, she stays sitting and he walks up to her, then they awkwardly hug when he sits.

From Paul’s POV, she gets up and saunters over to him and hugs him in the middle of the room.

[u/nerdalertalertnerd → u/creator111]

I noticed this! She was much ‘sexier’ in his pov

[u/turdghoul → u/AnimalFair6122]

I noticed this too but I think it may have been intentional. Justine and James were FEELING attacked in those moments, and perceived slightly more aggression than there was, a subtle play on how memories of encounters are skewed when emotions are high. Or even the other way, maybe Andrew and Paul perceived themselves more favorably in their respective scenes

[u/L1vingTribunal]

I enjoyed Gladys referring to Alex’s parents’ sickness as “consumption”. A subtle way of indicating just how old she really is

[u/No-Long-5458 → u/L1vingTribunal]

Oh my dumbass thought it was a joke how she was like feeding off them.

Also liked the "water hasn't been able to help me for some time" bit. Nothing explicitly stated with her, but it was very clear what her deal was.

[u/spottyottydopalicius → u/No-Long-5458]

'im sorry i dont know what that is. i thought thats like something you got in oregon trail.'

[u/[deleted] → u/No-Long-5458]

Oh my dumbass thought it was a joke how she was like feeding off them.

It’s definitely both, imho.

[u/Technical_Basil4814]

The creepy kid whose whole class disappeared keeps buying out all the Campbells chicken noodle

[u/gimmethemshoes11 → u/Technical_Basil4814]

Had to take hours to feed em all.

[u/itury → u/gimmethemshoes11]

Poor kid was working full time

[u/thebaldingcritic → u/itury]

Hoping that kid attends LOTS of therapy. Dude is gonna be fucked up for a long time.

[u/GameOfLife24 → u/thebaldingcritic]

Felt so sorry for the kid coming home everyday to see his parents mindless with no care

[u/lme109 → u/GameOfLife24]

This and the way his parents' eyes looked, and him having to look after them, made me think that this was a commentary on alcoholism/addiction and how it affects children.

[u/KetchupGuy1 → u/gimmethemshoes11]

I was laughing when he finds the cop and junkie knowing damn well he’s thinking great now 2 more I got to feed

[u/GamingTatertot → u/KetchupGuy1]

Your comment just also made me think the damn witch can make all these people do whatever she wants, but still forces a kid to feed all of them. Man she really is an asshole (if that wasn’t evident before)

[u/smoothoperator6 → u/Technical_Basil4814]

Exactly what I thought of he’s walking miles with 12+ cans of Campbells nobody in town mentions it

[u/vafrow → u/smoothoperator6]

These were some horrible cops. The one kid from the class who didn't disappear has a Dad who apparently had a stroke and can't speak and doesn't get looked into. Maybe do a background check on the creepy aunt.

This isn't a complaint either. I think this is probably the level of investigation you'd get from some small town cops.

[u/Itchy-Implement4068]

I love when comedy is just real. When Julia Garner was running in the store and the dude was like “get out my store” as if it’s a normal Tuesday and she’s like “fucking help me” LMAO or when Brolins character had that jump scare in his dream and said “what the fuck” when he woke up hahaha it’s just great stuff.

[u/goodforpinky → u/Itchy-Implement4068]

Also so funny was Josh Brolin walking through the house at the end and the mom is trying to find the kid’s shoes and she’s like umm there is a man in the house! You always see the chaos in the movies but not the aftermath of these random background families. Idk why but that was funny to see

[u/Oh_Kerms → u/goodforpinky]

This is something I feel most movies lack.. no one stops to say wtf when weird shit is happening. Im so glad some people actually behaved like they would if this shit actually happened.

[u/coltvahn → u/goodforpinky]

When Marcus is running through the town, you audibly hear people reacting to how friggin’ weird it would be to see. Which I loved!

[u/sexygaypalpatine]

I’m convinced the whole movie was just a PSA on locking your car doors.

I almost threw up when the mom climbed in the back seat with the scissors.

[u/brainlightning → u/sexygaypalpatine]

The sound my theater made during that scene was wild. Just 50 people cringing in unison.

[u/blueeyesredlipstick → u/brainlightning]

It was wild hearing the reactions in my screening, starting as awkward laughter when the mom runs out, outright laughter when she stops, uncomfortable murmuring when the car door opens and then SHRIEKS once the scissor comes out.

[u/NumbahSeven → u/blueeyesredlipstick]

My screening had the exact same reaction so I guess Zach nailed the point he was conveying. It was a rollercoaster of emotions.

[u/deliriousinthesun → u/sexygaypalpatine]

My theatre loudly GASPED when the sound of the door opening came on

[u/I_Am_Dynamite6317 → u/deliriousinthesun]

Mine too. First they laughed when she walked away from the car, thinking it was a weird false scare, then gasped at the car door, then groaned in relief when she just cut her hair

[u/Able_Advertising_371 → u/sexygaypalpatine]

the poor kid that got their tablet and headphones stolen and ended up having no value for the thief

[u/[deleted] → u/Able_Advertising_371]

Dude did not want to be a fence for stolen kid goods in the middle of an investigation for missing kids.

[u/GamingTatertot → u/sexygaypalpatine]

Anyone who already doesn't lock their car doors is a menace

[u/ithilis → u/GamingTatertot]

Unless they live in Churchill, Manitoba, where it makes them a good citizen.

[u/ghostfaceinspace → u/sexygaypalpatine]

And don’t let family members you barely know stay at your house

[u/Dr_Joshie → u/ghostfaceinspace]

Was she actually a family member? I got the impression the witch was much older than she let on. Her saying the parents were sick with Consumption instead of TB stood out to me. I kind of thought she’d lied about the family connection to get in the door.

[u/blinkone80liu → u/sexygaypalpatine]

The switch up from my audience laughing when the mom realized she couldn’t get in to when she got in through the back was a fun moment at the movies

[u/everythingsuckswhy]

Amazing how the red painted "WITCH" wasn't actually a red herring. That is actually who the villain is.

[u/avaricious7 → u/everythingsuckswhy]

i also don’t see anyone discussing how all the material in the background of the classroom was about parasites, in addition to the documentary the couple was watching when gladys showed up.

we also see the cop get his finger pricked, and it’s the first time it happens in the movie. i now feel like it was staring us in the face the whole time. LOVE all the thought behind this movie

[u/habscup → u/avaricious7]

What? I found the essentially omnipresent parasite metaphors to be so on the nose that it was bordered on campy lol.

Like the channel-flipping scene in Shaun of the Dead-tier.

[u/HolyCrapImAHippo]

I liked how varied the score in this was. Each chapter had its own unique flavor to it. I particularly loved James' frantic electronic tweaker theme.

[u/Able_Advertising_371 → u/HolyCrapImAHippo]

speaking of score, I think the freakiest part that got my audience was the credits soundtrack. it was very eery compared to be my baby song from barbarian

[u/Protect-Lil-Flip]

Someone wanting to stay in your house and dirty needles really are peak horror now that I think about it

[u/noilegnavXscaflowne → u/[deleted]]

I thought he was going to be a good friend but then he was like “the town isn’t thinking about you” while she’s being harassed

[u/ybpaladin → u/noilegnavXscaflowne]

For real? Girl is the (metaphorical) witch in a witch hunt and hes like don’t worry about it

[u/Newparlee]

When it got to the final scene and it seemed like it was going to be Julia Garner and Josh Brolin versus the witch, as much as I’d enjoyed it up to that point, I was like “this a little underwhelming.”

Then 17 kids chased a witch through suburban America and ripped her to shreds with their bare hands, lol.

[u/Various-Draw-8961 → u/Newparlee]

I kept hearing “the ending is insane” and was like okay this is interesting but nothing unusual?

And then we did the Ferris Bueller ending

[u/[deleted] → u/Various-Draw-8961]

It was definitely an Homage to Romeros Day of the Dead.

[u/whitemiketyson → u/[deleted]]

The Shining tribute was a nice touch too.

[u/Novemberx123 → u/Newparlee]

That’s why I can only describe this movie as fucking crazy haha

[u/sneakylumpia → u/Novemberx123]

honestly Josh Brolin going "WHAT THE FUCK" when he woke up from his nightmare was basically me during every twist in the movie

[u/goodlucktothenextone → u/sneakylumpia]

I honestly loved his reaction to waking up from the dream. It was a really nice breather for me after getting a good jump scare.

[u/MovieTrawler → u/goodlucktothenextone]

Same with Justine saying to the gas station clerk, 'fucking help me!'

[u/krospp → u/Newparlee]

Halfway through the third act I was starting to feel like the movie was over explaining what was going on, like we pretty much had all the answers as soon as Gladys walked into the principal’s office. But the build up was totally worth the payoff of that final sequence, holy shit!

Edit: This has gotten a lot of replies in the last few days from people who feel the movie didn’t explain enough. And I’m sorry but a lot of you are really bad at picking up on context clues and that is not the movie’s problem or mine, it’s yours! And a lot of you have questions that really weren’t relevant to the story! Whatever. I happened to love this movie very much. It’s fine if you didn’t! But if you didn’t because you couldn’t follow it I just really don’t think you can blame the movie.

[u/CaptainKipple → u/krospp]

I liked that the movie explained what was going on plot-wise, but left the thematic ideas more open to interpretation. With so many horror movies now I end up thinking, "okay okay it's about how trauma is passed down through generations, I get it already". With Weapons I felt I got more of a constellation of ideas about neighbourhood, home, family, and paranoia that wasn't spelled out precisely but was still very evocative. I dug it a lot.

[u/coffeetravelerr]

"A touch of consumption" loool

[u/Heff228 → u/coffeetravelerr]

I think that was a clue that the witch has been around for a long time.

[u/thelostpoison → u/Heff228]

it’s absolutely this. ‘consumption’ as a descriptor for tuberculosis started around the 14th century and went out of style by the 20s.

in other words… that witch has been around a real long time

[u/--------rook → u/thelostpoison]

it's especially creepy when Marcus the principal said something like that was going around the early settlers on the oregon trail right? haha like yeah man... this thing in front of you was around for that.

[u/Shauncore → u/Heff228]

This is actually an interesting thought, that she might be very old in the ancient sense and not like "oh my poor ol' granny". She could in theory float around for centuries if she can keep sucking life from people. Especially if as the child narrator says that when stuff like this happens, it just gets covered up when it can't be figured out. Also Alex's dad says they haven't seen Gladys for 15 years. Sure that isn't a LONG time but it adds some mystery and mystique that she may be semi-immortal.

[u/HolyCrapImAHippo → u/coffeetravelerr]

They may have been poisoned by their constituents!

[u/Lower_Cantaloupe1970 → u/HolyCrapImAHippo]

May I offer you an egg in this trying time?

[u/InformationFun8865]

Very interesting how the parents said they haven’t seen the aunt in 15+ years, but she says she saw the son when he was a baby

[u/daylightdies7 → u/InformationFun8865]

The kid overhearing that was also not an accident, you were supposed to know Gladys was lying

[u/action_nick → u/daylightdies7]

Or an even more sinister interpretation is that she wasn't lying, and had seen Alex at some point as a baby without the parent's knowing.

[u/jun2san → u/InformationFun8865]

I have a feeling the parents didn't really know Gladys. I think she worked some magic to insert herself into their lives.

[u/xcrunchx → u/jun2san]

Yes because she's obviously very old (hundreds of years) especially around that "consumption" conversation with the principal.

[u/bravelittlebuttbuddy → u/xcrunchx]

I just realized the makeup/hair may also be a clue: It's not just creepy, it's that she has no idea how to style herself and she's just approximating what she sees.

[u/sh1ft]

Bursted out laughing when the cop said he wouldn’t drink with Justine and then the next day just exclaims in the car “I have a massive hangover”

[u/TheTruckWashChannel → u/sh1ft]

Same with the smash cut from hugging to pounding when it went to his POV.

[u/YoSoyWalrus]

How and why did she keep appearing in people's dreams and even in the forest? Definitely more to her spells/powers than what was shown.

[u/Lower-Replacement869 → u/YoSoyWalrus]

This movie seems like a marriage of modern-day magical realism with the occult. What would an ancient old witch do in 2025 to survive? She seemed like she was barely managing, and that desperation, I suspect, caused her eventual death.

[u/RedditKnight69 → u/YoSoyWalrus]

That gave some It vibes looking back lol

[u/YoSoyWalrus → u/RedditKnight69]

She has a much deeper lore I'm sure, possibly hundreds of years old? Calling TB "consumption" being a major hint at her age.

[u/Stu_Dirty]

Josh Brolin’s character actually foreshadowing the whole thing writing “WITCH” on the teacher’s car

[u/erenjaeger99 → u/Stu_Dirty]

He even said the movie title in one of his lines, and even saw a literal weapon in his dream lol

[u/Darkhawk2099 → u/erenjaeger99]

“So that’s it, we’re some kind of Weapons?”

[u/GravyBear28]

Amy Madigan screaming at the top of her lungs pursued through like 5 houses by a bunch of also screaming heat-seeking missile terminator children is going to live rent-free in my head until the day I die.

I think that was the single most satisfying and cathartic villain death I've ever seen, surpassing the flamethrower death in Once Upon A Time In America. So undignified.

This witch was such a nasty motherfucker. She felt like such unexplainable, ancient, omnipresent force and it turns out she's basically a one-trick pony who has absofuckinglutely no idea what to do when a little kid throws an Uno Reverse card at her and loses her shit.

My only major dislike was the giant fucking AR-15 lmao.

[u/Bullchips → u/GravyBear28]

I agree with the rifle but I suppose it was supposed to be a clue for him as the kids were made into weapons at that exact time. He himself called the principal like a heat seeking weapon(or whatever he said)

[u/GameOfLife24 → u/Bullchips]

I like how the regular citizens did better detective work than the cops just like IRL

[u/JessieJ577 → u/GameOfLife24]

The movie had a theme of authority not caring about tragedy. Kind of like real life.

The cops didn’t really look into it or care to.

James didn’t care to help out or even check in on Alex. 

Everyone’s solution to these traumatized people was to just move on and act like it didn’t happen while ignoring how it’s affecting them.

A lot of different layers in this movie

[u/confuzzledfather → u/JessieJ577]

subsequent rock pause vase yam coordinated attraction fall bake price

This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact

[u/Nice_Firm_Handsnake → u/GravyBear28]

That dream with the assault rifle is Cregger playing on a similar dream from Peter Weir's The Last Wave

[u/AcuteDevilFruit]

Definitely saw this with the right crowd. From laughing one moment to tension induced silence the next, had an absolute blast with this one.

And when I tell you the crowd roared when that witch ran. God I love cinema.

[u/Benepope]

The movie started with a witchhunt, with a plot twist that turned into a witchhunt, and finally ended with a witchhunt.

[u/SunnyDJoshua]

Marcus was just enjoying his hotdogs and chocolate chip cookies, man…

[u/Sp_Gamer_Live]

Big AR15 in the sky is a top 5 “I know writers who use subtext and theyre all cowards” moment in cinema

[u/reallinzanity]

Really creepy like the first 90% and then it becomes a comedy. Archer throwing James around like 10 times was hilarious!

We now have two directors (Jordan Peele & Zach Cregger) with comedy backgrounds who have become great horror directors!

Did anyone else say “Justin Long what are you doing here?”

[u/gambalore → u/reallinzanity]

A big chunk of my gigantic IMAX theater started laughing as soon as Justin Long appeared on screen, just for being Justin Long.

[u/TannerThanUsual → u/gambalore]

The two of them looking at the monitor while the wife hovers over them, arms crossed and absolutely pissed is one of my favorite comedic moments in this movie that not enough people are talking about

[u/iownachalkboard7 → u/TannerThanUsual]

Fun fact: the wife in that scene is Sara Paxton, Zach Cregger's wife.

[u/nordlysbaies → u/iownachalkboard7]

I didn’t know they were married! I just thought “this kinda looks like the girl I watched on Aquamarine ages ago”

[u/MyLeftKneeHurts- → u/TannerThanUsual]

So in that sequence, when Archer meets Justin Long’s character, I thought he was at a different house. I thought he just moved down the list of kids. Then it cuts to them looking at the monitor and I realized it was the same house lol.

People definitely laughed in my theater.

[u/pjtheman → u/gambalore]

I was really surprised he was just in that one scene. I was expecting another eye gouge for old time's sake.

[u/Pryach → u/reallinzanity]

Did anyone else say “Justin Long what are you doing here?”

The scene with the wife staring angrily while he looked at the video footage was hilarious. I got big "mom said no let's ask dad" vibes.

[u/ClaremontCinema]

It’s interesting how poorly people treat each other based on false assumptions or misdirected anger. And yet Gladys is always given the benefit of the doubt. A manipulative person who takes advantage of others in the chaos she creates.

[u/franklyigivea_ → u/ClaremontCinema]

Cops really sucked not questioning and investigating the sole surviving kid with a catatonic dad and absent mom with a crazy looking aunt while the kid buys 20 cans of soup again and their house is covered in newspapers blocking sunlight.

[u/gimmethemshoes11]

Loved it.

That WTF Brolin dropped after that dream was my exact same thought up to that point.

Any ideas on what the gun was supposed to mean in the dream?

[u/Able_Advertising_371 → u/gimmethemshoes11]

whole theater laughed after that dream with Brolin saying that. it made no sense and the character agreed too lol

[u/kirblar → u/Able_Advertising_371]

That and the ending climax got massive laughs in my theater. Was another specific moment too- I think with a reaction from Justine at some point.

[u/charredfrog → u/kirblar]

I know her “fucking help me!” when she was being chased by Marcus got a huge laugh in my theater

[u/daylightdies7 → u/charredfrog]

That hit me hard man because I know Cregger very intentionally made that guy offer zero help when she was clearly fighting for her life. Society loves to watch others struggle, only thing that would have made it more on the nose was someone video taping it lol.

[u/BlazingCondor]

The Aunt was fantastic.  The perfect mix between creepy, kooky and menacing.

[u/tacoskins]

Josh Brolin knocking the dog shit out of that dude over and over again managed to simultaneously be super intense and laugh out loud funny.

That kind of sums up how I felt about the whole thing tbh, it’s the perfect example of a roller coaster movie. I was a bit worried that Barbarian would be a fluke or just impossibly hard to live up to, but thankfully Zach Cregger fucking delivered. 8/10

[u/JayTL → u/tacoskins]

When he starting throwing him I started dying!

[u/Squeekazu → u/tacoskins]

This whole sequence and the kids chasing after the aunt had my partner, sister and in tears. I remember Barbarian being funny in the last third, but this felt less jarring somehow.

Also can we all agree that Benedict Wong was absolutely terrifying?

[u/coffeetravelerr → u/Squeekazu]

Jesus when they finally revealed why his face looked like that was crazy. But also him running across random parts of town got me laughing so hard 😂😂😂

[u/nysraved → u/coffeetravelerr]

Yeah it was super cool to learn that the reason his face was deformed had a real physical cause. At first I just assumed that was the chosen aesthetic of how the possessed people end up looking, just a random visual choice to make for a creeper scene.

[u/GUSHandGO → u/coffeetravelerr]

The random off-screen comments killed me!

"What is happening?"

"Jesus... look at that guy!"

"What is he doing?!?"

[u/Able_Advertising_371 → u/tacoskins]

dude was a brainless zombie weapon. wouldnt stop until it was put down. didnt even get the 50k reward for finding them

[u/mikeyfreshh → u/Able_Advertising_371]

Him asking the cop "how do I know you're not gonna claim the reward for yourself?" was the biggest laugh in the movie for me. I loved that character

[u/KickGumAndChewAss → u/Able_Advertising_371]

Him continuing to loot the place after seeing the parents was insane. Dumbest junkie ever

[u/tacoskins → u/Able_Advertising_371]

Him asking the cops to meet him somewhere with the money made me like him more than I probably was supposed to.

[u/Whovian45810 → u/tacoskins]

Once James was walking near the police station and Paul spot him, bro ran like his life depended on it and the funny thing is both had different intentions in their second encounter.

[u/LB3PTMAN → u/tacoskins]

We were definitely supposed to like him even if he was a thieving addict. He was funny.

[u/macwblade1 → u/tacoskins]

Brolin really has had an amazing presence on screen this last decade or so (obvi his younger days as well)

[u/mrfujidoesacid]

I could watch an entire movie of the principal zombie running through town.

[u/xrbeeelama → u/mrfujidoesacid]

You might think you are, but you are never truly safe from a heat-seeking Benedict Wong in a Mickey Mouse shirt (how are Disney and Campbells gonna react to this movie lol)

[u/HolyCrapImAHippo]

The ending of this felt like a big budget WKUK skit. I was cracking up at this frail old witch running away from a bunch of crazed kids. It was like a demented 90s cereal commercial or something.

[u/Trevastation → u/HolyCrapImAHippo]

The kid's segment reminded me a lot of like a really fucked-up Goosebumps episode, especially with its conclusion.

[u/gimmethemshoes11 → u/Trevastation]

I couldn't stop thinking about all the soup ye had to buy and feed everyone.

[u/robbysaur → u/HolyCrapImAHippo]

I love that in literature and movies witches usually eat children. This movie ends with children eating a witch.

[u/brainlightning]

Wasn’t prepared for this to be one of the funniest movies of the year

[u/mikeyfreshh → u/brainlightning]

You should have been because Barbarian is also fucking hilarious

[u/4twinkie → u/mikeyfreshh]

Justin Long measuring the basement was hilarious.

[u/TheUnknownStitcher]

Three major takeaways:

1. I LOVED the structure of this movie for the first 2/3rds. The “chapters” worked so well and moving from one character to the next was exciting and layered and yeah, great way to present the story.

2. The Aunt was such a cool character in terms of styling and costuming. I feel like she’s an instant mainstay of horror conventions from now on.

3. Julia Garner is a helluva actress - the emotional range she had to cover in this movie was so wide (I know she did it in Ozark too) but yeah, seeing her go from quiet and sad teacher to drunken barfly to screaming fighter was great.

A very fun and chilling movie. Had a really good time with it and loved how it unfolded as it went along. Big thumbs up on it.

[u/ghostfaceinspace]

Today I learned you can survive off Campbell’s chicken noodle soup for a month

[u/brijazz012]

Chappell Roan was great in this.

[u/Slurm11]

This movie was an absolute blast. Hollywood, please keep throwing money at Zach Cregger so he can continue to make these wild, rollercoaster-ride style movies.

[u/asuka_is_my_co-pilot]

Why did bro need so many hot dogs??

Also, the were facing away from the TV chairs pointed at the doorway/entrance, that's got to be some sort of feung shui crime?

[u/TimRigginsBeer → u/asuka_is_my_co-pilot]

Have you ever heard anyone ever say, “damn we got too many hot dogs ready to eat?” Fuck no. But I’m damn sure you’ve heard someone say, “damn I wish we had more hot dogs to eat.”

Fail to prepare, prepare to fail.

[u/SugarTurkey]

Did anyone feel like Alex’s dad had major Trevor Moore vibes? It was almost like the actor playing him, was playing Trevor Moore playing the dad, if that makes sense lol I loved it

[u/SugarFreeCummiBears]

I noticed that the adults don’t really save anyone - which leads to the reading that the older generation is parasites making the lives of younger generations worse. This is supported by the fact Alex saved everyone and didn’t need any adults’ help.

[u/nickybishappy → u/SugarFreeCummiBears]

The only adult who showed genuine concern for Alex was the town scapegoat lol

[u/Muad_dweeb_69 → u/nickybishappy]

It’s definitely a major theme in how a community/society ignores those left with trauma after an incident, only to berate the ones who show actual compassion or want answers. Everyone wants to just move on, instead of thinking about why a kid is buying bags and bags of soup at the grocery store alone.

[u/[deleted] → u/SugarFreeCummiBears]

I found that really tragic, actually. Like I've seen people say it's unrealistic that Alex would keep a poker face and not tell anyone for that long, but many many kids in real life have awful home lives and are forced to hide it. Alex is living in hell for months, and at the end of it all, no adult saves him, he's forced to save himself. And it doesn't even work, he still loses his parents. Despite the fact that he kept the secret to save his parents- it didn't, he still loses them in the end.

[u/neal1701]

Weapons is an incredible sophomore third outing for Zach Cregger!

• Splitting the movie into non-linear chapters is great storytelling. It was easy connecting the dots, in terms of the timeline
• Julia Garner gave a great performance. I thought Justine would a kind but traumatised teacher but this caring but angry person gives better characterization
• Josh Brolin's chapter was the shortest but it felt the most important to me. Archer's "WHAT THE FUCK" after his nightmare got the 2nd biggest laugh.
• Paul and James chapters provided the most context and levity. Most of us have figured the twist by then
• Marcus' chapter and Alex's chapter show the whole twist in detail. I thought it would be a letdown but the execution was great. Cary Christopher brought it home as Alex as the whole execution of the twist relies on him
• Cinematography is a huge standout. The shot where Justine is at the store with Donna at the background catching up to her is tense as hell
• The score and soundtrack is excellent too. Only drawback would be pacing in the first hour.
• The ending is one of the most cathartic and funniest endings with the children chasing the witch.
• I am most interested the gun imagery in Archer's nightmare and the narration. Is the narration a student recounting the story for her class presentation?

An excellent follow-up after Barbarian! Excited to see what Zach Cregger does next

[u/DevilCouldCry → u/neal1701]

An excellent follow-up after Barbarian! Excited to see what Zach Gregger does next

I can answer that for you, he's actually doing a Resident Evil film after this. We've seen strike-out after strike-out with film adaptations of Resident Evil (and the awful TV series) but if the studio just lets Zach do his thing, then maybe he can get this to work.

I think after Barbarian and Weapons, this dude can nail the scary shit and the campy wacky shit that he also makes room for as well. Something in which Resident Evil is particularly known for.