If you thought this summer was shaping up to be a total dud for major studio releases, think again — Zach Cregger’s wildly entertaining “Weapons” is here to save the day.
What a well-crafted ride this turned out to be. Sure, detractors might gripe that it’s not exactly filled with thematic depth, but who cares when the result is such a great time at the movies? Cregger’s ambition and multi-layered storytelling, each thread stacking on top of the other, was genuinely impressive.
“Weapons” isn’t just a follow-up, it’s proof that Cregger is no one-hit wonder after “Barbarian.” Cregger doubles down on tension, misdirection, and a wicked sense of humor, the kind of confident filmmaking that announces a very special filmmaker to come.
What really hooked me wasn’t just the audacious decision to hop between points of view, sometimes letting moments overlap like a dream. This is, at its core, a child’s nightmare rendered in cinema. I found myself constantly blindsided by where it was heading — the kind of film you should walk into blind, avoiding the pre-screening chatter.
Amy Madigan, in a turn both deranged and magnetic, damn well deserves an Oscar nomination (though we know she won’t get it). And that ending, simultaneously comedic and terrifying, takes real guts to pull off. Kudos to Cregger, who now cements himself in the ranks of modern horror auteurs.
And here’s the kicker: audiences are actually showing up. “Weapons” is now playing in theaters, with early reactions strongly positive. The buzz is already translating into box office muscle: $18M on Friday, with an opening weekend likely north of $40M— a major accomplishment for an R-rated original film with no marquee stars. Sometimes, all you really need is a filmmaker swinging for the fences.
Please, watch this film in a crowded theater, with all of the gasps, nervous laughs, and the occasional “what the hell just happened?” murmured in the dark. It’s big, it’s weird, it’s unapologetic. Cregger isn’t afraid to make choices that will alienate some viewers, and that’s exactly why it works.
The lesson? Horror is still one of the last genres where directors can take real swings in the studio system. We’ve had quite a few well-reviewed films this year, “28 Years Later,” “Sinners,” “Bring Her Back,” “Comapnion,” “Final Destination,” “Drop.” However, “Weapons,” which Cregger has just knocked out of the park, is the best of the lot.