Over the past few weeks, the 2025 horror film Weapons has gotten plenty of hype thanks to early reviews, giving it a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes (at least, ahead of the film’s wide release). Now, Weapons is finally screening in the Philippines, though a few days ago, we got to watch the film’s PH premiere. What we can say is that we get the hype, and we also think it’s a must-watch horror movie.
As shown in the film’s trailer, Weapons begins with Justine Gandy, an elementary school teacher, who one day sees that 17 out of the 18 children in her class are not at school. Soon, it was discovered that these 17 kids mysteriously disappeared, with cameras showing that they all got up and left their homes at the same time in the early morning.
Based on this premise alone, Weapons already has a compelling central mystery. As you watch the movie and find out more about the story, you’ll understand why lots of early reviews were glowing. Plus, you’ll also understand why there was a big bidding war for the film’s script.
There’s a reason why there was a bidding war for the script
Following director Zach Cregger’s successful 2022 film Barbarian, he began working on the Weapons script. Then, in early 2023, there was a bidding war between big film producers such as Universal and Netflix for it. In the end, it was New Line Cinema that got the rights to the movie.
On one hand, Cregger’s success with Barbarian likely helped, though it’s fair to say that the quality of the script itself was the bigger reason why many big production companies engaged heavily in the screenplay’s auction. After watching the movie, we immediately understood why there was such a big interest in this horror project.
Without giving too much away, the film’s script is unique (at least, for horror film standards) as it shows the story’s events from multiple perspectives. Sure, there have been many films that used a similar storytelling construction, but Weapons does so in a way that keeps you more engaged in the story, all while ratcheting up the tension.
The fact that we see multiple perspectives also means we get to see more sides of each character. While other horror films focus on just the leads, this film is written and structured so that pretty much all the main cast members are given enough time to show the depth of their characters.
Speaking of characters, the film’s cast also did an excellent job in their roles. Julia Garner (whom you may know as the Silver Surfer in the recent Fantastic Four movie) portrays her character Justine well. While you clearly see how much of a toll the events have taken on her, Justine is shown to be a multi-dimensional character, as she’s coping with the events in an interesting and headstrong way.
Then, there’s Josh Brolin, who plays the role of Archer Graff, the father of one of the missing kids. Brolin is best known for playing rather intense characters, and he puts this skill to good use here, all while showing off other, more tender sides at times.
The rest of the cast also do well, with actors like Alden Ehrenreich and Benedict Wong also standing out in their scenes. Plus, a particular child actor is also excellent here; great news given that the character is a key one in the film’s story.
Even though the shifting perspectives might make it seem that the movie will turn into a mystery-thriller, make no mistake. Weapons is still very much a horror film, and in that sense, fans of the genre won’t be disappointed.
Many tense and unnerving moments
In terms of sheer scare factor, Weapons might not be at the top, but that’s because this movie focuses more on building a tense and unnerving atmosphere. As such, the actual scary moments hit much harder. All of this while not relying on jump scares; there was only one real jump scare, but even then, that was a well-executed one.
When it comes to scenes though, there are a couple of stand-out moments. Of course, we don’t want to spoil what happens here, but we can at least say that these scenes are not only unexpected. Plus, one specific scene is a masterclass in how to do horror while keeping things in full view.
What also helps is that the movie truly is unexpected, meaning the events (and the scary scenes) become more gripping. Do take note that the film is not for the faint of heart, as there are scenes with plenty of blood and gore. Maybe not to the level of something like The Substance, but enough to make some people a bit queasy.
On the flip side, there are surprisingly some funny moments here. These are nice contrasts to the tension-filled scenes, but they don’t take away from the unnerving atmosphere of the movie.
Finally, there are some interesting themes in Weapons’ story. For us, the themes aren’t in the forefront as much as other “elevated” horror films, but it’s nice that there are some things to chew on here for fans who want something a bit more from a horror flick.
Weapons (2025) Final Verdict
If you ask us, the early reviews for this film are right, as Weapons is another great horror movie from Zach Cregger. Not only does it deliver on chilling thrills, but it also has a gripping story that’s told in an interesting way. Plus, the cast has done a great job in bringing their characters to life.
Overall, Weapons is worth seeing on the big screen for horror buffs, especially given some of the unique and interesting things it does compared to more typical films in the genre.
Weapons (2025) is now screening in PH cinemas.