There is a ton of hype around Weapons, with many saying that it is one of, if not the best, horrors of the year. I was really pumped to go and see this, and for a Thursday afternoon a week after the movie had released, the theatre was actually pretty busy. Right off the bat, this is a kind of weird, mystery horror movie, and I would say that the best recent comparison is the fantastic Longlegs from 2024.
Where to Watch Weapons
Weapons was released on August 8, 2025. You can expect to be able to stream the film from HBO Max in 2-3 months from its theatrical release date.
The Movie Review
I am someone who is very, very critical of trailers that basically tell you the whole movie. Weapons, along with the also awesome Sinners, is up there as the best movie trailers of the year. You know that going into this that the story of the movie is about a class of kids where all but one go missing. That is all you need to know going in. Do not read anything else or watch any YouTube videos about it.
A Town Gripped by Fear and Suspicion
This is a somewhat small town, and the parents, as well as the other people in town, are at their wits’ end, trying to figure out what happened to the kids. The third-grade teacher, Justine, is at the center of the anger of the parents, with many thinking that she is either involved or that she knows more than she is letting on.
One of the parents of the missing kids, a man called Archer, is leading the charge for trying to find the kids, and sick of the lack of progress, he starts his own investigation. We also have the kid, Alex, who, for a reason we find out about halfway into the movie, did not go missing. The way the movie is presented is very interesting in that we have one story, but we get to see it from different points of view, with several characters getting their own perspective.
Weapons Film Structure and Narrative Style
I did not know this going in, but I really liked it. I think that the movie could have perhaps been a tad longer, as I would have liked to have spent a little more time with each of the characters. However, I really think that they pulled off what they were going for here, and I was invested, pretty much all the way until the end. Even when I found out the “how and why” the kids went missing, I was on the edge of my seat, wondering how everyone in this story would get out of the situation they found themselves in.
Horror Elements and Age Rating in Weapons
There are not a ton of scares in Weapons; there are certainly a couple of epic jump scares, one of which really did get me and made my wife chuckle as I flinched in my seat! Yet, I would say this is more of a mystery than a straight-up horror. Here in the UK, our highest age rating is 18, and it takes a lot for a movie to get that rating these days. Many studios will edit a movie to try and get the rating to a 15 so more people can see it. With this in mind, I am always curious as to how extreme a movie with an 18 age rating will be.
For like 90 percent of Weapons, I was not sure exactly why this had the 18 age rating, but holy crap does the remaining 10 percent make it obvious why this movie is rated the way that it is! I guess you would have to put this in the horror category, due to what the story is about. However, it is a mystery thriller as well.
Weapons Cast and Performances
We have a great cast bringing this story to life. Julia Garner and Josh Brolin are the main two, but there is also Alden Ehrenreich, Austin Abrams, Amy Madigan, Benedict Wong, and young Cary Christopher here. Everyone does a fantastic job in their roles, and I love the way that Archer and Justine clearly want to find the kids and do the right thing, but they are clearly damaged and rocked by this awful situation that they are in.
Final Thoughts on Weapons
Do I think that Weapons is this horror masterpiece that some are claiming it is? I would have to say no, but I do think that this is a very entertaining thrill ride that I really wanted to see the conclusion of. It hooked me from the start, and while it may have ended a bit abruptly, and the movie left me wanting a bit more, I was still very satisfied. This is a movie that I am actually pretty excited to see it again when it comes out on Blu-Ray or 4K.
