Weapons (2025)
Directed by Zach Cregger
When all but one child from the same class mysteriously vanish on the same night at exactly the same time, a community is left questioning who or what is behind their disappearance.
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77 films that influenced Weapons
What critics say influenced Weapons
The homages are obvious, especially regarding What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?, Magnolia, and The Shining.
Cregger has cited Paul Thomas Anderson’s Magnolia as an influence…
Inspired by John C. Reilly’s character in the similar ensemble epic Magnolia, Paul (Alden Ehrenreich) hides his demons in the most literal way…
…influenced by Paul Thomas Anderson’s Magnolia (1999)…
Cregger has stated that the work of Paul Thomas Anderson, especially Magnolia, was a huge influence on the film, and this is clear both in the multi-stranded narrative and some of the characterisation (Ehrenreich’s cop is very similar to John C Reilly’s character in the earlier film) and some kinetic camerawork that recalls the big dramatic moments in Anderson’s film.
The film follows a non-linear structure and has already drawn comparisons to Pulp Fiction or Magnolia, mostly because of the ensemble cast, and dark comedy, but that's where the similarities end.
…the character design calls to mind both The Witches (2020) and Longlegs (2024) in that it’s a bastardization of standard beauty practices that’s immediately jarring to witness even from far away.
Weapons feels very much like this year’s Longlegs, an age-old story which feels familiar but told in an innovative new way…
…clear sympathy between Cregger’s two horror films and the grotesque and blackly comic sensibility of Longlegs’ Osgood Perkins.
There's a Longlegs vibe as horror influences crank louder, ditching real-world answers in favor of darkness from beyond.
“Weapons” (2025) is my “Longlegs” (2024).
Akin to the mysteriousness of Nicolas Cage’s character in last year’s Longlegs, the marketing for Weapons left out one of the most talked-about elements: Gladys.
Cregger dispenses with a 3-act format and chooses instead to tell the story non-linearly from the perspectives of 6 different characters, Rashomon style.
Cregger applies a Rashomon-esque story structure to this suburban sprawl of WiFi doorbells and lite beer.
The art of perspective propels the story as it's framed in a Rashomon-style fashion.
Their points of view don't always line up, and while those Rashomon-like deviations hint at a possibly more interesting film…
The point isn’t a Rashomon-esque rumination on truth…
…but also in the multiple vantage point style established by the seminal 1950 film Rashomon for which the titular psychological effect was named…
Weapons suffers from the same issues as many mysteries of the same ilk (thinking of Prisoners) where it teeters the longer it progresses.
Like one of its inspirations, Prisoners, this film is a deep, dark rabbit hole you’ll want to keep tumbling down.
…the glum dad (Josh Brolin in this case) from "missing children" thrillers like Prisoners…
Tonally, the film resembles Denis Villeneuve’s dark 2013 missing child drama Prisoners…
Archer might envision himself as the vengeful dad from Prisoners (2013), but he’s closer to the woodcutter in a fairy tale – and not one of the more effective woodcutters, either.
It reminded me of Denis Villeneuve’s lurid missing children thriller Prisoners…
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There are nods to They Came Back by Robin Campillo, Barbarian, The Shining and a host of classic ‘kid-centred‘ horrors.
…and even some parental rage straight out of The Shining.
The homages are obvious, especially regarding What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?, Magnolia, and The Shining.
It draws inspiration from classics like The Shining, Hereditary, Day of the Dead, and a kind of reverse Village of the Damned.
…the film’s hellzapoppin’ final act, which draws inspiration from sources as far-ranging as The Shining and Tennessee Williams’ Suddenly, Last Summer…
Horror films ranging from The Crazies (1973) to The Shining (1980) to The Blair Witch Project (1999) receive nods, alongside odder visual pulls like Brazil (1985).
…the jump-cut, kinetic energy of a Pulp Fiction-style narrative…
It’s no Pulp Fiction…
The film follows a non-linear structure and has already drawn comparisons to Pulp Fiction or Magnolia, mostly because of the ensemble cast, and dark comedy, but that's where the similarities end.
Much like Go or certain portions of Pulp Fiction, we see the same period of time repeatedly from different characters’ points of view…
Its structure is immaculately constructed by Cregger with a series of vignettes for multiple characters that echoes Pulp Fiction in the way that intersect and connect the fuller story…
Cregger crafts a film that owes a considerable debt to ensemble tales like Paul Thomas Anderson's "Magnolia" and Quentin Tarantino's "Pulp Fiction."
And like in Barbarian, a lot of the “horror” has an underlying tinge of humor and fun…
Much like “Barbarian,” audiences will find themselves laughing hysterically one moment only to be startled the next, all while a palpable disturbance settles over the film.
…with the gonzo spirit that made BARBARIAN such a sensation.
When Barbarian came out in theatres, the #MeToo movement had quieted in mainstream culture, but its effects still rang strong, heightening the film's themes of misogyny and violence against women.
From battling a stranger inside one's home to becoming a stranger in one's own home, Weapons is an apt follow-up to Barbarian.
…the same few who laughably claimed Barbarian was a powerful #MeToo statement…
When something like Hereditary or Prometheus comes along and insists on explaining every little thing, the main criticism is that exposition dilutes the horror…
It has a bit of Hereditary's familial trauma beats…
Seven years ago, it reached a peak with Ari Aster’s Hereditary—a film that explored generational trauma, the stress of parenting, and the hollow reality of death.
I’ve seen a lot of comparisons between Weapons and Hereditary and I get why. Both are disturbing horror films that revel in human depravity. However, there’s a glaring difference. Hereditary director Ari Aster makes horror films that come across like he’s intent on punishing the audience.
There’s a hint of Hereditary in Weapons.
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His ability to navigate abrupt tonal and narrative shifts without sacrificing thematic cohesion positioned him alongside contemporary horror auteurs, including Jordan Peele (Get Out) and Robert Eggers (Nosferatu).
…hence why it functions more as wildly entertaining popcorn horror than it does as razor-sharp social critique in the vein of fellow sketch-comic-turned-horror-director Jordan Peele…
Not since his own debut Get Out has a horror movie packed this much playfulness and invention…
It draws inspiration from classics like The Shining, Hereditary, Day of the Dead, and a kind of reverse Village of the Damned.
For every gross-out Day Of The Dead moment or freaky-faced jumpscare…