Weapons review out now

A NPR review of Weapons examines how a community wrestles with a trauma that arrives like a natural disaster and lingers after the lights come up.

Weapons Delivers Terrifying Horror That Lingers

The film opens with a troubling tableau: in Maybrook, 17 students in Justine Gandy's third grade class vanish at 2:17 a.m., leaving only cameras and questions. Justine, played by Julia Garner, becomes the focal point of suspicion as families, cops, and teachers wrestle with fear, guilt, and rumor. The story unfolds through a small cast that includes Archer, the grieving father, a local cop, a troubled teen, and a school principal, all pulled into a mystery that presses on a town's sense of safety.

Critics praise Weapons for its cinematic craft and its refusal to lean on a single jump scare. The movie uses atmosphere, pacing, and a chorus of uneasy details to build dread, then thickens the tension with a twist that reframes what the audience fears. Even when the suspense peaks, the film keeps the focus on its characters and their struggle to talk about what happened, rather than offering easy explanations.

The film treats fear as a social phenomenon, showing how blame and grief ripple through families and institutions. It echoes the anxiety of The Leftovers, but then carves its own path by introducing a meta horror element that invites viewers to reconsider the nature of fear itself.

Craft-wise, Weapons relies on a wide range of scares rather than a single gimmick, a sign that modern horror can be both specific and personal. The consequence is a movie that may challenge some audiences with its intensity while rewarding others with a clear sense of filmmaker intent.

Highlights

As horror keeps bending what cinema can mean, Weapons invites a conversation about fear itself.