After summer’s most anticipated horror film, The Conjuring: Last Rites, is announced to hit the big screen in September of 2025, horror lovers everywhere get a little warm-up, Weapons. On August 8th, 2025, Weapons hit the theaters and gives horror lovers everywhere a little taste of summerween as they are introduced to a different idea of horror.
What do filmmakers define horror as? What do horror lovers define horror as? I guess it really depends. There are so many different sub genres and Weapons really brings Mystery Horror to life.
The film follows an elementary school teacher, Justine Gandy, and her 18 students. All of her students go missing one night at exactly 2:17am except one, Alex Lilly. Why they went missing and where they are is a mystery. The director, Zach Cregger, takes the audience on a journey as he introduces each character and their role into solving this case. As the film progresses the audience can see how the situation becomes more spine-chilling and just straight out WEIRD.
What a refreshing and new way to bring horror to the screen! Not a slasher film, not a paranormal-jumpscare type of film, but a creepy, ominous and interesting type of horror that leaves you wanting more and wondering why. In her article, Linda Holmes writes that “Weapons is so good at never relying on a single horror note, but using the entire orchestra of scares. Is there dread, like you feel when a babysitter in a slasher movie decides to go down into the basement alone? Yes. Are there moments that just feel wrong, even if they’re not exactly inherently terrifying? Yes”. As described, Weapons is different and has its own way of using multiple types of scares to captivate its audience. Not just a jumpscare but also, gore, and also an ominous feeling.
When I found out the film was directed by Zach Cregger, who also directed the film Barbarian, I knew this film was going to be interesting, at the very least. Who knew it would actually leave me wanting more and asking more questions. After all, I think this is what his films are meant to be, mysterious and bizarre. Weapons is the type of horror film that takes every horror lover into account whether you like gore, physiological horror, slasher films, or the paranormal. The film shows that it does not limit its ideas on horror but leaves room for different perspectives of what horror is and could be.