To start with, let’s get things straight: There are no spoilers in this article about Zach Cregger’s highly anticipated follow-up to his successful 2022 shock-shocks horror film Barbarian, Weapons. I prefer to walk into a movie knowing as little as possible about it, other than the genre and the director, and Weapons is no exception. Initially built around a central mystery, the entire experience is brilliantly crafted out of a sequence of smaller, ever more complex, “what the fuuuuuuck?” shocks. You should see this film without any spoilers if you can. It’s among the greatest movies of the summer and the top horror movies of 2025.
More significantly, though, Weapons is among the top full-audience experiences of the year. In other words, watching this film in a crowded cinema is an incredible experience, and I heartily endorse it.
I understand that individuals may be annoying at movie theatres, taking out their phones to browse social media, muttering to their pals, making comments about the action, or doing anything else. My viewing had a small amount of that, and may the world’s movie-whisperers always have sand in their shorts. Compared to watching movies at home, going to the movies in theatres is more costly and unpredictable.
However, Weapons flourishes in the complete darkness and concentration of a theater, and Cregger’s mastery of tone even extends to the audience’s breathing. It’s incredible to experience it in front of a crowd. At various times, it might signify different things. During some scenes in my screening, you had the euphoric feeling of an entire room full of people waiting for the unveiling while holding their breath simultaneously. Both the opposite sensation—where the unveiling is so abrupt and shocking that it causes uncontrollable yelps—and that are typical enough for a genuinely strong horror film.
However, Weapons is a more comprehensive experience as a whole, particularly when Cregger uses quiet and subtle, evocative sound effects to highlight significant off-screen events. At one point during my screening, the entire theater let out a quick breath in a muted, collective gasp of astonishment as the room (and the film) became quiet for a long, agonizing minute or two. A single, little, significant noise on screen followed this.
That’s the main thing I look for in a scary film. Or, in fact, the feeling of everyone being ensnared in the same instant in any audience experience. There are numerous scary aspects designed to irritate people, and the weapons appear ugly in certain spots.
