(Ray J's Autism Friendly Review) - "Weapons" - Perhaps This Type Of Horror Isn't For Me

Genre:

Horror/Mystery

Where To Watch:

Currently In Theaters (as of 8/24/2025)

MPAA Rating:

R

Runtime:

2h 8m

Cast:

Julia Garner, Josh Brolin, Alden Ehrenreich, Austin Abrams, Benedict Wong, Cary Christopher, Amy Madigan, June Dianne Raphael, Toby Huss, Whitmer Thomas,

Callie Schutera, Luke Speakman

Directed By:

Zach Cregger

From the director of the 2023 horror hit "Barbarian" comes "Weapons".

When all but one child from the same classroom mysteriously vanish on the same night at exactly the same time, a community is left questioning who or what is behind their disappearance.

This movie was promising at times, but in the end I unfortunately hated it! I tend to struggle at times with movies that tell the same story from multiple characters POV - sometimes that works for me though (2017's "Wonder" for example) and other times it just doesn't. At least the movie's story isn't told out of order, which I think is just lazy and hate even more. The issue here is that this is a two hour (plus) movie that presents it's story from six different characters points of view, and three of them are minor characters - it felt so unnecessary. The film has a solid mystery & if you've seen the trailers you'll never figure out the twist until you're actually sitting down watching the movie. Another issue I had with Weapons is it's jarring tone. As with "Barbarian" - the film sets its course in a serious and mysterious manner, but decides to make a wrong turn into laugh out loud-stupid street when the mystery finally begins to unfold. It just didn't work for me! Don't get me wrong, for the majority of this movie, I was invested and didn't want to get up to go to the bathroom despite my issues with its various point of view storytelling, but the ludicrous third act absolutely ruined this for me!

The acting performances are fine & I think that Josh Brolin and Austin Abrams stand out the most.

"Weapons" ultimately disappoints because of its jarring tone shifts, especially in the third act. I personally didn't find this to be all that original as it's been suggested, but there are a few effective jump scares & creepy moments - you may even find yourself unevenly invested at times - I suggest waiting for streaming, but just be prepared for an incredibly dumb and laughable ending.

Ray J's Rating:

🌟& 1/2 Out Of 5 Stars