Movie review: Weapons (2025)

Exploring non liner story telling

“Weapons,” a little gem for 2025. Written and directed by Zach Cregger, who’s first horror was “Barbarian” (2022) and is attached to a new Resident Evil movie for 2026.

Weapons opens the child narrator telling the events of 17 children vanishing from a small town, with only one student left behind. Following on the movie splinters into multiple viewpoints and we are left with a chaotic (in a good way) ending.

Do we get everything answered? No. Are there plot hole? Yes. The movie did suffer a bit from the hype machine pre release and for myself this does make me drag a bit to see it rather than believing the hype. But overall the movie does a great job of weaving in the narrative through different stories and bringing out the events through various viewpoints.

Rather than doing a review of the plot points in the movie, we will be looking over the movie structure and narrative framework.

The movie works in interconnected layers with an inconsistent timeline. Think Pulp fiction, Short Cuts, Magnolia. Each character arc bringing a different perspective and moving the plot along. Think of it like an unraveling horror mystery told by various players.

Movie Structure & Narrative Framework

Here are the major structural elements at play:

Chapters/segments:

Justine’s arc: The introduction to the narrative as Justine is the teacher of the missing children. This arc runs like a thriller with the immediate events after the children go missing and Justine trying to cope while the accusation fly around her. Justine brings the plot suspicion, trauma and a divided town.

Archer’s arc: Acting as the detective to the story Dad, Archer puts his all into trying to work out what has happened and where the children are. Dealing with authorities that are not much use. Archer acts as the communal father and the personal cost of the missing children, grief and emotions.

Paul and James’s arc: The fumbling cop, lost in his life and his focus seems to be tormenting the drug addict, James and seeking distraction and alcohol with Justine. Which brings us to James, who’s bungling robbery attempt sees him stumble upon the center of the mystery and dragging him into it.

Final arc and resolution: The segments converge and the horror is confronted, resolution is left to the viewer.

Non linear arrangement:

Although the segments are separate they each enhance on the others bringing in more internal and external tension for the characters and driving the plot along. The characters are all connected through the main event of the missing children but they all have their own agency and conflicts. We see this as the movie goes on with each character segment moving in to the next. Teacher Justine brings us Archer the father, Archer dealing with authorities that are inept bringing us inept Cop, Paul. Paul bringing us druggy James, then James’s actions at the burglary bringing the narratives together for the final chapter of the movie.

Wide, then tight narrative:

The movie starts with event: Missing children, and the mystery, why have the children gone missing. Through the character segments we start to unravel the missing pieces. Through these segments their dual purpose is further explored: driving the plot – what is happening, and character arc – how are they responding.

What Works with the Structure

We see this type of structure originating in movies like Pulp Fiction (1994), Magnolia (1999) and Short Cuts (1993). Ensemble movies with interconnected story lines.

The segmented flow helps to keep the viewer off balance, being drip fed information as it is revealed through the different perspectives. This is good keeping and heightening viewer suspense while following the non linear storytelling. The structure enhances the uncanny atmosphere of the story.

The character segments work well with the mystery nature of the events. No one has the whole story, not even the viewer. The story is fragmented, the characters are fragmented. The viewer keeps shifting viewpoint, the everyday now becomes uncanny, and what looked normal under one light can take on menace under another.

The ensemble nature works well for horror, through the movie there is no one protagonist. It takes on the feel of the moving the story while the antagonist is kept just to the side.

Surreal dreams and visions are used to both introduce our antagonist, Aunt Gladys and give us insight into the behavior of the characters. Was she really there? Was she just projecting herself into people’s minds.

What does not work with the Structure

If you have seen the movie you will notice that a few character arcs have been left out in the breakdown above. Namely, Marcus the principle. His character acts as an entree to the horror, introducing the audience to Aunt Gladys and being the first ‘weapon’ to seek out and attack Justine, only to go once this has happened. And then Alex, the one child left behind. Although Alex is the catalyst that makes the ending possible his role is as the enabler and victim.

The ending was satisfying in that the bad guy got it in the end. The plot sort of fizzled out to give in to a comedic action ending. The film flopped between some nice horror shots and comedic interludes with surreal or mystical elements none of which had an explanation. But do they need an explanation? Quite possibly not. We do not know what Gladys really is, some ancient creature who needs the living life force to survive perhaps. But it is left to the audience to fill in the blanks of the why and where.

It may just be a symptom of our modern age that we seek meaning from the small from things. In times gone by symbolism was deliberately added to paintings, from colours, animals and composition. So perhaps nowadays we are still yearning for the thematic meaning – why 2.17am, what does weapons mean, the floating gun, Aunt Gladys looking like a clown. Are these deliberate plot devices that are not explained.

Structural Themes & Devices used

Segmented arcs, overlapping perspectives, time-shifts, parallel arcs, mystery-first, reveal-later, ensemble rather than protagonist-driven.

Final personal thoughts

It is refreshing to get another non franchise horror movie over the last few years. It is not a masterpiece but it is a satisfying horror movie with just enough horror, suspense and comedic relief. I will get around to watching the new installments of a few franchises before the year ends.

I really like these type of roles for Josh Brolin, the tortured man. It reminds me of his role of Llewellyn in No Country for Old Men. Fantastic, the poor man should be destined to be forever tortured by his emotions.

I love a sprawling ensemble movie, Magnolia anyone? Three hours locked in with the emotional despair of people who should know better, it’s very cathartic. In weapons the character segments helped to draw you in and along with the story all without explaining the plot.

Overall a very enjoyable watch and certainly one to watch again.