The first reactions to Julia Garner‘s hotly-anticipated movie Weapons are in — and horror fans are in for a pretty messed-up ride.
Anticipated by a terrifying trailer that will have you jump in your seat, Weapons rolls into cinemas in early August.
The Ozark star plays a teacher who finds out almost her entire class has vanished into the night, leaving the entire community wanting answers. Josh Brolin, Alden Ehrenreich, Austin Abrams and Benedict Wong also star.
Those who have already seen the movie in preview screenings are spreading the word that it’s “memorable” and “disturbing”, two things any horror worth its salt should be.
It comes as no surprise as Barbarian’s Zach Cregger is behind the camera for this one.
Warner Bros.
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Cregger, who wrote and directed Weapons, crafted a pretty bonkers tale with Barbarian, an Airbnb nightmare that was unhinged enough we forgave him for resorting to the ‘old hag’ stereotype.
And now, it seems that Cregger’s second foray into scary territory is even better than Barbarian, according to those in the know.
“#WeaponsMovie is beyond messed up & I loved every second of it,” Gizmodo’s Germain Lussier posted on Twitter/X.
“It’s Magnolia the horror movie, as multiple characters circle a big, creepy mystery. Bit of a slow burn, but it pays off in huge, awesome, gory, disturbing ways. Less shocking than Barbarian, but much better.”
While this is already a pretty big sell on the film, others are teasing unexpected developments and a “grand” finale.
“#WEAPONS rules. If you’re looking for a movie that keeps you on your toes from start to finish and delivers the unexpected time and time again, this is it,” Collider’s Perri Nemiroff wrote, adding that Creggers’ directions is “assured” and his characters “well drawn”.
Quantrell Colbert//Warner Bros.
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“WEAPONS is an absolute blast: a creepy, funny ensemble piece that takes a MAGNOLIA/PULP FICTION/SHORT CUTS storytelling approach to unleash a memorable suburban nightmare,” Slate Film’s Chris Evangelista posted.
“The grand finale had me cackling with twisted glee.”
Weapons has already earned the “best film of the year” title from FilmSpeak’s Griffin Schiller and Next Best Picture’s Matt Neglia, though the latter wasn’t completely on board with whatever the ending was cooking.
As others have called Cregger a “visionary” and “master of mystery“, call us intrigued and ready to hit the cinemas when Weapons releases in just over two weeks.
Weapons is out in UK and US cinemas on 8 August.
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Reporter, Digital Spy
Stefania is a freelance writer specialising in TV and movies. After graduating from City University, London, she covered LGBTQ+ news and pursued a career in entertainment journalism, with her work appearing in outlets including Little White Lies, The Skinny, Radio Times and Digital Spy.
Her beats are horror films and period dramas, especially if fronted by queer women. She can argue why Scream is the best slasher in four languages (and a half).