Upcoming horror movie Weapons is being called a “masterpiece” by those who have seen early screenings of the film.

Director by Zach Cregger, who made his debut with 2022’s Barbarian, the film stars Julia Garner and Josh Brolin as residents of a town trying to piece together how and why all but one child from their community has disappeared.

The film is released in cinemas on August 8, and early reactions from screenings are heralding it as a masterstroke from the filmmaker.

[embedded content]

On X (formerly Twitter), film critic Griffin Schiller wrote: “Zach Cregger has crafted a horror masterpiece and the best film of the year with #Weapons! It’s Prisoners by way of Magnolia with some of the Coen’s absurdist humor. An absolutely BRILLIANT commentary on the attitudes and institutions during the fallout of a communal tragedy”.

Zach Cregger has crafted a horror masterpiece and the best film of the year with #Weapons! It’s Prisoners by way of Magnolia with some of the Coen’s absurdist humor. An absolutely BRILLIANT commentary on the attitudes and institutions during the fallout of a communal tragedy. The… pic.twitter.com/TtPksjvGFS

— Griffin Schiller (@griffschiller) July 22, 2025

Gismondo’s Germain Lussier also compared the film to Paul Thomas Anderson’s Magnolia, writing: “#WeaponsMovie is beyond messed up & I loved every second of it. 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”.

#WeaponsMovie is beyond messed up & I loved every second of it.

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. pic.twitter.com/lvnhOF4oNO

— Germain Lussier (@GermainLussier) July 22, 2025

Writer Rachel Leishman enthused: “WEAPONS is just as twisty as Zach Cregger’s debut but allows the audience to piece together its mystery in a surprisingly funny and terrifying way. It’s bonkers in the best of ways and shows how he continues to be a visionary in horror”.

WEAPONS is just as twisty as Zach Cregger’s debut but allows the audience to piece together its mystery in a surprisingly funny and terrifying way. It’s bonkers in the best of ways and shows how he continues to be a visionary in horror. pic.twitter.com/OZxcE0mAON

— Rachel Leishman (@RachelLeishman) July 22, 2025

Collider’s Perri Nemiroff simply wrote: “#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”.

#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. pic.twitter.com/oW2nsNX4CP

— Perri Nemiroff (@PNemiroff) July 22, 2025

Elsewhere in horror, James Wan confirmed that the forthcoming new Saw movies will “Embrace The Spirit” of the original films, while NME’s review of the I Know What You Did Last Summer reboot says it “butchers the iconic slasher’s legacy”.