1. Stylish, but Hollow
The film is visually slick but emotionally empty. Yes, the cinematography is drenched in atmosphere. Yes, the sound design will rattle your seat. But beneath the fog and flashing lights? Characters so flat you could iron shirts on them.
I never felt connected to anyone on screen. Horror works best when you care who's in danger. Here, you don't. You're just waiting for the next "weird thing" to happen, like a TikTok jump-scare stretched into a feature film.
It's the kind of movie where you walk out thinking, "That was neat?" and then immediately forget everything about it once you're outside the theater.
2. The finale collapses under its own weight. (and I'm Being Polite)
The movie spends nearly two hours whispering, hinting, layering in "mystery," only to reveal a resolution that makes you feel like you wasted your time.
It's the cinematic equivalent of someone telling you a ghost story, building up the suspense, and then finishing with "…and then I woke up."
I can live with ambiguity. The Witch, Hereditary, and even Barbarian knew how to play with mystery while still paying it off. Weapons keeps promising answers, then gives you nothing.
3. Fans Aren't Buying the Hype
On Reddit’s r/TrueFilm, one viewer vented:
"Critics are calling this 'the scariest movie of the year,' but to me it felt like a mediocre supernatural thriller padded out with unnecessary complexity… lazy writing, illogical character behavior, and a reveal that doesn't justify the journey."
Preach.
And that's the thing - horror fans are smart. We don't just want shadows and screeching violins; we want stories that mean something. If the only conversation after your movie is "Wait, so what actually happened?" followed by "Yeah, but why did anyone do that?" - you've failed.
4. The Curse of Overhype
The scariest thing about Weapons? The hype cycle.
Cregger's Barbarian was a surprise hit - fresh, unpredictable, with a mid-movie twist that had people gasping. It deserved the love. But lightning rarely strikes twice, and Weapons is proof.
When critics label something "the scariest film of the year" in January, and by August, people are trudging out of screenings muttering "meh," the movie becomes a victim of its own PR. The bar was set sky-high, and Weapons never came close.
5. What I Wanted Instead
I don't hate ambitious horror. In fact, I love when filmmakers swing big. But ambition only works if you tether it to characters, emotions, or even a single coherent theme.
Here's what Weapons could have done better:
Stronger characters. Don't just throw archetypes into the fog. Give me someone whose fate I actually care about.
A payoff that pays off. It doesn't need to be spelled out, but it needs to feel earned. The Sixth Sense pulled it off. Get Out pulled it off. Weapons just fizzles.
Less smugness, more sincerity. There's a self-satisfied air to this film, like it thinks it's smarter than the audience. Pro tip: audiences always know when you're doing that.
6. The Horror Landscape Deserves Better
We're in a horror renaissance, and audiences are hungry for new nightmares. And yet here's Weapons, a movie with everything going for it (talented director, big studio push, critical buzz, and you can't go wrong with casting Josh Brolin, right? ), and it still manages to feel like a letdown.
Maybe that's the true horror: the thought that every promising new horror voice will get sucked into the "elevated horror" blender and spit out a movie that looks cool in a trailer but dies in the theater.
Final Thoughts
Weapons isn't the worst horror movie I've seen this year. But it might be the most frustrating. Because buried under all the style is a good idea, but one that never quite makes it to the surface.
Horror is about resonance. The scares stay with you because they're rooted in something primal, human, real. Weapons is a firework show: loud, dazzling, but gone in a flash.
So yeah, call me harsh. But after months of hype, I wanted a nightmare I couldn't shake. Instead, I got a puzzle-box that collapses under its own weight.
Hollywood's got enough weapons already. This one misfired.
