An unforgettable new horror-mystery: Zach Cregger’s “Weapons” 4K UHD
- Peggy Earle
- 2 days ago
- 5 min read
4K ULTRA HD REVIEW / HDR SCREENSHOTS
2:17 A.M., and 17 third-graders from the same Maybrook Elementary classroom mysteriously run from their homes. (2) Amy Madigan plays the creepy Aunt Gladys, as 3rd-grade teacher Justine (Julia Garner) is attacked by her ex, Paul Morgan (Alden Ehrenreich), who’s under a witchcraft spell.
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“WEAPONS”
4K Ultra HD & Blu-ray; 2025; R for strong bloody violence and grisly images, profanity throughout, some sexual content and drug use; Digital copy via Amazon Video (4K), Apple TV (4K), DirecTV (4K), Fandango Home (4K), Movies Anywhere (4K), Xfinity (4K), Verizon (4K), YouTube (4K)
Best extra: “Director Zach Cregger: Making Horror Personal”
IF YOU’RE looking for the perfect Halloween movie – for grown-up audiences only – look no further than writer/director/producer Zach Cregger’s “Weapons.” Cregger brought us one of the most effective recent works of horror in 2022, with “Barbarian,” and while a few similar tropes from that film appear in “Weapons,” the basic plot is different – and original enough to keep viewers enthralled and spooked.
Instead of the slums of Detroit, the setting of “Weapons” is a small, quiet Pennsylvania town. But then, late one night, 17 third-graders from the same classroom mysteriously run from their homes, and seem to disappear into the darkness. Only one shy boy named Alex (Cary Christopher) is spared, and his teacher Justine (Julia Garner) is left to deal with suspicions and accusations by police and frantic parents. While Julia is taking some forced time off on orders from the school principal (Benedict Wong), she tries to cope with often frightening forms of harassment, and begins to investigate the mystery of the missing children.
The film is divided into “chapters,” with each honing in on a main character. To tell much more about the plot might spoil its string of grisly surprises, but “Weapons” is bound to satisfy horror movie fans, while posing enough questions to keep things interesting. The fine cast includes Josh Brolin, Alden Ehrenreich, and a hilariously creepy Amy Madigan, who basically steals the whole show.
(1) Justine arrives at her classroom to find that Alex (Cary Christopher) is the only child there. (2) One of the 17 missing children runs away from their family home. (3) Police begin investigating. (4&5) Justine addresses a hostile parents’ assembly and tormented, she seeks comfort in alcohol.
VIDEO/AUDIO
Captured on Alexa 35 and Arri LT 4.6K digital cameras in and around Atlanta by cinematographer Larkin Seiple (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”), who was inspired visually by Paul Thomas Anderson’s “Magnolia” and Denis Villeneuve’s “Prisoners.”
The digital files were mastered in TRUE 4K, and graded in HDR10 and Dolby Vision to match the look of their 35mm film stock tests. Clarity is excellent, as the interiors are bathed in warm tones, and neutral for the exteriors. Overall, the peak brightness is subdued, while the 4K is darker than the HD version, since it can handle those darker moments. A light dusting of post-production film grain was applied throughout. The nighttime running shots of the kids were filmed between 9 p.m. and midnight, with a series of lights to silhouette the young runners.
A Dolby Atmos soundtrack provides a wide range of effects to bounce around the room from front, back, side and above, showcasing environmental sounds, especially rain during one scene. The subwoofer track is top-notch throughout, especially during a chase scene, outperforming the disappointing 4K/Atmos tracks for “F1: The Movie” and “Superman.”
George Harrison’s “Beware of Darkness” provides the audio backdrop to the 2:17 a.m. run from the 17 children. The intense organic score with heavy percussion, strings, piano, harp, and electronics was composed by Cregger, longtime friends, and brothers Ryan and Hays Holladay. The three previously played in the L.A. indie band Sirhan Sirhan.
(1&2) Marcus (Benedict Wong), the school principal, orders Justine to take some time off. (3) She arranges to meet her ex-boyfriend Paul, a police officer, at a local bar. (4&5) Justine snoops around Alex’s house. (6) She’s having terrifying nightmares.
EXTRAS
The 4K and Blu-ray include the same three rather puny featurettes, all coming in at under 10 minutes.
“Weaponized: The Cast of ‘Weapons’” (9 mins.) features interviews with the cast and Cregger.
“‘Weapons’: Texture of Terror” (7 mins.) highlights the possessed Principal Marcus and his bulging eyes.
“Director Zach Cregger: Making Horror Personal” (6 mins.) discusses his writing process: “I wrote fast … I was in a place of extreme emotional pain. My best friend died in a sudden accident, and I was feeling very intense grief … I wrote my feelings.” Cregger admits that as he wrote, he didn’t really know where the story was going to go, but he chose to be “indulgent in that feeling of grief.” Looking back at “Barbarian,” Cregger says he “had no idea if I was crazy or not. Was that giant naked lady going to be scary?” When he came to “Weapons,” he felt he had more of a “firm foot” and belief in himself.
Every character in “Weapons,” Cregger adds, “is a little piece of me,” and he considers it to be a “very personal movie.” Comparing what little Alex experiences in the film to his own childhood, Cregger reveals that he is the “child of an alcoholic” … something that “turns a parent into a zombie,” and recalls hiding in his “scary house from (his) zombie dad.” Cregger sums up his hopes for audience reactions to “Weapons”: “I wanted it to feel real.”
— Peggy Earle
(1) Archer (Josh Brolin) grieves the absence of his son. (2) Ed (Toby Huss), the town police chief, and also Paul's father-in-law. (3) Archer and another father view the security camera footage of their child running from the house. (4) Something has happened to Marcus. (5&6) Paul confronts a local junkie named James (Austin Abrams). (7) James sells stolen goods for cash at a local pawnshop.
SPECS:
100 GB disc
TRUE 4K mastering
Digital Alexa 35 and Arri LT 4.6K with anamorphic lens, 2.39:1 aspect ratio
Video bitrate: 78 Megabits per second, with a running time of 128 minutes.
HDR10 maximum light level: 164 nits
Max frame average light level: 42 nits
Box office: $151 million domestically and $267 million worldwide, with a production budget of $38 million.
Rotten Tomatoes: Top critics’ 89 percent, Moviegoers 85 percent
Metacritic: Critics 81 percent, User score 7.3
(1) Aunt Gladys meets with the school principal. (2) Alex at school during a flashback scene. (3) Gladys is up to no good. (4) Gladys, Alex, and his father (Whitmer Thomas) are interviewed by the police. (5) Paul attacks Justine.