5 scariest scenes from Weapons

Zach Cregger is the writer, co-producer, and director of the 2025 mystery horror movie Weapons, which stars Josh Brolin, Julia Garner, Austin Abrams, Cary Christopher, Benedict Wong, Amy Madigan, and Alden Ehrenreich.

In Maybrook, Pennsylvania, 17 students from the same class mysteriously vanish one night, leaving only one behind. Their teacher, Justine Gandy, becomes the main suspect. As she faces strange events, disturbing dreams, and odd behavior from people around her, she uncovers a deadly link between the missing children, the lone survivor, and a sinister figure tied to the town’s dark past.

Weapons delivers plenty of unnerving imagery, but these five scenes stand out as the movie’s most terrifying, from a haunting figure lurking in the forest to a nightmare reveal that will leave viewers chilled.

Disclaimer: The following list is ranked in no particular order, and the opinions expressed belong solely to the author.

---

Justine spots Gladys on the ceiling, and 4 other scariest scenes from Weapons

5) James spots Gladys in the forest

A still from the movie Weapons (Image via YouTube/@WarnerBros)

James, a homeless drug addict, discovers the kids hidden in Alex's basement and chooses to notify the authorities about them in an attempt to get the $50,000 reward. He hesitates, though, recalling Officer Paul's earlier threat.

James runs away when he eventually finds the strength to approach the station since Paul is the first person he sees outside.

Persuaded that he has rattled Paul, he runs into the wilderness and taunts him while doing so. When James sees Gladys, another person, standing in the distance, his confidence wanes. He is filled with dread as she appears in that little time, more like a nasty clown than an old woman.

James, clearly shocked by the experience, runs back to his tent and hides. One of Weapons’ most terrifying scenes is Gladys’ creepy wave from the woods, even if she never makes it to him.

---

4) Justine sees Gladys on the ceiling

A still from Weapons (Image via YouTube/@WarnerBros)

In the movie's opening chapter, Justine finds herself wandering through her school in the middle of the night during one of her nightmares. Entering her classroom, she sees all the missing children sitting at their desks with their heads bowed.

Only Alex, the sole student who didn’t vanish, slowly lifts his head and smiles at her. Justine jolts awake, but a lingering sense that she isn’t alone fills the room. She peers down the hallway, and in classic horror fashion, sleeping with the door wide open proves unnerving, yet nothing is there.

The tension mounts until she glances upward and sees Gladys staring down at her from the ceiling.

At this point in the story, the audience has not met Gladys, making the sight of a strange woman above her all the more unsettling. Justine panics, only to realize moments later that no one is actually there.

This scene stands out as one of Weapons’ most frightening moments. It is also one of the movie’s rare jump scares.

---

3) Archer encounters Gladys in a nightmare

Archer encounters Gladys in a nightmare in Weapons (Image via Instagram/@weaponsmovie)

Like Justine, Archer also encounters Gladys in a nightmare in Weapons. In the movie’s second chapter, Archer is consumed by the mystery surrounding his son Matthew’s disappearance. His grief is so overwhelming that he sleeps in Matthew’s bed every night.

One night, Archer dreams that he sees Matthew leaving the house at 2:17 a.m. He calls after him as the boy runs into the darkness. To Archer’s relief, Matthew soon returns and goes back to bed. The tension steadily builds as Archer wanders through his home in the middle of the night, eventually arriving back at his son’s room.

Overcome with emotion, Archer begins to cry and apologizes for not being the father Matthew deserved. But the heartfelt moment turns chilling when he lifts the blanket and finds Gladys lying there instead.

Since the audience has not yet been introduced to her, the sudden appearance of a strange woman in Matthew’s bed is disturbing. The scare heightens but then eases with a burst of dark humor, as Archer wakes from the nightmare and blurts out, “What the f**k?”, offering brief comic relief after a disturbing sequence.

---

2) James finds the missing children in the basement

James goes downstairs and finds the missing children (Image via YouTube/@WarnerBros)

After Justine examines Alex’s house from the outside, James offers the audience the first real look at what is inside. He breaks into the seemingly abandoned home, searching for anything valuable he can sell.

In the living room, he notices the same two motionless figures that had previously frightened Justine, but he brushes them off and continues rummaging through the place. A sudden noise from the basement makes him stop.

Moving cautiously, James descends the stairs and is horrified to find all the missing children gathered together.

The shock intensifies when the two figures from the living room begin to rise, making it seem certain that he will be trapped inside. Set entirely within the shadowy, oppressive atmosphere of the house, this sequence is disturbing and builds tension to a nerve-wracking peak.

---

1) Alex’s mother cuts Justine’s hair

Alex’s mother stops at Justine’s window with scissors in Weapons (Image via YouTube/@WarnerBros)

One of the scariest scenes in Weapons comes when a woman, later revealed to be Alex’s mother, leaves her house and approaches Justine’s car in the dead of night.

While keeping watch on Alex’s home, Justine drifts off to sleep in her vehicle, giving Alex’s mother the chance to step outside and head toward her.

Rather than cutting between multiple angles, the entire sequence unfolds in a single, unbroken take, heightening the unease. Watching the woman slowly make her way down the street, her body moving unnaturally, creates a dreadful certainty that something terrible is about to happen.

Carrying a pair of scissors, Alex’s mother stops at Justine’s window before stepping out of frame. Moments later, the sound of the back door opening sends a wave of dread, as the audience is never shown what is happening in the backseat.

She ultimately snips a piece of Justine’s hair, setting up Gladys’s ability to target her later.

---

Interested viewers can watch the movie Weapons, currently playing in theaters.