Josh Brolin Calls His New Horror Film the Ultimate Cure for Boring Streaming Movies

The 2025 mystery horror film Weapons, written, co-scored, produced, and directed by Zach Cregger, is quickly making waves for its fresh take on the genre. The movie stars Josh Brolin alongside Julia Garner, Alden Ehrenreich, Austin Abrams, Cary Christopher, Benedict Wong, and Amy Madigan. It tells the strange story of seventeen children from the same classroom who vanish mysteriously on the same night, seemingly taken by an unknown force.

Weapons first hit theaters in the Philippines on August 6, 2025, before its U.S. release by Warner Bros. Pictures on August 8. The film has received strong reviews and has earned $29.7 million worldwide, showing that audiences are hungry for something different.

Josh Brolin, the movie’s lead, has spoken openly about why he was drawn to this project. He told Collider that Weapons feels like the wild cure for the “boring” movies flooding streaming platforms today. Brolin said, “Right now, with so much content, you’re just watching things on whatever streaming service you’re on, and you’re just going, ‘F****, why is this so boring, man? Why?’ And just go to the next thing. It’s all the same s****.”

Brolin was searching for something new and exciting when he found Weapons. He explained that after watching Zach Cregger’s earlier film Barbarian in 2022, he was intrigued but couldn’t exactly explain why. After talking it over with his daughter, he realized Cregger’s work was exactly the fresh energy he wanted. Joining Weapons confirmed that feeling.

There’s something wrong in Maybrook. #WeaponsMovie – only in theaters August 8. pic.twitter.com/Jb8xd5xkfq

— New Line Cinema (@newlinecinema) April 29, 2025

In the film, Brolin plays Archer Graff, a man deeply upset about the disappearance of the 17 children from Maybrook. The odd part is that all the missing kids were students in Justine Gandy’s (played by Julia Garner) classroom, and somehow they left their homes voluntarily before vanishing. The movie also features performances from Alden Ehrenreich, Benedict Wong, and Austin Abrams.

When asked by Collider about the freedom that horror films allow filmmakers, Brolin explained, “It’s not only the freedom of it, because you’re inciting a reaction. Do you know what I mean? So you’re getting people raw. You’re getting people reactive.” He shared that the story is deeply personal for director Zach Cregger. According to Brolin, Cregger told him that every character in the movie is based on a reaction to a traumatic event from his own life, which made the script feel very real and personal.

Brolin highlighted how many streaming movies feel repetitive and boring, but Weapons breaks that mold by pushing boundaries and mixing horror with absurdity and humor. This mix keeps viewers off-balance and emotionally engaged, making the experience more powerful.

Critics agree with this view. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an impressive 95% approval rating based on 222 reviews. The site praises Weapons as “an expertly crafted yarn of terrifying mystery and thrilling intrigue,” calling it a major step forward for director Zach Cregger. Metacritic’s score is also high, with an 81 out of 100 based on 46 critics, meaning the film has received “universal acclaim.” Audience reactions are equally positive; CinemaScore gave it an A−, while PostTrak reported that 65% of viewers would “definitely recommend” the movie.

Weapons is proving to be exactly the kind of bold, emotional horror film that audiences and actors like Josh Brolin have been craving in a sea of predictable streaming content.

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