10 Movies to Watch Next If You Loved ‘Weapons’

If ‘Weapons’ left you hungry for tense storytelling and interwoven narratives, there are plenty of films that explore similar territory with intricate structures and sharp ideas. The selections below span crime sagas, ensemble dramas, and anthologies that connect multiple characters through one event or a shared setting.

You will find stories that crisscross cities and continents, thrillers that spiral from one choice into many consequences, and anthologies that loop back on themselves. Each entry lists concrete details on structure, cast, and production so you can pick your next watch with confidence.

‘Wild Tales’ (2014)

This Argentine anthology presents six standalone stories that revolve around anger and retaliation. Damián Szifron directs, while Pedro and Agustín Almodóvar produced through El Deseo. The film premiered in competition at Cannes and received an Academy Award nomination for Best Foreign Language Film. Each segment uses a new cast and location, from a roadside encounter to a lavish wedding.

Ricardo Darín, Erica Rivas, and Leonardo Sbaraglia lead different chapters with tone and pacing that shift from thriller to dark comedy. The segments connect through the central idea of revenge and through small formal cues, and the film closes on a chapter that ties the theme to a single social event.

‘Amores perros’ (2000)

Alejandro González Iñárritu’s debut links three stories through one car crash in Mexico City. The screenplay by Guillermo Arriaga structures the film as a triptych that revisits the same incident from different angles. The film earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Foreign Language Film and opened Iñárritu and Arriaga’s loose trilogy on death and chance.

Gael García Bernal stars in the first story, with Goya Toledo and Emilio Echevarría anchoring the other two. Handheld camerawork and urban locations give the intersecting plots a documentary feel, and the narrative uses time jumps to reveal how choices echo across neighborhoods and families.

‘Pulp Fiction’ (1994)

Quentin Tarantino arranges multiple Los Angeles crime stories into a looping timeline that reshuffles cause and effect. The film won the Palme d’Or at Cannes and the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. Its chapter structure lets characters disappear and return as the chronology folds back on itself.

John Travolta, Uma Thurman, and Samuel L Jackson headline an ensemble that overlaps across diners, apartments, and night drives. Needle drops and extended conversations mark transitions between threads, and the closing sequence links the opening scene to complete the circular design.

‘Babel’ (2006)

This global ensemble drama connects four narratives across Morocco, the United States, Mexico, and Japan. Alejandro González Iñárritu directs from a script by Guillermo Arriaga, using language barriers and time offsets to show how one event affects families on different continents. The film won the Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture drama and earned multiple Academy Award nominations.

Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett lead one storyline, while Rinko Kikuchi and Adriana Barraza received acting nominations for their roles. The film uses parallel editing to move among countries, and recurring motifs like a rifle and a passport track the flow of consequence across borders.

‘Magnolia’ (1999)

Paul Thomas Anderson builds a one day mosaic in the San Fernando Valley that draws together parents, children, and performers. The film weaves more than ten principal characters into overlapping crises and uses ensemble scenes to show how their lives intersect within a single night. It received Academy Award nominations including Best Supporting Actor and Best Original Screenplay.

Tom Cruise, Julianne Moore, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and John C Reilly lead the cast. Aimee Mann’s songs guide transitions between threads, and the film uses a recurring television quiz show as a hub that links strangers through media and memory.

‘Short Cuts’ (1993)

Robert Altman adapts multiple Raymond Carver stories into one Los Angeles tapestry. The film gathers several dozen characters and allows their paths to cross through restaurants, clinics, and suburban homes. It won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival and is known for long takes and ensemble staging.

Andie MacDowell, Tim Robbins, Julianne Moore, and Jack Lemmon are among the large cast. The screenplay combines separate Carver tales into continuous arcs, and small incidents like a traffic detour or a phone call create the bridges that carry one plot into another.

‘The Place Beyond the Pines’ (2012)

Director Derek Cianfrance structures this crime drama as three linked acts that follow a motorcyclist, a rookie cop, and their sons. The narrative jumps forward in time between acts to show how one robbery ripples through families and a town. Location shooting in Schenectady grounds the story, and the title references the city’s Mohawk name.

Ryan Gosling, Bradley Cooper, and Eva Mendes lead the cast, with Dane DeHaan and Emory Cohen featured in the final section. Each act has its own central set piece and perspective, and the film’s handoff between protagonists marks the turn from immediate consequences to generational effects.

‘Crash’ (2004)

Paul Haggis sets an ensemble over roughly 36 hours in Los Angeles and intercuts stories centered on policing, immigration, and class. The film won the Academy Award for Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay. Scenes recur from new viewpoints, and recurring props like keys and cars link strangers who collide in everyday spaces.

Sandra Bullock, Don Cheadle, Thandiwe Newton, and Matt Dillon are part of the ensemble. The script places characters in pairs and then rearranges those pairings, which lets one choice in one neighborhood alter events across the city by morning.

‘Assassination Nation’ (2018)

Sam Levinson writes and directs this story of a data leak that pulls a small town into public shaming and street violence. The film premiered at Sundance and was released by Neon. It combines text messages, feeds, and split screens to represent online spread and escalation.

Odessa Young, Suki Waterhouse, Abra, and Hari Nef play a group of friends whose private data becomes public as the town fractures. The third act shifts into siege territory with set pieces staged across homes and streets, and the production uses practical effects for crowd scenes and stunts.

‘Southbound’ (2015)

This anthology horror film sets five connected stories on a lonely desert highway. The segments were directed by different filmmakers from the team behind ‘V H S’ and use a wraparound that loops back to the beginning. Interlocking handoffs move viewers from one story to the next without a hard cut to credits between chapters.

The anthology features recurring background figures and locations that create continuity across segments, including diners, motels, and service roads. The sound design threads a single radio voice through multiple stories to tie the route together as characters pass each other in the night.

Share your own picks for what to watch after ‘Weapons’ in the comments.