Movies - Weapons: Zach Cregger’s Sinister Puzzle of Vanishing Children and Shifting Realities

By Mulder, 29 april 2025

There’s a strange silence that falls over a room when something truly unsettling unspools on screen—an atmospheric dread that doesn’t scream, but whispers and lingers. That was precisely the effect at CinemaCon 2025, when director Zach Cregger took the stage to present the exclusive trailer for Weapons, his much-anticipated follow-up to Barbarian. No flashy words. No over-the-top hype. Just a chilling, genre-bending trailer that reportedly froze the audience into breathless stillness. A new kind of fear had arrived. What began as a creepy tale of vanishing children slowly evolved into something more epic and sprawling—like a cosmic riddle wrapped in a trauma-soaked nightmare. This is not just another horror film. It’s Zach Cregger staking his claim as one of the boldest modern voices in psychological genre cinema.

Weapons, slated to hit French theaters (and IMAX) on August 6, 2025—two days before its U.S. release—starts with a deceptively simple premise: one night, all but one child in a school class vanish without a trace. No screams. No witnesses. Just an entire town plunged into dread and confusion, left to pick up the pieces of something far more sinister than they could have imagined. On paper, the premise evokes echoes of The Leftovers, It, or even Close Encounters, but the whispers from CinemaCon suggest that Weapons doesn’t just fit neatly into any one box. Cregger—who writes, directs, and even composes part of the score—has crafted a multi-threaded narrative that reportedly slides across tonal shifts, genres, and timelines, evoking melancholy just as deeply as it does terror. If Barbarian was a nasty little house of horrors with social commentary folded into its floorboards, Weapons appears to be its bigger, more emotionally complex cousin—an ambitious work that dares to feel.

It’s worth remembering that Weapons already made waves in Hollywood long before a single frame was shot. In January 2023, following the breakout success of Barbarian, Zach Cregger’s new spec script sparked a feverish bidding war. Netflix, Universal (with Jordan Peele's Monkeypaw), and TriStar were all hungry for the rights, but New Line swooped in with a jaw-dropping $38 million offer—an all-in commitment that included Cregger’s $10 million payday, full creative control (pending test screenings), and, crucially, a guaranteed theatrical release. This wasn’t just a big bet; it was a vote of confidence in a filmmaker whose mind operates at the volatile intersection of dread and design. The fallout was just as dramatic: Peele reportedly split from his longtime managers over the deal, one of whom also happened to represent Cregger. Weapons wasn’t just a script—it was a lit match tossed into the gas-soaked battleground of modern horror auteurism.

The film’s cast reflects the studio’s commitment to prestige and performance. Josh Brolin—who stepped in after Pedro Pascal exited due to scheduling conflicts with Marvel’s Fantastic Four: First Steps—brings stoic intensity to the lead role, likely grounding the chaos with his signature grit. Julia Garner (Ozark, The Assistant) and Alden Ehrenreich (Solo, Cocaine Bear) add generational range, while Austin Abrams and Cary Christopher provide youthful urgency. Benedict Wong and Amy Madigan round out a cast that feels as carefully curated as the film’s eerie aesthetic. Behind the camera, Cregger brought in trusted and distinctive collaborators: cinematographer Larkin Seiple (Everything Everywhere All at Once), editor Joe Murphy (Barbarian), and production designer Tom Hammock (The Guest), all known for translating narrative tension into visceral texture. Even the score, co-composed by Cregger and the Holladay brothers, promises to blur sonic boundaries.

And there’s something deeply intriguing about how Weapons is being positioned. While horror is always in vogue, few films of the genre get the kind of full-spectrum rollout Weapons is set to receive: theatrical and IMAX distribution by Warner Bros., a globally timed release, and a serious promotional push at industry events like CinemaCon. That teaser alone—still unreleased to the public but whispered about in horror forums with reverent awe—suggests a film not content with cheap jump scares. One attendee described it as “something between Donnie Darko and Hereditary,” which is a tall order, but one that fits the ambition behind the scenes. Cregger seems to be working on a wavelength of deeply unsettling, narratively elusive horror that rewards repeat viewing and emotional investment. You don’t watch Weapons—you fall into it.

Of course, the timing of Weapons' release is no coincidence. With August 2025 already feeling like a stacked month for genre films, New Line clearly believes this is more than a horror hit—it’s a cultural conversation starter. And that may well prove true. As horror continues to evolve into a home for auteur-driven storytelling, Weapons looks poised to be one of those rare lightning-strike titles that balance commercial punch with critical resonance. Think Get Out, The Babadook, or even The Sixth Sense—films that transcend the genre to become pop culture landmarks.

It’s still early, but all signs point to Weapons becoming one of the most anticipated films of 2025. The buzz is electric, the premise bone-chilling, and the pedigree unmatched. Whether it fulfills its promise remains to be seen, but if the CinemaCon preview and behind-the-scenes drama are any indication, Zach Cregger’s new nightmare could be the one we’re still talking about long after the final scream fades to black.

Synopsis :
When all but one of the children in a class disappear mysteriously at the same time on the same night, the entire town searches for the cause of this unexplained phenomenon.

Weapons
Written and directed by Zach Cregger
Produced by Zach Cregger, Roy Lee, Miri Yoon, J. D. Lifshitz, Raphael Margules
Starring Josh Brolin, Julia Garner, Alden Ehrenreich, Austin Abrams, Cary Christopher, Benedict Wong, Amy Madigan
Cinematography : Larkin Seiple
Edited by Joe Murphy
Music by Ryan Holladay, Hays Holladay, Zach Cregger
Production companies : New Line Cinema, Subconscious, Vertigo Entertainment, BoulderLight Pictures
Distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures
Release date :August 6, 2025 (France), August 8, 2025 (United States)