Zach Cregger Releases Horror Drama Weapons Featuring Mass Child Disappearances

Zach Cregger, known for his transition from comedy to horror, has garnered acclaim for his recent films Barbarian and Weapons, the latter releasing in 2025 as a compelling mystery horror set in a small Florida town. Weapons centers on the simultaneous disappearance of seventeen children and the subsequent unraveling of the mystery through the perspectives of various town residents, blending horror with intimate character drama. Unlike Barbarian's jarring genre shifts, Cregger crafted Weapons to maintain a consistent tone while providing a structurally complex and riveting narrative experience, drawing influences from Stephen King, David Lynch, and Paul Thomas Anderson. The film features a strong cast led by Julia Garner and Josh Brolin, and highlights Cregger's strengths as an actor’s director, with a focus on intelligent, elevated horror that goes beyond typical jump scares. Cregger's background with the comedy troupe Whitest Kids U' Know and his experience in acting inform his directorial style, which combines suspense, emotional depth, and social themes such as toxic masculinity. Weapons has been praised as one of the most-talked-about and chilling films of the year, solidifying Cregger’s reputation as a filmmaker who defies expectations while delivering engaging and thought-provoking cinema.