The latest trailer for Zach Cregger’s highly anticipated horror film Weapons has arrived, and it’s clear the Barbarian director is doubling down on psychological terror that will leave us questioning everything we see.
The trailer opens with an unsettling premise that feels ripped from every parent’s worst nightmare. In a quiet small town, an entire classroom of children vanishes without a trace during the night, all disappearing at exactly the same moment. The only survivor is a single student who remains behind.
Julia Garner becomes the focus of attention as the bewildered teacher whose world is turned upside down when her students mysteriously vanish. The trailer shows her facing intense scrutiny and blame from a community desperate for answers.
One of the affected parents is played by Josh Brolin, who we see in heated confrontations during community meetings as he demands answers about his missing child. We also see him conducting his own obsessive investigation, portraying a parent who will stop at nothing to find his child.
The supporting cast includes Alden Ehrenreich, Austin Abrams, Benedict Wong, and Amy Madigan.
Like Cregger’s breakout debut, Barbarian, the trailer is filled with haunting snippets of the horror yet to come. Empty classrooms become sites of revelation, and the film appears to explore the dark underbelly of what seems like a typical American small town.
It’s clear that the disappearances are just the beginning of something much more sinister. An unknown kid actually warns us that many people die in really weird ways throughout the story.
Weapons exists within the same universe as Barbarian, though it maintains its own distinct identity. Although Barbarian surprised audiences with its unpredictable plot, Weapons appears to be building on that foundation with an even more complex and personal story.
The marketing campaign for Weapons seems to be fashioned to generate the same kind of word-of-mouth buzz that made Barbarian such a success.
I am not a horror fan, but even I can appreciate how the trailer reveals just enough to establish the mystery and disturbing atmosphere of the story while deliberately withholding the larger truth behind the disappearances.
It has been rated R for strong bloody violence, grisly images, and disturbing content, so horror fans can expect a story that will genuinely unsettle them, especially if you’re a parent.
Weapons is scheduled to appear in theaters on August 8.
