The director speaks with us about his hit horror movie as it makes its way to Digital.
Nobody in horror is having a better time than Zach Cregger right now. The director’s first solo feature efforts have been big, number one hits, with Barbarian becoming an unexpected critical and commercial hit in 2022. But he took things to new heights this year with the release of Weapons, which became a breakthrough, late summer smash hit. Now, as the movie arrives on home video, Cregger is getting to take a bit of a victory lap.
“It doesn’t feel real,” Cregger said, ruminating on the success of both Weapons and Barbarian in a recent interview with Fango in honor of the movie’s Digital release. It’s also set to arrive on 4K, Blu-ray and DVD in October. “Look, it feels great. I don’t know how else to describe it. I kind of can’t let myself basque too much because then somehow I feel like the universe is just going to take it away. But I couldn’t be more happy with how Weapons has turned out. I’m so proud of it.”
Weapons takes place after all but one child from the same class vanishes on the same night at the same time. The surrounding community is left to question who – or what – is behind their disappearance. T Julia Garner (Ozark), Josh Brolin (No Country for Old Men), Benedict Wong (Doctor Strange), Alden Ehrenreich (Ironheart), Amy Madigan (Streets of Fire) and Austin Abrams (Euphoria) lead the cast.
“Everyone did such a great job. It’s not like it’s just my movie,” Cregger added. “It takes a lot of talented artists to make any movie. Everybody brought their A-game and I’m happy to be the beneficiary.”
When the marketing campaign for Weapons kicked up, it was shrouded in mystery. A viral website that launched early on seemed to suggest that it takes place in the same universe as Barbarian. This, it turns out, was just a marketing ploy. That is, unless Cregger decides it’s more than that.
“Justin [Long] is in both movies, it’s not the same universe,” Cregger said pretty firmly, at least at first, chalking it up to a clever marketing gimmick. Then, I suggested that an actor could relatively easily play two different characters. “I suppose you’re right,” the director thought. “I take it back, they are definitely locked in the same universe. He could have a twin.”
Weapons (Credit: Warner Bros.)
For those who have seen the movie, Madigan steals the show as Aunt Gladys. Without getting into spoilers, let’s just say that it’s one heck of a performance and a character that will undoubtedly live on for years to come. She boasts a pretty unique look, given her unique history. So, what inspired Gladys’ on-screen look? A combination of an acclaimed photographer and the late, great David Lynch. Per Cregger…
“Cindy Sherman, the photographer, she does these amazing self-portraits. Sometimes she’ll use light prosthetics to give herself this gross, uncanny valley look. I just love her stuff. Then, there’s the scene in Twin Peaks, where Kyle McLaughlin gets off a plane in the first episode and there’s a woman on the tarmac. She’s wearing this crazy, outlandish, brightly colored outfit. She’s making this weird face and doing this weird peacock dance. It just scared the shit out of me as a kid.”
“I knew one day I was going to explore something like that, and this was my chance,” Cregger concluded.
The interview I conducted with Cregger was all about the home video release of his latest film, which was released through Warner Bros. Barbarian, however, was ultimately a Disney movie and they’re not as regularly committed to physical media releases. As a result, Barbarian never got a physical release. That may change. “Not yet,” Cregger teased when I brought up the lack of a Blu-ray/4K release for Barbarian. “There’s a chance,” he added. “There’s hope.” Unfortunately, for the time being, he declined to reveal anything further.
Naturally, any time a horror movie is successful, a studio is going to want to explore turning it into a franchise. That being the case, it was revealed that WB is exploring a prequel centered on Aunt Gladys. Cregger confirmed that this is true, though it’s also not something that was merely came up purely because Weapons was such a resounding success.
“It is real and I’ve been talking to Warner Bros. about it. There’s a story and I’m pretty excited about it. It’s not bullshit.”
“I was ready,” Cregger added of how the prequel idea came about. “I had it kind of in my pocket before the movie came out.”
Next for the director is a foray into franchise filmmaking as he’ll be tackling a reboot of the Resident Evil series for Sony Pictures, which he’s busy prepping right now in Prague. But Cregger’s take on the Capcom games won’t be a direct adaptation of the games themselves. Rather, his story will exist in that universe alongside the games.
“I’m not telling Leon’s story. You know what I mean? I’m not using any of the characters from the games. I’m telling my story that exists in the world of Resident Evil 2. You could play 2 and never know that the events of my story are happening right over there, but they are.”
“I’m following the rules, but I’m not claiming any key, canon characters because we have those in the games,” Cregger added.
Even though he is now diving into the world of franchise filmmaking, it’s hard not to marvel at what Cregger has done in such a short time. In the streaming era, it feels very difficult to get people to leave the house for original movies. Cregger is one of few, emerging filmmakers who has managed to motivate the masses in that department.
“That’s something that I really shouldn’t think about too hard,” Cregger said, touching on the topic of being one of the few filmmakers who is getting people to come out to theaters for original movies right now. “I feel like that line of thinking is not healthy for a creative person. All I should be doing is just putting my nose down and telling stories that I am excited to tell, and I hope that people stay excited to see them. If I start thinking about my place in the larger ecosystem of entertainment, I’m doomed.”
