If You're Still Not Over Channel Zero Getting Canceled, Get Excited for This Upcoming Horror Movie Starring Josh Brolin (2025)

Some of the fun surrounding horror in recent years is witnessing how the genre has evolved and what new and innovative techniques are being utilized by filmmakers across the world. One aspect of horror that started to become popular with the rise of social media is the "creepypasta" concept. Deriving from the way information is rapidly spread throughout society by the use of the internet, creepypasta is a form of modern-day folklore as it pertains to horror stories going viral in the form of true crime and first-person perspectives. Largely debunked as myth, creepypasta stories have an avid fan base that enjoys exploring the eerie possibilities behind these concepts. This has led film and television to capitalize on this horror format in various ways over the last decade or so. One of the best examples of this is with the TV series Channel Zero.

The anthology horror series drew heavily from creepypasta concepts for many of its seasons, which led to a significant increase in viewership. Although it wasn't quite popular enough to justify a long TV run and eventually got canceled, fans still enjoyed it and constantly look for other horror projects like it. Writer and director Zach Cregger has been on the rise in recent years because he has dived headfirst into making horror movies. Some of his films pull from the lore surrounding creepypasta as well, and with a new film coming out, it looks like some of that lore could exist on the big screen once again. Fans of Channel Zero in particular should get excited about Cregger's upcoming horror film Weapons, especially if they're not quite over the four-season series getting canceled.

Weapons Takes Child Horror to a Whole New Level

There Are Some Interesting Connections to Creepypasta In the Film's Marketing

For horror fans, there has been a lot of buzz surrounding the first teaser trailer for Zach Cregger's new film, Weapons. Aside from the eerie execution of the trailer, the film presents the idea that fans haven't quite seen anything like Weapons on screen yet. This is because the movie will play around with a long-running theme in horror movies: children. Whether they are singing songs in A Nightmare on Elm Street, riding bikes in the halls of the Overlook Hotel in The Shining or doing the killing themselves in The Bad Seed or Alice, Sweet Alice, children have always provided a creepy element to the horror genre. Although details about Zach Cregger's new film are scarce, children are undoubtedly a key aspect of the story.

The plot revolves around every single child from the same class in a local town vanishing at the same time and on the same night. Every child except one. Meanwhile, the parents and community struggle to make sense of it all as they do everything in their power to learn the truth behind what happened. It puts the parents on edge, the teacher in the crossfire and the mystery front and center. Cregger and the marketing team have been very good about how they've lured audiences to come and see the film.

One of the terrifying aspects of the movie is the use of security cameras and realistic footage that shows the children leaving their homes and running toward some unknown destination as they disappear into the night. They also all seem to be doing the same motion as they run, which involves swinging their arms behind them as they zoom away. It's eerily difficult to comprehend, and that makes it all the more interesting. There is clearly a core mystery in the film, and fans have absolutely no idea what to expect, especially with Zach Cregger behind it all.

The thing about creepypasta that fans find so tantalizing is that it is meant to appear real, like some breaking news story that involves mystery and myth. It's almost meant to act as a way of confirming that horrifying elements exist. Cregger's film certainly has this element, and the marketing team even made a creepypasta-type website that adds to the mystery behind the film. The website's URL is "MaybrookMissing.com," which takes fans to a very realistic new outlet-themed page that details the disappearance of the 17 children. This is clever as it makes audiences want to try and learn more about what's really going on in the movie and get them lining up for tickets when the time comes. This is right up Zach Cregger's alley as he's become subtly known for making great mystery horror over the last few years.

Zach Cregger's Hit Film Barbarian Was Straight Out of Creepypasta Lore, Too

The Film Used a Mystery Element and Huge Twists to Become Something Unique

If there is one thing Channel Zero fans should do before seeing Weapons, it is to first check out Zach Cregger's 2022 horror hit Barbarian. Subtly the best horror movie of that year, Barbarian follows a young woman who visits a big city for a job interview, only to find that the Airbnb she is staying at on the outskirts of town has more secrets attached to it than she cares to know. Fans of Channel Zero might immediately gravitate to the film because it is eerily similar to the fourth season's concept of a couple finding a secret door in their basement.

In Barbarian, Tess books an Airbnb that has been double-booked by another client. Both of them agree to split the place, but everything changes when they discover a secret door in the basement. Cregger's command over horror aspects is a big reason why Barbarian is such an effective film. He even uses the same bait-and-switch tactic as Scream, but in reverse. There are a lot of little techniques in the movie that make the audience stunned and terrified. Cregger proved with Barbarian that he was more than just another typical horror director. Fans eagerly awaited whatever project he had coming out next, and now they don't have to wait much longer.

A notable trend in Cregger's films appears to be the use of mystery and twists. Nothing is ever what it seems, and fans had no way of knowing what Barbarian was going to turn into as the film progressed. This will likely be the case with Weapons as well. On the surface, it seems like there is going to be some kind of logical explanation behind the disappearance of these children. The tagline and multiple scenes from the trailer suggest supernatural elements at play or even alien interference. This time around, Cregger is letting people know that there is something bigger going on, as the story clearly revolves around a mystery.

The tagline reads "Last night at 2:17 am, every child from Mrs. Gandy's class woke up, got out of bed, went downstairs, opened the front door, walked into the dark... and they never came back." However, one thing is for sure: no matter what audiences might think is going on in Weapons, it is absolutely going to be entirely different from what they expect. There will be no way to prepare for whatever twist Zach Cregger has in store for fans. There are many reasons to be excited about Weapons, as it might follow suit with Barbarian and become one of the best horror movies of the year.

Weapons Features a Great Cast of Big Name Actors

The Film Will Likely Be Emotional and Scary

What makes horror most effective is providing an outlet for audiences to experience human emotions they don't normally want to confront in their day-to-day lives. If horror is going to excel, it has to move the audience as much as scare them. This has been a great skill of horror filmmakers over the past couple of decades, and fans are getting great films because of it.

Arguably, the best film in 2025 so far is a horror movie, and not Sinners. Bring Her Back did this better than most films this year in any genre, and it will likely resonate for years to come. Cregger has this ability as well and will look to use the same tactic in his upcoming flick.

One of the best ways to achieve this is with the use of a great cast of stars. Weapons features some great names as it is led by Josh Brolin and Julia Garner. However, it also stars names such as Alden Ehrenreich, Toby Huss and Benedict Wong. When horror films can also turn into fantastic ensemble pieces, there is a lot of potential for the film to resonate on an even deeper level. The scares will be there, the thrills will be there, and, of course, the mystery will be there.

With that being said, Zach Cregger's Weapons could thrive even more because of the dramatic emotional connection audiences could have to the performances. Fans of horror should be in for a treat when they go and see Weapons.

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Followed

Weapons

R

Horror

Mystery

Release Date

August 8, 2025

Runtime

128 minutes

Director

Zach Cregger

Writers

Zach Cregger

Producers

Roy Lee, Miri Yoon, J.D. Lifshitz

Cast

See All

• 

  Julia Garner

  Justine Gandy

• 

  Josh Brolin

  Archer Graff

• 

  Alden Ehrenreich

  Paul

• 

  Benedict Wong

  Andrew

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