The Terror of the Aged Woman

“I think [horror] is one of the few theatrical avenues right now where you can be surprised,” writer-director Zach Cregger said in an interview about his new mystery-horror film, Weapons. Because horror budgets typically run small, filmmakers have freer rein to play with the form. Cregger’s sophomore effort, even more so than his hit debut, Barbarian (2022), takes joyous advantage of that freedom. The risks were justified: Weapons grossed $43 million on its opening weekend, and makes contrarian points about “monstrous” female power that evoke theorist Camille Paglia.