From 'Barbarian' to 'Weapons,' Zach Cregger's Horror Films Stand Out by Exploring Community and Isolationism

Between Jordan Peele and Zach Cregger, the sketch comedy-to-horror auteur pipeline has been certified. While it's true that these directors are known for infusing their innate sense of humor into dark and grisly films about cursed homes and mysterious phenomena in the community, their sketch comedy backgrounds have equipped them to juggle multiple tones, genres, and ideas into one singular vision. Cregger, whose new film, Weapons, has been met with critical acclaim and audience enthusiasm, certainly knows how to bring chills and thrills. However, Cregger's second feature film, a considerable step-up in scope and ambition from his 2022 debut, Barbarian, exemplifies his unlikely eye for sentimentality in the human condition. As disturbing and grotesquely gory as Weapons gets, it underlines the importance of a stable community and how the destruction of neighborly solidarity is as harrowing as the disappearance of an entire classroom's worth of children.