It's a great time to be a horror fan, with the genre thriving for years now. Some of the best horror movies to hit theaters in recent years come from wholly original concepts, including Zach Cregger's Barbarian and Weapons. And the acclaimed filmmaker recently shared how his buddy Bill Hader helped him make a key change to Alex's story.
One of Bill Hader's best movies is IT Chapter Two (streaming with a HBO Max subscription), so he knows his way around the horror genre. In an interview with THR, Cregger spoke about a key part of Weapons that the SNL alum helped inspire. As he told it:
Bill Hader is a buddy of mine. We would talk about the script, and I think it was his idea. He was like, ‘You should figure out a way to implicate [Alex] so he feels implicated.’
Weapons is one of 2025's biggest success stories, making a ton of money at the box office while also being a critical darling. CinemaBlend's Weapons review praised its non-linear storytelling, including Alex's chapter in the horror flick, and his guilt that's so palpable throughout the movie's runtime.
This bit of feedback from Hader is what inspired the storyline where Alex is coerced into stealing the name plates on his classmate's cubbies, therefore allowing Amy Madigan's Gladys to use her blood magic on the kids. As Zach Cregger continued in the same interview:
So it was through a conversation with him that I had the idea of Alex stealing something. And when we were scouting on location, I saw these cubby boxes that were in a real classroom. So I was like, ‘That would do it.’
This definitely helped to make Alex more of a tragic figure, as well as an unlikely hero. He was tasked with keeping his classmates alive in the basement, and was ultimately the one who freed them from Gladys' spell in the epic finale of the movie.
The hype surrounding this movie it so high that there's talks about Weapons getting a prequel about Aunt Gladys. Cregger admitted he's got the story worked out, while actress Amy Madigan seems down to return as that new horror villain. We'll just have to see if/when that actually happens.
In just two movies, Cregger has established himself as an accomplished director within the horror genre. Whether or not Weapons becomes a full-fledged franchise remains to be seen, but audiences are likely going to paying attention to what else he's got up his sleeve. That includes his forthcoming adaptation of Resident Evil, which is already highly anticipated.
Weapons is is still in theaters now, but can also be rented and purchased at home as part of the 2025 movie release list.
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