Movies
The Sneaky ‘Weapons’ Casting That Makes for a Twisted ‘Barbarian’ Callback
An in-universe viral marketing website previously revealed that Weapons takes place in the same world as Barbarian, writer/director Zach Cregger‘s feature debut. But the connections also extend to a deranged pair of Barbarian cameos in Cregger’s latest.
Weapons, now playing in theaters, sees the small suburban town of Maybrook completely unravel in the wake of the bizarre disappearance of nearly an entire classroom of elementary school students. The unpredictable horror movie shifts through multiple perspectives to piece together the mystery, including that of Archer Graff (Josh Brolin), the desperate father of one of the children who went missing.
While we won’t spoil what happens in Weapons, it’s safe to say that Archer remains dogged in his pursuit of answers, becoming a thorn in the side of the local authorities as well as Justine Gandy (Julia Garner), his missing son’s teacher. Archer’s bid for answers leads him to the door of another pair of parents directly affected by the mass disappearance, and here’s where Cregger’s pitch black humor slyly shows its teeth.
Archer knocks on the door to inquire about the footage on the home’s Ring camera, only to be denied by the woman who answers. Undeterred, he simply waits for the arrival of the woman’s husband, whom he then catches off guard until he gets his way, earning the husband death glares from his unapproving wife. It’s a scene that’s hysterical already, but takes on a darker undertone when connecting it to Barbarian.
Josh Brolin in ‘Weapons’. Photo Courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures
That’s because the couple in this scene is played by Sara Paxton, Cregger’s real-life wife, and Justin Long, two actors who both appeared previously in Cregger’s feature debut and whose characters shared a rather grim connection. In Barbarian, Justin Long plays AJ, a disgraced actor recently fired for sexual assault allegations from his television series’ co-star, Megan. The twist in Barbarian, or at least one of many twists, is that the allegations proved true and “nice guy” AJ emerged as one of the film’s true villains.
Megan is a character only heard via phone and voicemail, not seen, and she’s played by The Innkeepers and Last House on the Left actor Sara Paxton. You can hear her voice just over the halfway point, in a deeply uncomfortable scene that sees a drunken AJ call her to apologize for the assault, in an ill-advised attempt to gaslight Megan over the accusations.
The disturbing connection between Paxton and Long’s characters in Barbarian is what makes their brief appearance as a suburban married couple in Weapons such a twisted Easter egg for fans.
Up next from Cregger is his take on Resident Evil, set to star Weapons actor Austin Abrams. It’s early yet, but it feels safe to assume the horror filmmaker will nestle in a few twisted Easter eggs to his previous works. We’ll of course be keeping our eyes peeled.
Austin Abrams in ‘Weapons’. Photo Courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures
This week kicked off with the release of hippo horror movie Hungry at home, and four more horror movies have arrived for at-home viewing as we head into the final weekend of June.
Here are the new horror movies that released on Friday, June 26, 2026!
The Halloween season can no longer be contained to the months of September and October, with “Summerween” becoming a thing in recent years. Essentially, it allows for Halloween to bleed into the warmer Summer months, and the first ever Summerween movie has arrived.
The Asylum released Summerween onto Digital outlets today.
In the film from writer/director Ryan Ebert, “On Summerween, a former circus clown escapes a mental institution to return to his abandoned mansion and hunt the teens partying there.”
Cole Chapleski, Chase Breithoff, Logan Roe, Sophia Sabol, and Clint Morrison star.
Director Ryan Ebert is the man behind a string of recent indie horrors we’ve covered, including Shark Side of the Moon, The Jolly Monkey, Jurassic Reborn, and Predator: Wastelands.
A witchy coming-of-age story from Dark Sky Films, Camp is now playing in select theaters.
Check your local listings to find a theater near you.
Camp is from writer-director Avalon Fast (Honeycomb, The Serpent’s Skin).
“Emily is the root cause of two devastating tragedies very early in her life, and she feels the weight of these accidents as though cursed. At her father’s suggestion, she takes a position at a summer camp for troubled youth to ease her guilt. When Emily arrives, she is welcomed by the other counselors, who accept her as she is and surround her with peace and forgiveness.
“As Emily begins to believe in a new kind of life, she starts to hear a voice whispering from deep in the woods — one that urges her to go home, and one that may be impossible to ignore.”
The film stars Zola Grimmer in her screen debut alongside Alice Wordsworth, Cherry Moore, Lea Rose Sebastianis (Castration Movie Part 1 & 2, In A Violent Nature), Ella Reece, Austyn Van de Kamp (This Too Shall Pass), Sophie Bawks-Smith (Honeycomb), Izza Jarvis, and Aiden Laudersmith.
Producers Tyler Perry and Jason Blum have joined forces for Peacock Original Strung.
The film is now streaming only on Peacock.
“A talented violinist takes a prestigious job as a music tutor for the gifted daughter of an influential and enigmatic family. As she becomes entangled in their opulent world, unsettling secrets begin to surface, forcing her to question her safety, her dreams, and even her sanity.”
Malcolm D. Lee (Scary Movie 5, Space Jam: A New Legacy) directs from a script written by Alan B. McElroy (Wrong Turn, Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers).
Chloe Bailey (“Swarm“), Lynn Whitfield (Jaws: The Revenge), Lucien Laviscount (“Scream Queens”), Anna Diop (Us), Coco Jones (Vampires vs. the Bronx), Langley Kirkwood (“Banshee”), and Romy Woods star in Peacock’s Strung.
Produced by Diablo Cody, director Meredith Alloway’s Forbidden Fruits brought a new coven of witches to the big screen earlier this year, and it’s now streaming on Shudder.
Lola Tung (“The Summer I Turned Pretty”), Victoria Pedretti (“The Haunting of Hill House”), Alexandra Shipp (Tragedy Girls), Gabrielle Union (Breaking In), and Emma Chamberlain star in Forbidden Fruits, released by IFC and Shudder.
Free Eden employee Apple secretly runs a witchy femme cult in the basement of the mall store after hours. But when new hire Pumpkin challenges the group’s ‘girl boss’ ways, the women are forced to face their own poisons or succumb to a bloody fate.
“Forbidden Fruits grabbed me by the neck the very first time I read it,” Diablo Cody said. “It’s one of the craziest, most creative, beautifully bonkers projects I’ve ever worked on.”
Meagan Navarro writes in her review for Bloody Disgusting, “Forbidden Fruits may not necessarily forge new terrain in the teen satire space, but Alloway brings so much style and energy to her well-cast single-location stage play adaptation for the Gen Z crowd.”
The film is an adaptation of playwright Lily Houghton’s stage play Of the Women Came the Beginning of Sin and Through Her We All Die. Alloway and Houghton co-adapted.
This week’s new release roundups are presented by HUNGRY.
All aboard the swamp tour from hell – this hippo isn’t playing games…
HUNGRY is now available on Digital. Watch it now!
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