Amazing work here! That was such an enlightening and sobering read. I’ve seen Weapons twice now and reas a ton of analysis. Seeing it through your lens now, I have to say—the safety (or lack thereof) of children online is the strongest and best metaphor in the film.
Love this and reminds me of another piece I read on the senselessness of horror (and how the lack of logic is exactly what makes it so scary) from Jimmy Hollenbeck!
This is a stunning write up! I went into Weapons cold and took it at face value; as a childless Gen X I was just looking for horrifying Friday night fun. I love how deep you've gone with it, you've opened my eyes to so many things I wasn't aware of. Roblox is legit fucking terrifying.
The threatening of the parents reminds me of the Momo Challenge meme that, real or fake, certainly raised some alarm bells in the mid-2010s. I do worry about all the screen time the kids (including my own) get, but I hope my partner and I talk to and (more importantly) listen to ours enough to balance it out. Also, stuff like Bluey is out there doing good work, I think.
Loved Weapons, though. I think what makes it so challenging is that the 2010s were rife with horror texts that had clear messages and could only be taken one way. Horror wasn't always like this - sometimes, it had multiple meanings, while other times it was just fun schlock. Cregger's work is old school in that way, the best way, in my opinion.
Last thing I'll say about it for now, but because of all the people telling me to "go in blind," I was sort of hoping for a secret Nightmare on Elm Street prequel when the New Line logo popped up. I'm glad we got what we got, but I wouldn't complain about another trip down Elm Street.
I really loved this piece. I also thought about it as an allegory for kids on the internet and totally thought the big reveal would be that they all watched the same TV show or video that brainwashed them in some way, but I was also very happy to be fooled. I loved "Weapons" and I also love that we can find so much complexity in it that's not even necessarily there for the viewer to see.
what a great essay! i really enjoyed the vagueness of 'weapons', and it's been a recent scary movie surf i've been on recently. i grew up with an almost one-to-one childhood to yours, from the deviantart to the freshman year, to all the online depths that i'd say i'm recovered from, but can anyone really recover?
i say that because what i really enjoy about horror is the reflection of what we fear as a society, and i hope that this film is the first in a wave of exploring this very real and valid fear of what the internet does to us (perhaps i'm just uninitiated in that realm, so would LOVE recs if that's the case). i thought what you said about the plain-sightedness of the problem was put together perfectly; instead of registering the situation for what it is (HORRIFIC), we'd rather make fun of children and their incapable parents than ask more of the infrastructure and that which constructs it. why would we rather make fun of burn victims than ask who let the fire in? does it just make us too sad?
again, GREAT essay! i'm so excited to read more & thanks for writing!
Amazing work here! That was such an enlightening and sobering read. I’ve seen Weapons twice now and reas a ton of analysis. Seeing it through your lens now, I have to say—the safety (or lack thereof) of children online is the strongest and best metaphor in the film.
Thank you so much! I figured it would be an interesting idea to look into so I’m happy people enjoy the idea!!
Love this and reminds me of another piece I read on the senselessness of horror (and how the lack of logic is exactly what makes it so scary) from Jimmy Hollenbeck!
Ooh, I’d love to read that!
Good work! I definitely think you’re onto something, even if it was unintentional. I love how many different ways this movie can be interpreted.
Thank you so much!!
This is a stunning write up! I went into Weapons cold and took it at face value; as a childless Gen X I was just looking for horrifying Friday night fun. I love how deep you've gone with it, you've opened my eyes to so many things I wasn't aware of. Roblox is legit fucking terrifying.
It is! The whole Roblox thing has been insane!!
The threatening of the parents reminds me of the Momo Challenge meme that, real or fake, certainly raised some alarm bells in the mid-2010s. I do worry about all the screen time the kids (including my own) get, but I hope my partner and I talk to and (more importantly) listen to ours enough to balance it out. Also, stuff like Bluey is out there doing good work, I think.
Loved Weapons, though. I think what makes it so challenging is that the 2010s were rife with horror texts that had clear messages and could only be taken one way. Horror wasn't always like this - sometimes, it had multiple meanings, while other times it was just fun schlock. Cregger's work is old school in that way, the best way, in my opinion.
Last thing I'll say about it for now, but because of all the people telling me to "go in blind," I was sort of hoping for a secret Nightmare on Elm Street prequel when the New Line logo popped up. I'm glad we got what we got, but I wouldn't complain about another trip down Elm Street.
You’re right. I’ve heard that Bluey is great for the kiddos!
I loved Weapons for what it was. It was super fun and camp at times but also really creepy at others. I’m really happy you enjoyed the read.
As far as a “secret sequel” to A Nightmare on Elm Street, I think Black Phone 2 might offer us that haha
Good to know. I should check that out. I liked the story the first is based on, but I haven't gotten to those movies for some reason.
I really loved this piece. I also thought about it as an allegory for kids on the internet and totally thought the big reveal would be that they all watched the same TV show or video that brainwashed them in some way, but I was also very happy to be fooled. I loved "Weapons" and I also love that we can find so much complexity in it that's not even necessarily there for the viewer to see.
what a great essay! i really enjoyed the vagueness of 'weapons', and it's been a recent scary movie surf i've been on recently. i grew up with an almost one-to-one childhood to yours, from the deviantart to the freshman year, to all the online depths that i'd say i'm recovered from, but can anyone really recover?
i say that because what i really enjoy about horror is the reflection of what we fear as a society, and i hope that this film is the first in a wave of exploring this very real and valid fear of what the internet does to us (perhaps i'm just uninitiated in that realm, so would LOVE recs if that's the case). i thought what you said about the plain-sightedness of the problem was put together perfectly; instead of registering the situation for what it is (HORRIFIC), we'd rather make fun of children and their incapable parents than ask more of the infrastructure and that which constructs it. why would we rather make fun of burn victims than ask who let the fire in? does it just make us too sad?
again, GREAT essay! i'm so excited to read more & thanks for writing!