Barbarian director's new horror movie Weapons gets creepy first trailer

The first trailer for upcoming horror movie Weapons from Zach Cregger has landed, and it sets an ominous tone. Set after the strange disappearance of a number of children in the middle of the night, we're given a glimpse at the inciting incident, with a voice-over of a detective hoping for answers.

The trailer opens with an alarm clock set to 2:17am, the camera moving from an empty bedroom, downstairs, and out through the open front door. Narration from an investigative interview reveals a bunch of young people apparently up and left their homes at this time, without any warning or provocation. All but one member of a local class vanished, leaving everyone scratching their heads

The new clip is the most we have seen of Weapons so far, as helmer Cregger, best known for his 2022 flick Barbarian, has been keeping very tight-lipped over the elusive horror movie. Before the trailer, we saw a first look image of an alarm clock stuck on the aforementioned 2:17am, as well as a string of confusing and downright creepy clips showing the kids running through a neighbourhood at night, flailing their limbs around.

But the movie really took the horror marketing crown earlier this week when an in-universe site called Maybrook Missing went viral. The site lists cases of missing children in the area, reading, "17 Local Children Leave Home Simultaneously at 2:17am. Authorities are baffled by the inexplicable disappearance, which has shaken the community to its core."

Below the text, the site shows the creepy clips mentioned earlier, but also has a link to a news story about a 28 year old woman named Tess Marshall who escaped a rental property in Detroit "under shocking circumstances." Does that ring a bell? That’s probably because that is the plot of Cregger’s Barbarian. From this, we can only assume that the two movies are linked.

Weapons stars Josh Brolin, Wolf Man's Julia Garner, Alden Ehrenreich, Benedict Wong, Antlers’ Amy Madigan, Austin Abrams, and Cary Christopher.

Weapons hits theaters on August 8. For more, check out our list of the best horror movies, or our guide to all the upcoming horror movies heading our way.