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Time Magazine
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Time Magazine
'Weapons' Breaks New Ground When It Comes to Kids in Horror
Warning: This post contains spoilers for Weapons. It's 2:17 a.m. in Maybrook, Penn., and the parents of Justine Gandy's (Julia Garner) first grade class do not know where their children are. Neither do the police, nor the Ring cameras affixed to the facades on several neighborhood homes, though at least the latter capture footage of kids bounding through their front doors, arms splayed like wings, into early morning's opaque embrace. No other evidence, nary a clue or a hint, of the little ones' whereabouts or motives is left in their wake. One moment, they're sound asleep in their beds; the next, gone without a trace or a reason. Weapons, the sophomore film from Barbarian director Zach Cregger, opens amid the fallout of this awful mass disappearance. The community's response is intense: panicked and bereaved mothers and fathers turn on Justine, indirectly a victim herself; misguided outrage blinds them to the real menace operating unimpeded in their midst. Cregger deliberately opens his audience's eyes over the movie's two hours, allowing them an omniscient view of events unfolding as individual characters experience the plot like gameshow contestants sticking their hands into the same mystery box: it's a mouse; no, it's a chinchilla; no, it's a tarantula. It's actually not at all what we come to expect. Cregger constructs a monster that shares DNA (and a fashion sense) with Pennywise the Dancing Clown from Andy Muschietti's two-part adaptation of Stephen King's It, but a very different modus operandi; around that monster, he spins a tale that fits right into horror cinema's broader child-centered niche, where kids punish their parents and subsidiary grownups, or are used to punish them, or are otherwise prey for an eldritch predator the adults are nigh helpless to stop. What compels movies like these varies, but typically is rooted in children's vulnerability or their parents' protectionary shortcomings. The world is a dangerous place. Parents are supposed to shield our young from those dangers. A quick glance at what the world looks like today suggests that we've dropped the ball, and horror films like It, as well as its contemporary peers, prod at that particular nerve ending: Jason Eisener's Kids vs. Aliens (2022), Eskil Vogt's The Innocents (2021), Kyle Edward Ball's Skinamarink (2022), Christian Tafdrup's Speak No Evil (2022) and James Watkins' 2024 remake, Samuel Bodin's Cobweb (2023), Roxanne Benjamin's There's Something Wrong with the Children (2023), David Hebrero's Everyone Will Burn (2022), and Demián Rugna's When Evil Lurks (2023). Of these, few end on what one might construe as upbeat notes; instances of young'uns overcoming their tormentors come with caveats. Weapons plays along the same lines in this sub-genre's sandbox, too, denying easy catharsis after wracking viewers' nerves with its combination of pitch-black humor, abject grief, and superbly conducted jump scares. Two films into his solo directing career, Cregger has established himself as an artist who uses convention as a whoopee cushion. (Technically, his first directing gig was the dramatically tonally distinct sex comedy Miss March, a joint effort between him and the late Trevor Moore, both of them members of the New York City comedy troupe The Whitest Kids U'Know.) Weapons is his version of both/and reasoning: it is bleak, nihilistic, confounding, and deeply frightening, as well as hilarious, empathetic, and, by the end, optimistic, though optimism in horror usually amounts to table scraps. We take what we can get. Compared to Skinamarink, and most of all When Evil Lurks, the decade's best example of the 'kids punish parents' category, Weapons is a feast; there's light to dispel darkness in the climax, though Cregger adjusts the dimmer slightly to avoid illuminating the whole picture. Even once the movie's over, we still don't understand Gladys (Amy Madigan, terrifying in her cloying sweetness), the fiend responsible for the children's disappearance and all ensuant bloodshed. We don't know for sure what will become of them once they're freed from her thrall, despite the helpful voiceover from Cregger's anonymous narrator (Scarlett Sher) assuring us that some of the kids recover from the catatonia Gladys inflicted on them. We don't know where Gladys learned her witchcraft, or why, or from whom, or whether they might go looking for her. All of this is to say that we only have scant confidence that the kids will, in fact, be all right, though grant that Weapons makes no gestures toward potential 'what ifs' by the time the credits roll. Cregger maintains the film's self-containment. There will be no Weapons 2. (Hopefully. If there is: It will be titled Weapon$.) This is a hard tack away from the type of resolutions seen in movies like When Evil Lurks, which Rugna could just as easily have called When Evil Prevails: as that film draws to a close, brothers Pedro (Ezequiel Rodríguez) and Jimi (Demián Salomon) are left alive by the entity they spend the movie hunting, to serve as witnesses to the entity's birth as well as their own colossal screw-ups—their failure to act quickly enough, to heed common sense, and to listen to experts chief among them. Everyone who dies in the film—and everyone does die, including Santino (Marcelo Michinaux), Pedro's young son—does so because Pedro and Jimi act without thought given to consequences, much less to rationality. They know, in Rugna's fictionalized world where demons are real and possession is treated as a public safety issue in the same vein as house fires or robberies, that killing a person who is host to an evil spirit means spreading that spirit's influence like a virus; but they behave as if ignorant of this common knowledge. What vile carnage they provoke through their stupidity coheres into a metaphor for the incoming generation's judgment of the presiding one: When Evil Lurks is about the profound dereliction of duty by society's adults to properly safeguard the world, and them, from harm. In real-life terms, 'harm' could be climate change, gun violence, food insecurity, infectious disease, and trafficking, and Cregger uses Weapons to tap into the same anxieties we feel as parents every single day, because to be a parent is to live with fear. Mercifully—because that sounds like an awful way to wake up and go to bed every single day—fear is the beam on an emotional sliding scale. What we fear, and how much, and when, ebbs and flows depending on the day, the time, the last soul-corroding headline we read between brushing our teeth and taking our littles to summer camp. Sometimes, fear is just a sudden rush of recollection that you forgot the swim goggles while prepping your child's backpack—a venial sin rather than a mortal one. Other times, though, it's an electric arc that spurs our catastrophization: what if the bus flips over on the way to camp? What if he develops heat stroke? What if she slips beneath the lake surface and her counselors don't notice? What if a lunatic strolls up to the daycare and indiscriminately opens fire with the rifle he bought at Walmart? What if? The not-knowing that's intrinsic to parenthood is inverted in Weapons: something has happened to Maybrook's kids, but there's no 'if,' just 'what.' Archer Graf (Josh Brolin) knows that his boy ran away from home, along with his classmates, seen in the film's opening sequence, a pre-dawn frolic that, deprived of context, reads as liberating, and practically joyful. The film, of course, is no such thing, though we do return to a version of that sensation of freedom in the climax, when Gladys' spell is broken and Justine's class chases her down, feral and screaming, an outraged pack of hyenas pulverizing lawns, barreling through window walls, and tearing down fences in their pursuit. Well before these kids fall upon Gladys, Cregger makes it clear that she has used black magic for the sake of extending her life. She's terminally ill. Abducting the children abates her illness. (The mechanics of 'how' go unexplained, and that's for the better. It's magic. Enough said.) But where another movie, like When Evil Lurks, puts the burden of solving the problem on adults, who dramatically screw things up, Weapons gives that task to the youth, or one youth: Alex (Cary Christopher), Gladys' nephew, the only child in Justine's class who didn't vanish. He's been reluctantly serving Gladys, who holds his parents (Whitmer Thomas, Callie Schuttera) hostage with magic, threatening their lives if he disobeys. In Weapons' frantic climax, Alex uses her magic against her, reclaiming what she's taken from him—his mother, his father, his friends—in a moment of righteous comeuppance. Catharsis is watching as a decrepit fiend is literally ripped to pieces by the same people they've subjugated and stolen from. In reality, the majority of us would settle for seeing the billionaires and corrupt elected officials currently driving the worst perils facing us, and our children, locked up and sent to prison; a collective sigh of satisfied relief was heard around the globe the day Harvey Weinstein received his life sentence. Weapons, being a horror film, comes with a few catches at the end, but that alone differentiates it from movies like When Evil Lurks and Skinamarink, where no catch is needed because the monster wins. Calling Weapons' ending a victory is perhaps somewhat generous, what with the matter of all the dead people left to account for, even Gladys. But the small victory that Cregger's characters eke out here sets his film apart from its peers in wicked style.
Business Upturn
08-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Business Upturn
IT: Welcome to Derry – Release date, cast, plot and everything we know so far
By Aman Shukla Published on June 8, 2025, 18:39 IST Last updated June 8, 2025, 18:58 IST The terrifying world of Stephen King's IT is expanding with IT: Welcome to Derry , an upcoming HBO series that dives into the sinister origins of Pennywise the Dancing Clown. Set as a prequel to the blockbuster films IT (2017) and IT Chapter Two (2019), this series promises to unravel the chilling history of Derry, Maine, and its most infamous resident. Here's everything we know so far about IT: Welcome to Derry , including release date speculation, cast details, plot insights, and more. Release Date Speculation for IT: Welcome to Derry IT: Welcome to Derry is slated to premiere in fall 2025 on HBO and Max, though an exact release date remains unconfirmed. Initially, the series was targeted for a Halloween 2024 debut, but delays caused by the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes pushed production back, shifting the release to 2025. Recent updates suggest a potential October 2025 premiere, aligning with the spooky season, which would be fitting for a horror series of this caliber. Production wrapped in August 2024, and with post-production underway, fans can expect more precise details closer to the release. Cast of IT: Welcome to Derry The series boasts a talented ensemble, blending new faces with a familiar terror. Here's a breakdown of the confirmed cast: Bill Skarsgård as Pennywise : The standout star of the IT films returns to reprise his iconic role as the shape-shifting demon clown. Skarsgård, who initially expressed hesitation about returning due to the role's intensity, will also serve as an executive producer, ensuring continuity with the films. His chilling performance is a major draw for fans. Main Cast : Taylour Paige ( Zola , Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F ): A lead role, though character details remain undisclosed. Jovan Adepo ( 3 Body Problem , The Leftovers ): Expected to play a pivotal role, possibly tied to the Hanlon family, given references to Will Hanlon in some sources. Chris Chalk ( Gotham , Perry Mason ): Another series regular, adding depth to the ensemble. James Remar ( Dexter , Black Lightning ): Known for intense roles, his character is yet to be revealed. Stephen trasferimento ( Daredevil ): Joins as a series regular, bringing his dramatic chops to Derry's horrors. Plot Details for IT: Welcome to Derry IT: Welcome to Derry is set in 1962, 27 years before the events of IT (2017), aligning with Pennywise's cyclical awakening every 27 years. The series draws inspiration from the 'interludes' in Stephen King's IT novel, which detail Mike Hanlon's research into Derry's dark history through interviews with older residents. These interludes chronicle catastrophic events tied to Pennywise's reign, such as the burning of the Black Spot, a nightclub for Black residents, which serves as a central event in Season 1. Where to Watch IT: Welcome to Derry IT: Welcome to Derry will premiere on HBO and stream exclusively on Max in the United States. In the UK, it's expected to air on Sky and NOW, consistent with HBO's distribution patterns. A Max subscription will be required to stream the series, which will drop its nine episodes weekly starting in fall 2025. Aman Shukla is a post-graduate in mass communication . A media enthusiast who has a strong hold on communication ,content writing and copy writing. Aman is currently working as journalist at
The Irish Sun
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Irish Sun
Legendary Brit actor Tim Curry seen on rare outing with his carer 13 years after Rocky Horror star suffered a stroke
LEGENDARY British actor Tim Curry was seen on a rare outing in Los Angeles today, 13 years after suffering a major stroke. The 79-year-old was spotted leaving Gelson's supermarket wearing a red sweater, matching trainers, and black trousers. 5 Tim Curry was seen on a rare outing in Los Angeles today Credit: BackGrid 5 He was spotted leaving Gelson's supermarket wearing a red sweater, matching trainers, and black trousers Credit: BackGrid Also sporting dark sunglasses and clutching a paper bag, Tim was pushed in a wheelchair by his carer. Tim's 2012 stroke left him partially paralysed on one side of his body and affected his speech. The health crisis forced him to step away from acting and public life for several years. A celebrated actor, Tim is known for his charismatic performances in film , television , and theatre . read more on tim curry He became a cult icon playing Dr. Frank-N-Furter in His other notable roles include Wadsworth the butler in the cult classic Clue and Pennywise the Dancing Clown in the 1990 adaptation of Stephen King's It. The stroke had a severe impact on Tim's mobility, leaving him reliant on a wheelchair and carers for support with everyday tasks. Since 2012, Tim has undergone extensive physical therapy and rehabilitation to regain as much movement and speech as possible. Most read in Celebrity He has kept a low profile in recent years, rarely seen in public and not active in major acting projects. However, Tim has made some notable appearances and engaged with fans through interviews and virtual events. Neighbours legend set for huge UK comeback as he reprises iconic role for the first time in 25 years In 2015, almost three years after his stroke, he made a rare public appearance at the Actors Fund Tony Awards Viewing Party in Los Angeles. There, he received a lifetime achievement award and spoke openly about his recovery, highlighting how maintaining his sense of humor was vital to coping with his health challenges. More recently, since 2023, Tim has participated in virtual video chats with fans through conventions like GalaxyCon. He has also shared occasional video messages on social media, providing insight into his life post-stroke and answering fan questions about his recovery and career. In addition to these appearances, Tim marked a notable return to acting in 2024 with a role in the horror film Stream - his first feature film role in 14 years. The film was released in select theaters in August 2024. He has also remained active in voice acting, lending his talents to animated series and projects, further demonstrating his enduring passion for performance. 5 Tim is a celebrated actor, known for his roles in cult films Credit: Getty 5 His 2012 stroke left him partially paralysed on one side of his body Credit: Getty 5 He became a cult icon playing Dr. Frank-N-Furter in The Rocky Horror Picture Show Credit: Alamy
