When it comes to original horror, we expect low-to-mid budget horror to explode more through smaller independent studios and less from the major ones. Bigger studios tend to see these sorts of films as gambles, sometimes paying off in the form of hits like Ready or Not or even Sinners, and other times having to settle for cult classic status like with Abigail or Companion. However, when you have a talented, well-regarded horror filmmaker like Zach Cregger ready with a script like Weapons, for a studio like Warner Bros., it’s no longer a gamble. Success becomes almost inevitable.

Weapons is an incredibly clever and really creepy horror film. Cregger has managed to craft a very cleverly written and twisted story that harkens back to some of the supernatural classics of the 80s, like Halloween III: Season of the Witch. It helps considerably that he creates very flawed, human characters who are relatable and sympathetic, as depicted by his stellar ensemble. Chief among the cast is Alden Ehrenreich’s Paul, a police officer trying to do right by his town of Maybrook, but has moments of weakness where he stumbles.

I will be the first to admit that while I enjoyed and was greatly entertained by Weapons as a very solid horror film, there were a few things that didn’t quite sit right with me, and some things that worked well.

(SPOILER ALERT AHEAD!)

One of the things that worked for me was Ehrenreich as a very sympathetic human character, who does some negative and abusive things as a police officer, but receives consequences for those actions. While the character is by no means villainous, it’s nice that Cregger isn’t condoning any of the abuse of power from an officer like Paul, and showcases that there are consequences for cowardly and morally wrong choices. However one thing that didn’t sit right with me was a particular set of deaths in the movie for a couple of innocent characters that absolutely could have been prevented narratively. Weapons features a mostly Caucasian cast, so it’s disappointing when the few minority stars they do have are sacrificed in the name of saving the straight White characters. While that in and of itself would not be a great look, what ultimately makes it worse is that the cause of some of these deaths spawns from a plot hole the movie didn’t recognize through its duration.

I did discuss the plot hole with Cregger in the interviews below, though admittedly felt bad for bringing it up. We definitely didn’t intend to belittle the otherwise clever script, but the plot hole is also the reason some of the POC deaths in the film feel unwarranted. Nevertheless, Cregger was still terrific to speak with, as was Ehrenreich, and we’d love to share what they had to say about Weapons right here:

Weapons comes to theaters this Friday, August 8.