Following the mystery from several perspectives – from a schoolteacher (Julia Garner) accused of being a “witch” as it was only kids from her class who disappeared, to a grieving father (Josh Brolin) playing amateur detective – we keep seeing glimpses that Principal Marcus has gone through a mysterious transformation. No longer is he the kind heart of the community, but a rage fuelled monster with bulging eyes and a taste for blood.
How we get there, I’ll keep under wraps, but the biggest surprise might be that Wong is even taking on such a monstrous role due to his lifelong aversion to watching horror movies.
He told Zavvi: “It’s not that I don’t like horror movies – horror didn’t like me! Back in the 80s, I was really traumatised by Clive Barker’s Hellraiser, and had severe recurring nightmares over Pinhead, so that was it for me.
“Horror is still a very triggering word, but I’m the ultimate professional, so when Zach (Cregger, writer/director) gave me the script and started talking to me about the project, I knew I’d have to go back and see his previous film Barbarian. And I sat and watched it, ultimately terrified, but what softened the blow for me is that Richard Brake, a dear friend of mine, was playing the old man in the basement, so that helped guide me through.
“What I enjoyed about that film was the constant turning of corners, where you could never quite get a handle on the direction the film was going. I found it thrilling, and that drew me back into the script of Weapons, where now I was playing a beast, and I could have an amazing time doing it.
“Going to the premiere was the first time in my life I’ve actually seen a horror film in a cinema, and it was thrilling and nerve-wracking. There’s nothing like an audience laughing and screaming at the same time!”
Wong didn’t have to go under an intense physical transformation to become a beast, but it is a performance which required a lot from him, running at sub-human speeds to try and attack his victims from opposite sides of town. I assure you, this does all make sense once the threads of the story are connected.
“When playing such a physical role, you’re not trying to channel another horror monster – you're just giving yourself a target that you must head for. You have to hope that your body is willing to achieve the target that’s been set, because it’s possibly beyond its limitations.
“It’s especially hard when you’re carrying a bit of timber and you’re pushing your body to the limit, in this case running your legs out and punching windows through. It’s taken a good year for my body to heal, but it was worth it; the way he relentlessly pursues his target makes the movie far more unnerving and dangerous.”
Like Barbarian, Cregger’s new film exists somewhere between supernatural horror and jet-black comedy, albeit with an even more ambitious story structure that flirts with genres as far afield as police procedurals and fairytales. Even though it was this flirtation with different genres which drew him into Cregger’s work, Wong knew he had to throw all of that out of the window to get into the right headspace to shoot.
He explained: “I don’t really think about whether it’s a comedy, a horror, or anything else. I just put myself into the situations the script demands and then let the audience decide whether it’s funny or horrific.
“It might sound simplified, but neither me nor Zach want to force any issue onto the audience. It’s not the way he tells stories – he respects them and makes them earn each wild twist.”
Cregger has insisted in interviews that his movie is not a “political” film, and that it’s story of grief comes from a personal place. But opening with a charged town hall meeting after an indescribable tragedy at a school, before following a teacher victimised by conspiracy theories through the introductory half hour, means the film can’t help but recall very recognisable scenes we’ve seen on the news from America countless times in recent years.
Wong naturally understands why people will see the parallels but doesn’t want people to view this film as a commentary it wasn’t intended to be.
“This story is being told at face value, really just focusing on this one area in Maybrook. As individuals, it’s hard not to have that heightened compassion and sympathy when we see events like this on the news involving kids, and that shared humanity naturally raises the stakes when telling a story about children in peril.
“We want people to feel what they’re feeling, but I think we’re creating a story, not a commentary. We want to let the audience go with it and have it resonate with them in whichever way it will.”
Looking ahead to the future, Wong is eager to work with Cregger again on whatever he makes next; whether he’ll get the call to appear in his Resident Evil reboot, shooting later this year, is still up in the air.
“He’s just an incredible auteur with a great vision. I often look at how directors work, and some are quite hierarchical in who they’ll listen to, but with Zach it’s circular – he knows exactly what he wants but brings a great vibe to the set that still welcomes ideas.
“I think he’s in the top three directors I’ve ever worked with, and I will work with him again. I spent all night at the premiere telling him that much myself!”
As for whether he’s now got over his aversion to horror, well, that’s a different question.
“I honestly don’t know whether I’ll star in or even watch a horror movie again, but I’m really happy to be in this one for now. I’ve enjoyed hearing the collective experiences of people in the cinema, and it really brought me back to my theatre background, where you get the visceral experience of hearing a live audience coming together to laugh and cry.
“Seeing a horror movie with a crowd is almost like a form of church, it’s a real communal experience. And luckily with this one, people immediately wanted to go back in and watch it all over again...”
Weapons is released in UK cinemas on Thursday, 7th August.
