Weapons: Why was David Fincher mentioned in the end credits of the movie? Reasons explored

Weapons is the latest obsession of horror fans. This slow creeper of a movie slides in and sits heavy on your chest with questions unanswered, and you don't even realize when or how it takes over. But that's the beauty of a good horror.

The story in Weapons is told in chapters from different viewpoints, and the intensity builds slowly but also intimately. You become a part of that haunted little town, and even start piecing together the nightmare along with Josh Brolin and Julia Garner.

At 2:17 am, 17 kids vanish from their houses. Only Alex is left behind, and the town, understandably, loses its collective mind. Parents point fingers at the teacher, Justine Gandy (Julia Garner), and suspicion, dread, and fast judgments take over. Then, Archer (Josh Brolin) steps in. He is a father broken by grief, looking for answers and redemption. Weapons weaves through these emotions to show you a horror story that grabs you by the throat.

If you have watched Weapons, you must have seen the big name. It is not something you would expect. David Fincher’s name in the end credits would definitely make anyone curious. So, let’s get into why the film's director, Zach Cregger, felt Fincher deserved the shoutout.

Weapons: Why David Fincher is mentioned in the end credits

To begin with, David Fincher didn’t show up on set of Weapons or hold a camera. But director Zach Cregger didn’t just toss in the name as a fanboy nod. According to Cregger, Fincher helped him in both prep and post-production. He shared in a Variety interview:

"He’s just a very helpful guy. He was available to me during prep, and then he was very available during the post process. He watched the movie and had a lot of really constructive thoughts and gave me a ton of ideas. He helped me learn more about the editing process and how to think about it in a new way that wasn’t available to me when I was making 'Barbarian.' So he just opened my mind up a lot."

He also shared:

"There are things I thought I had to just settle for. I thought, “Well, that’s the take I have. That’s the best take. And it’s not perfect, but by God, nothing is.” Dave’s attitude is, “It can always be better, and there are a lot of tools that you have at your disposal that you might not be thinking about.” So, from reframing to stabilization to ADR to all sorts of things, it was really cool. Honestly, I learned a lot about how to prep, what lenses to use. I shot this mostly anamorphic, and I didn’t quite respect how limiting anamorphic is in the post process. So stuff like that, technical stuff."

If you are a Fincher fan, this kind of behind-the-scenes mentorship doesn’t surprise you. He is known for obsessing over precision in storytelling, and with Weapons having that slow burn feel, the connection makes perfect sense. Cregger credits him with opening his mind and helping him solve problems creatively and technically.