Zach Cregger’s sprawling horror film “Weapons” raises a lot of questions. What made the 17 children get out of bed at 2:17 a.m. and run into the night? Where did they go? Who was responsible?
And why did that couple have seven hot dogs for a meal? It turns out this question actually has an emotional answer.
More from TheWrap
This minor moment from “Weapons” went viral soon after the movie’s release, with audiences noting the strange spread adorning the tray of Benedict Wong’s Marcus and his husband, Terry (Clayton Farris). While most viewers simply thought of the image as another off-beat throwaway in Cregger’s humorous horror film, the bit actually has a possible origin that’s far more emotional.
If you haven’t seen “Weapons” yet, there will be minor spoilers in this article. If you want to go in completely blind for Cregger’s gonzo original horror film, come back to this later. If you’re cool with the lightest of spoilers, we’re mostly just talking about the hot dogs.
What is the “hot dog moment” in “Weapons?”
The film “Weapons” centers on a small Pennsylvania town that finds itself infected by tragedy after 17 children (all from a single third-grade class) disappear at the same time. One night, each of the kids woke up, got out of bed at 2:17 in the morning and ran off into the night.
“And they never came back,” one little girl (voiced by Scarlett Sher) says in an opening narration.
“Weapons” focuses on the lives of a handful of key individuals in Maybrook, PA, who find themselves drawn further into this tragedy. One such section highlights Benedict Wong’s Marcus Miller, the principal of the elementary school the disappeared children attended.
Marcus’ section of the film sees his life, like all others in the story, inalterably affected by the grief-filled horror that befalls Maybrook. Shortly before events come to a head for Marcus, the principal and his husband sit down for a meal, with one shot centered squarely on a platter.
Audiences quickly jumped at this image, poking fun at the strange meal prepared for this adult couple. The platter contains a small bowl of about a dozen baby carrots, a bowl twice that size filled with ranch, a couple handfuls of ridged potato chips, four chocolate chip cookies and a whopping seven hot dogs (drizzled with mustard).
In a film filled with tension and grief, the cutaway caught many viewers off-guard. While some have noted that seven hot dogs isn’t all that unreasonable for two people, there’s something about the framing and timing of the image that audiences latched onto.
But fans of Cregger’s early work know the number of hot dogs present may have a deeper meaning than one would guess.
Why are there seven hot dogs?
Before he became a horror director with his breakout hit “Barbarian,” Cregger belonged to a sketch comedy troupe on the TV series “The Whitest Kids U’Know” from 2007 to 2011. On top of launching Cregger’s career in general, “WKUK” gave the future filmmaker, a co-creator for the series, an early opportunity in the director’s chair. Cregger directed a vast majority of the episodes of the show’s five seasons alongside series co-creator and fellow troupe member Trevor Moore.
Around a year before “Barbarian” hit theaters in 2022, Moore tragically died at the age of 41 after accidentally falling off his balcony. Cregger has spoken extensively about the effect this has had on both him and his work, with the director citing this grief as one of the reasons he began working on “Weapons.”
Fans of “WKUK” may remember a sketch from the second episode of the show’s third season, titled “Hot Dog Timmy.” In the scene, fellow “WKUK” member Timmy Williams visits a doctor (played by Moore) who asks about his diet.
Particularly where hot dogs are concerned.
“How many hot dogs do you eat a day?” Trevor asks. Timmy then responds with his average: seven hot dogs. You can watch the sketch below.
As the sketch progresses, Trevor asks Timmy to run through his average day, stopping when any hot dogs may come up. By the end of the sketch, Timmy has mentioned seven hot dogs in a normal day — and that’s before lunch is over.
“Well, I hope there’s no more hot dogs in the day, because we’re up to seven now,” Trevor says.
“Yeah, on second thought, that number might be a little low,” Timmy replies.
Though Cregger has not explicitly stated that the moment in “Weapons” was inspired by “Hot Dog Timmy,” it feels like a probable connection to his days working with Moore. Even if unintentional, the image can be viewed as a touching homage to Moore, evoking a sketch that shows off the actor’s comic prowess.
What is the internet saying about the “Weapons” hot dogs?
X users quickly glommed onto the hot dog shot from “Weapons,” making it an apparent stand-out moment in many people’s screenings. Some laughed at the odd number of dogs on the tray, asking who gets to have four. Others advocated that a three-four hot dog lunch really isn’t that much (after all, Timmy said he has four when he doesn’t “blow through” lunch).
Many people called the moment a glimpse of beauty in an otherwise dark and deranged film. The hot dog tray has been shared on X as a symbol of affection between the fictional couple — and between Cregger and Moore.
You can view some of the posts below.
The post The Viral Hot Dog Moment in ‘Weapons’ Is Actually a Touching Reference appeared first on TheWrap.
Comments