One Thing Is Keeping Weapons Director Zach Cregger From Being The Next Shyamalan (And That's A Good Thing)

"Go in blind." That's the warning that's accompanied the two incredible horror movies that have come from director Zach Cregger. After giving us the nightmarish Airbnb-based tale "Barbarian," Cregger's latest, "Weapons" sees a town consumed with dread after an entire classroom of children mysteriously disappear into the night at 2:17am. In both finales of these now critically-acclaimed movies, audiences have been left flabbergasted after being taken down holes of horror (quite literally in "Barbarian's" case), clueless over what was waiting at the end of them. It's made Cregger a refreshing and exciting voice in the genre, and one that seems to be reverberating with the same level of tension, chills, and rug-pulling as one director in particular.

In 1999, M. Night Shyamalan turned up on the scene with "The Sixth Sense," which delivered one of the greatest twists in cinema history. His booming success saw him shoot to the top of 'directors to watch' lists. Shyamalan was often compared to Alfred Hitchcock — thanks to his first batch of films that had audiences second-guessing (and third-guessing, and fourth-guessing) where the story was going — which became a blessing and a burden for the filmmaker. Now, after making two exceptional horror films back-to-back, Cregger has a chance to gain the same kind of traction. If he isn't careful, he could end up succumbing to a similar issue that has plagued his predecessor for most of his career.

Plenty of directors have trademarks in their work. A Michael Bay movie can be seen a mile off if the slow-motion sunset shot is just right, and there's a speed and sharp edge to a Sorkin-written story that sounds like no other. However, after the world learned from Shyamalan that ghosts don't know they're dead, twists became his cinematic seal. Audiences were actively looking out for them and disappointed if they didn't match his most famous one, or worse, weren't even present. We literally have a list of his twists ranked on unpredictability. They're so large in number that both "South Park" and "Robot Chicken" have poked fun at him.

If Cregger is the new Shyamalan, than "Weapons" is his "Unbreakable," which is said with the utmost respect. His follow-up to "Barbarian" is just as brilliant, if not better, but the audience flocking to see this film after his first are perhaps more prepared to have their heads spun. Just like any horror story, part of the treat is in the trick and the one Cregger delivers in the final act of "Weapons" is incredible enough that it will undoubtedly spur demand for another in his next project. It's this trap that the director of "Trap" fell into so early in his career, and it's one Cregger could avoid if he keeps applying one essential ingredient: He needs to keep things gross. Like, really gross.

Just like any good horror director whose career is on the rise, Cregger's work is becoming something of an urban legend. His movies tell tales that daring cinemagoers recount to those that are too scared to join them on, thanks to an incredibly unsettling trailer or the threat of things getting a bit messier than what they're willing to sit through. Shyamalan's work was notably lacking this level of brutality, which thereby allowed mainstream audiences to be bold enough to watch his movies. The more on show, though, the easier it became to catch on to the twisty-turny rides Shyamalan set up for them.

Cregger, to his credit, doesn't have that luxury and succeeds in spite of it. Skulls are smashed, faces are forked, and truly grotesque monsters are revealed enough that only a select audience with a strong stomach is willing to bear it. It's this ferocious and often grotesque vision that could allow his fandom to grow at a much steadier pace, and keep the demand for a mandatory U-turn at bay. Cregger can keep playing with the kind of gotcha moments that both "Barbarian" and "Weapons" have tucked away in the shadows before the fun really begins, and sending audiences into a headspin just like Shyamalan did before him. He just needs to ensure that whatever secrets he keeps are blood-drenched, gut-spewing ones only for those brave enough to see them.