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Something is Killing the Children has Weapons to thank for becoming a hot Hollywood property

Not entirely, of course - Something is Killing the Children's marketability comes from many places including writer James Tynion IV, original artist Werther Dell'Edera, and the legion of loyal BOOM! Studios readers. But Zach Cregger's horror hit Weapons didn't hurt

News by Grant DeArmitt, Staff Writer

Published on Tue Oct 28 2025

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Look, we were just so thrilled that hit horror comic Something is Killing the Children is finally getting the big (and small) screen treatment (from Blumhouse, no less!) that we didn't even think to ask why. I mean, there's the whole horror renaissance going on, not to mention the wild success of James Tynion IV's comic book projects, so we could've just written it off as being the right project for the right time. But according to a recent report, there's a particular, perhaps unexpected key to SIKTC's recent marketability:

Zach Cregger's horror hit from this summer, Weapons.

The report in question is The Hollywood Reporter's announcement of SIKTC's upcoming film and TV adaptation, published October 24. As they reported on the upcoming Blumhouse/BOOM! collaboration, the outlet cites unnamed sources who claim Weapons as making the property more desirable from a studio standpoint.

While we don't know who those sources are or have our own saying the same thing, this would make a ton of sense: Much of Weapons' plot is about children dealing with a supernatural terror and a community of adults that must bear the repercussions. And in terms of sheer marketability, you can refer to Popverse's reporting on the landmark success of Weapons as a reason Blumhouse would be extremely interested in SIKTC.

Weapons also arguably demonstrated that audiences will show up not only brand new horror concepts, but brand new horror concepts that are made on a relatively tight budget: Weapons only cost $38 million to make, as per reports, which is less than a fifth of what Marvel's The Fantastic Four: First Steps cost. No wonder that studios were interested in SIKTC - it not only has a Weapons-esque appeal, but with the comic book series approaching its 50th issue already, there's in-built franchise and sequel potential waiting to be exploited.

Now that we know that horror hits help get future horror hits made, what are the chances that the fuzzy success of Five Nights at Freddy's will get us a Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees movie in the future?

In the immortal words of Danny Elfman, "Life's no fun without a good scare." Join Popverse's weekly explorations of the best opening moments of horror cinema in The Coldest Open, and then check out:

And much gore. Er, more. Much more.

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Grant DeArmitt: Grant DeArmitt (he/him) likes horror, comics, and the unholy union of the two. In the past, and despite their better judgment, he has written for Nightmare on Film Street and Newsarama. He lives in Brooklyn with his partner, Kingsley, and corgi, Legs.