Zach Cregger's new horror film Weapons is confounding audiences with its title. The film's premise sees 17 children run off into the night, never to return. This mystery drives the stories of the townspeople who are left behind as they attempt to unravel what happened to the children and why. While the choice of "Weapons" as the title isn't immediately apparent, the film's plot steadily reveals some of the significance behind the word.
The 2025 horror stars Julia Garner, Josh Brolin, Austin Abrams, Benedict Wong, and Alden Ehrenreich. Weapons is already being touted as one of the best horrors of the year and officially releases in cinemas on August 8, 2025.
The Meaning Behind Weapons' Title
Warning - The rest of this article contains spoilers for the plot and ending of Weapons.
The twist of Weapons reveals that the children did not disappear willingly into the night; they were coerced by the witchcraft of a newcomer to town, Gladys Lilly (Amy Madigan), the aunt of the only unaffected schoolboy in the class, Alex (Cary Christopher).
Gladys' supernatural abilities allowed her to gain control over others by taking an item from the person and combining it with the stick of a thorny potted tree and a drop of her blood. With the spell activated, Gladys could enlist the person to do whatever she wished.
Gladys was the force responsible for the disappearing children. She gathered them into the basement of Alex's house after blackmailing him into stealing the possessions of each of his classmates, which she could use for her spell. She also coerced others to do her bidding, such as Alex's parents, the police officer, Paul (Ehrenreich), and the school principal, Andrew (Wong).
This central idea of weaponizing humans is one of the core themes of Weapons and neatly ties into the film's title. Throughout the film, those under Gladys' spell become unstoppable weapons at her bidding.
The most shocking example of this takes place when Gladys gains control of Andrew and forces him to violently kill his partner and then hunt down Justine (Garner). Andrew doesn't rely on a gun or physical implement to enact Gladys' wishes, instead using his own body as a weapon. He beats his husband, Terry (Clayton Farris), to death with his own head, and then relentlessly chases Justine, using his size and speed to break through barricades.
There are multiple points throughout Weapons when the human subjects under Gladys' control are turned into weapons of destruction. Archer (Brolin), a parent of one of the missing children, even has a dream that sees him envision a floating machine gun in the sky, bearing the time his son was taken (2:17 a.m.), which is a less-than-subtle hint at his child becoming a weapon.
It is also worth noting that Weapons is loosely based on a true story, which Cregger penned in the wake of a "tragedy in [his] life." This underlying theme of grief and tragedy in an everyday small town manifests itself in each of the characters. They all resort to different methods to deal with their internal tragedies, often hurting others or themselves in the process. The titular weapons in Weapons aren't just physical, but emotional as well.
Weapons Is Open For Interpretation
While there are many ways to interpret the themes and meaning behind Weapons, this is exactly how Cregger intends audiences to leave his 2025 film.
In an interview with Vanity Fair, Cregger said he was drawn to a title "that's opaque" and hoped it would invite audiences to "try and make sense of it." The director added that he'd heard several interpretations of Weapons and believes "they're all right:"
"I always like a title that’s opaque. I think it invites you to consider the movie one layer deeper, and to try and make sense of it. I’ve heard a couple of people articulate why [it’s called that], and I think they’re all right. I think it’s all legal."
One thing Cregger refuses to engage with, however, is the idea that Weapons is a metaphor for the frequent school shootings in the U.S. When Next Best Picture asked Cregger whether these real-life events inspired the movie, Cregger denied it, saying, "To me, it’s not about school shootings. I don’t want this movie to be political at all."
The inherent mystery of Weapons is a big part of its appeal, with marketing for the Cregger's film remaining intentionally vague and encouraging audiences not to spoil the twists for others. As more cinemagoers experience the story of Weapons from August 8, there are bound to be even more interesting interpretations of the film's true meaning.
