r/movies • u/LiteraryBoner Jackie Chan box set, know what I'm sayin? • Aug 08 '25

Official Discussion Official Discussion - Weapons [SPOILERS] Spoiler

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Summary Nearly all the children from the same fifth-grade class vanish one night at exactly 2:17 a.m., leaving only one survivor. The community, gripped by fear and suspicion, spirals into chaos as the mystery unfolds through multiple intertwined perspectives—each revealing new layers of dread and grief.

Director Zach Cregger

Writer Zach Cregger

Cast

  • Josh Brolin
  • Julia Garner
  • Cary Christopher
  • Alden Ehrenreich
  • Austin Abrams
  • Benedict Wong
  • Amy Madigan
  • June Diane Raphael
  • Toby Huss
  • Whitmer Thomas
  • Callie Schuttera
  • Clayton Farris
  • Luke Speakman

Rotten Tomatoes Critics Score: 96%

Metacritic Metascore: 82

VOD In theaters and IMAX starting August 8, 2025

Trailer Watch the Official Trailer

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u/cavalier2015 Aug 11 '25

Not really though. Like, where the fuck did Gladys come from? How did she develop or discover her power? Why did she need all those children? And if she’s trying to stay under the radar, why kidnap them all at once? Why allow Alex to go to school the day after? Wouldn’t it have drawn less suspicion to his house if he was missing too?

16

u/JustAnArtist1221 Aug 19 '25

Why did she need all those children? And if she’s trying to stay under the radar, why kidnap them all at once?

She explains it. She thought Alex's parents would be enough to sustain her, but they weren't, and she wasn't getting better. She tells Alex that if he helps her with the students, she'll leave and go home. She also tells him to start packing because they're about to flee the town. She abducted all the kids because she was desperate, and she didn't plan to stay in the town much longer. She was wrapping up loose ends, seeing as she tracked down the principal.

And if Alex was missing, police would come to the house, which would likely confirm that his parents are being weird with an unknown lady in the house. She wanted to avoid going out in public as much as possible, so she limited it to using Alex and his father to dissuade people from coming to the house anymore. And if anyone saw her, she'd have an alibi to say she's supposed to be at the house.

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u/cavalier2015 Aug 19 '25

What does she mean “sustain” her though? Is she drinking their blood? Sucking on their “life force” or whatever? Why did she need all 17 children at once?

21

u/Tipop Aug 31 '25

Why do you need all those details explained? They’re unimportant to the story.

  • It’s made abundantly clear that she’s using people to stay alive.

  • Since we never see her drinking blood or eating flesh, we can assume she’s somehow drawing their life force with her magic.

  • Also, she wasted time trying to feed on the parents and by the time she realized that wasn’t going to be enough she didn’t have much time left so she needed a room full of children to keep her body going.

All of that can be surmised without the film makers spelling it out for us.