Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Weapons!
Weaponspresents itself as being eerily true to life, but its actual status as a “true story” is debatable, at best. The latest film from up-and-coming horror director Zach Cregger, formerly of the YouTube comedy troupeThe Whitest Kids U' Know,Weaponshas been met with critical acclaim, boasting an impressive 96% on Rotten Tomatoes at the time of writing.
Following in the footsteps of Cregger’s previous film,Barbarian,Weaponscenters on a classroom full of kids who mysteriously vanish from their houses in the middle of the night, running off as if compelled by some unknown force. In the fallout of this tragedy, tensions ignite as the members of a small suburban community turn on one another.
The movie begins with a child’s narration, setting up the premise of the sudden mass disappearance of the children. The narrator stresses that the events of the film really happened, presenting the details in hushed whispers of an urban legend told around the lunch table at an elementary school.
More often than not,horror movies based on true storiestend to heavily embellish reality, doubly so if the events they’re supposedly bringing to life are allegedly supernatural in nature. Occasionally, they can stay true to history, but they’re usually only tangentially related to the events at hand.
Weapons Is Not Based On A True Story Like The Opening Narration Suggests
Despite the presentation,Weaponsis not based on reality in any way, shape, or form. There has never been a documented case of 17 children getting up out of their beds at 2:17 in the morning simultaneously and running out into the darkness, let alone for the absurd reasons laid out bythe end ofWeapons.
Of course, the movie has an explanation for this. In the beginning, the child narrator explains that the reason no one will have heard of the story is because the police department covered it up out of embarrassment, not to mention the bizarre paranormal elements at play.
In this way, the film evokes the same urban legendmarketing thatThe Blair Witch Projectdidback in the late 90s, shrouding the tale in mystery and intrigue. With just one brief aside,Weaponsmanages to give some plausible deniability to its narrative. If the story was sufficiently buried by the authorities,Weaponscan cheekily pitch itself as real all along.
That being said, there is certainly some thematic meaning toWeaponsthat has a tragically realistic basis in the real world.Weaponsdeals with the sudden loss and trauma of an entire class full of children suddenly disappearingand the emotional fallout of their community that follows.
This bears some clear similarities to the gun violence that can sadly befall real classrooms in the United States, calling back to the film’s very title. If the thematic link between such events and the film isn’t apparent at first, a massive looming vision Josh Brolin’s character sees in a certain dream sequence makes things painfully obvious.
Weapons' Story Of Grief Was Born From A Real-Life Tragedy
There are some more specific events Zach Cregger had in mind during the inception ofWeapons, according to his own words. In aninterview withEntertainment Weekly, Cregger briefly elaborated on the events in his personal life that partially inspiredWeapons.
According to the director, the script forWeaponswas written shortly after the sudden loss of a close friend. “I had a tragedy in my life that was really, really tough. Someone very, very, very close to me died suddenly”, Cregger elaborates - “I was so grief-stricken that I just started writing Weapons, not out of any ambition, but just as a way to reckon with my own emotions.”
Cregger goes on to explain thatcertain parts of the film were legitimately autobiographical, excerpts taken from his own personal experience with grief, trauma, and navigating sudden loss. These kinds of feelings are obvious in viewingWeapons, which examines the drastic lengths grief can drive someone to.
The director even revealed part ofWeapons' true story influencecame from his family’s history with alcohol. Alex’s story ultimately is the source of the alcoholic metaphor, but Cregger has said,“I don’t care if any of this stuff comes through… I hope people have fun, honestly.”
This is whyWeaponscan feel so real at times, even if it is not telling a true story. Cregger drew on a very real experience in his life and brought those emotions to the horror movie’s screenplay. The tragedy that the writer/director was working through makes the feelings of the characters feel a lot more legitimate.
Weaponsalso takes plenty of cues from other movies as well as real-world cases and personal tragedies. In the same interview, Cregger lists thePaul Thomas Anderson dramaMagnoliaas a huge influence on the script. He even goes far enough to say that the film"Was looming over me"during the script’s conception.
Between the very intense experiences felt by Cregger himself, painfully commonplace tragedies, high-profile cases, and other movies, the critically acclaimed horror film has no shortage of compelling DNA. Even ifWeaponsisn’t based on a true story, there are clear kernels of truth making up the horror.
