Political Horror in "Weapons" and Its Parallels to Life

Art by Savannah Milton

By Savannah Milton

Horror as a genre is often used to explore societal anxieties, taboos, and fears. Weapons, directed and written by Zach Cregger, is no exception to this tradition as it highlights the sense of dread and paranoia that the American public has experienced as politics have become more polarized. 

The story focuses on a tragedy in a small town where seventeen students in one class disappear, leaving only one to show up to school the next day. All the children disappear into the night, at 2:17 am, alone and running into the dark with outstretched arms. This leaves the town in disbelief and fear. Immediately, the first target of the helplessness felt by parents is the teacher of said class, Justine, played by Julia Garner. This process of scapegoating relates to the present reality that fear is often used in political aims. 

The movie further highlights that people can be manipulated, as fear can be utilized as a weapon by powerful forces, especially when children are involved. The film portrays the fear invoked by charged language in politics that often obscures those who are doing real harm and targets the marginalized. This is what is alluded to within Josh Brolin’s character, Archer. As a parent of one of the missing children, he attends a school assembly in which he gives a fiery speech calling out his child’s teacher, Justine. Although it is understandable that he and other parents are looking for someone to blame, their fear causes paranoia throughout the town; thus, showing that fear is a powerful weapon that can have dangerous consequences as Justine is chased by angry parents, stalked, and has her car defaced. This goes on despite the real culprit going under the radar. 

Later scenes within Weapons resemble news stories of mass shooting aftermaths. Firstly, there is the dream sequence that Archer experiences. He follows his son on the night he disappears to the house of one of his classmates. Before he enters, the clouds above the house swirl into the shape of an assault rifle that fires off. The house belongs to Alex, a student who is being bullied at school, much like the real life examples of school shooters. When the culprit is discovered and the children are found, showing clear symptoms of PTSD, the child narrator of the film goes on to say that “all of the kids from [Alex’s] class got reunited with their parents, some of them even started talking this year,” and then the film ends. The abrupt ending especially brings to mind the dismissiveness of the media and politicians’ response to mass shootings, with phrases like “thoughts and prayers" offered to avoid collective responsibility. 

Another aspect of the movie that stood out is Aunt Gladys (Amy Madigan), the antagonist, being queer-coded. She wears outfits that are hyperfeminine, maximalist, and garish, almost reminiscent of drag queen looks. There are also elements of her that resemble a clown such as the bright red lipstick she has smeared on and the heavy blue eyeshadow. Her somewhat out-of-place appearance is similar to Pennywise’s in It. The choice to have a villain who looks queer-coded is interesting because many school shooters' gender identities have been used to spread transphobia. Conservative news media like the New York Post have headlines like “Minneapolis school shooter ID’d as trans woman Robin Westman — as apparent manifesto included ‘kill Trump’.” Meanwhile, other articles covering the story at places like CBS and NBC barely mention the potential trans identity of the shooter. This linking of transgender people to criminals is done by right leaning media despite The New York Times finding that “Given the sheer volume of her writing, [Westman] wrote relatively little about being transgender or about trans rights, while often going on long hate-filled rants about other aspects of her life.”

Although many interpret the film as a political message about school shootings, Cregger has clarified that the movie reflects his own personal life. In an interview with The Last Podcast on the Left, he says:

 Like the Gladys and Alex chapter to me is just about living with an alcoholic parent. I grew up in an alcoholic household. My dad died of cirrhosis, you know, and it's a terrible thing that comes into a family dynamic and it changes everything and so, you know, I had a happy house and then something came into my house and it turned my dad into a scary person and I'd go to school and and everything's cool and I'd go home and I'd have a scary house with a scary dad, you know? And it felt so interesting and this is such a personal movie. 

He further elaborates in other interviews that the film’s characters all represent phases of grief Cregger experienced over losing his friend, Trevor Moore. Both struggled with alcoholism in themselves and their family. Moore’s passing caused Cregger to become sober over 10 years ago. While the movie holds a personal meaning to him, in an interview with Mia Galuppo, he states, “I hope people have fun, honestly. It’s not really my business what people make of the movie. I have nothing to say about it, because the movies should speak for itself.”

Overall, Weapons is a great horror movie with terrifying scenes and a compelling mystery. It borrows influences from Insidious, It, and others within the genre. While this movie was not intended to deliver a political message, it certainly evokes the discourse around it through its imagery. For me, it stands out as one of the best horror releases of this year. It’s rare for me to be scared of a horror film as someone who watches many, but Weapons successfully scared me. Many scenes from this film have stuck with me and I believe that indicates the lasting impact of a movie that will remain in the cultural zeitgeist.

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Savannah is a junior at City College studying anthropology. She has a love of history and public education; thus, she values libraries and museums as education tools. For this reason, she aspires to work in museums and archives to give back to the institutions that poured into her. She has written for The Paper for about a year and enjoys writing immensely. Outside of The Paper, she makes art, reads, and is a zine maker.