Imagine a movie climax so intense, so viscerally satisfying, that it involves children tearing a witch apart limb from limb. Sounds shocking, right? But that's exactly what happens in the jaw-dropping finale of Zach Cregger's Weapons, and the young actors involved were reportedly thrilled to be a part of it. (Spoiler alert: If you haven't seen Weapons yet, proceed with caution!)
In this darkly imaginative film, Amy Madigan delivers a chilling performance as Gladys, a centuries-old witch who invades the quiet town of Maybrook, Pennsylvania. Her sinister plan? To hypnotize its residents, including 17 children, and siphon their life force to sustain her own decaying body. But here's where it gets controversial: the children, once under her spell, become instruments of her destruction when Gladys' nephew, Alex (Cary Christopher), turns her own magic against her. The result? A gruesome, yet oddly cathartic, showdown where the kids literally rip her to shreds.
And this is the part most people miss: Cregger revealed in an interview with Indiewire that the child actors were not only unfazed by the violence but genuinely excited to participate. "They were like, 'YEAAAAH!'" he recalled. "Kids have not quite developed empathy at that age yet, so there was no questioning it. I was like, 'Who wants to pull her jaw?' And they were all fighting for who would do it." Is it ethical to involve children in such graphic scenes, even if they're enthusiastic participants? That's a debate worth having.
Cregger, however, took a thoughtful approach with his young cast, particularly Christopher. "We just had to have a lot of honest conversations about where he's at emotionally," Cregger explained. "There's no way to trick him into portraying the right levels of fear and anxiety and sadness. He's just such a true actor. He asks really intelligent questions. He fully understood everything we were doing, and you can see it in the performance."
The film's practical effects are another standout element. Cregger prioritized realism, using minimal CGI except for a few key moments, like when the children hurl themselves through glass windows. "It's pretty much all practical," he noted. "The only CGI is some of the windows the kids go through, but even that is like we had the muntins and mullions in, but we just couldn't put the glass in because you can't have kids jumping through sugar glass, even. It's too dangerous."
One particularly complex shot involved the children tearing down a fence to reach Gladys. "That was a composite of five different passes," Cregger shared. "One with stunt adults, one with kids, one with the door, one with no door. That shot is really fast but deceptively complicated."
The climax, where Gladys is torn apart, was both technically challenging and emotionally intense for Cregger. "We had a dummy with hoses inside, and the kids pulled the dummy apart and got sprayed with fake blood," he recalled. "The only time I felt not in control of the movie was when the kids were pulling Gladys apart. It was too much for me, man. We had two cameras going. We had to shoot at three different times and kind of stitch it together. It was really hard."
Despite the challenges, the ending of Weapons is nothing short of breathtaking—a perfect blend of horror, humor, and sheer audacity. But here's the question: Does the film's reliance on practical effects and its unflinching portrayal of violence elevate it to a masterpiece, or does it cross a line? Let us know what you think in the comments.
Weapons is currently streaming on HBO Max, and if you're a fan of bold, boundary-pushing cinema, it's a must-watch. Just be prepared for a finale that will leave you both shocked and strangely satisfied.
