Weapons: Who exactly is Aunt Gladys? Details and possibilities explored

Weapons has been called many things since its release. It's been called disturbing, bold, and even hypnotic. But perhaps the most accurate word is 'unsettling'. Unlike many witchcraft or horror films that rely on the same tired tricks, it builds its terror not with loud screams or noises but with a steady and creeping dread. That dread works its way into the viewer from the very beginning and in a very quiet fashion. But it does so relentlessly. And that makes it hard for the viewers to shake off the feeling even after the movie is over.

Part of what makes this movie different than the rest is the way it treats its supernatural elements. Witchcraft in films is often flashy. It has all glowing eyes and big spells. But here, it’s more like a lurking shadow. It's something you feel before you even start to understand it. The story is told in chapters, through the eyes of different key players.

Weapons is a tale of disappearance, of suspicion, and of a town that’s ready to turn on its own at the first hint of blame. In the middle of it all is Aunt Gladys. She does not have much screen presence, but lingers in the mind like a nightmare. There are so many questions surrounding the mysterious character in the horror tale. Let's explore a few of them.

Disclaimer: This article reflects the author's opinions. Reader discretion is advised.

Weapons: The mystery of Aunt Gladys

When we first meet Aunt Gladys in Weapons, she’s almost ghostlike. She is bent at the waist, barely able to stand, and her frame is so thin that it seems the wind could blow her away. Her hair is sparse and skin is pale. She looks fragile and almost as if she is on the edge of life. Alex sees her arrival from the window, and even as a child, something in her presence feels off to him.

It is even stranger that Alex doesn’t even know who she is, and neither does his father. When Alex asks, his dad admits that even his wife, to whom Gladys is supposedly related, barely knows her. That alone opens the door to suspicion in Weapons. Could it be that Gladys isn’t really their aunt at all? Had she been tied to this family for reasons that are darker than blood?

The film gives us crumbs but never the full loaf. Gladys uses old-fashioned words like “consumption,” which hints at a lifetime that stretches far beyond than what’s normal. And though she begins the story looking close to death, the moment she starts draining the life from the children and from Alex’s parents, her body begins to change. Her hair is no longer as sparse. Her posture straightens. She moves with strength. By the end of Weapons, she’s even running.

So who is she, really? Maybe she’s a complete imposter who infiltrated the family long ago, biding her time until she could feed. Or maybe she is their aunt, a great-great-aunt, perhaps who has walked this earth for way too long, losing any trace of empathy or humanity along the way. The film leaves the truth unanswered, but the questions it plants are fertile enough to grow into an entire sequel. And if Weapons 2 ever happens, Gladys' story will be worth looking into.