Weapons

The film unfolds through a nonlinear narrative, weaving together the stories of various characters whose lives become intertwined by a mysterious and sinister event. The story begins with a child narrator recounting a chilling incident that took place on a Wednesday at 2:17 a.m. in Maybrook, Pennsylvania. In this unsettling moment, seventeen children from teacher Justine Gandy’s third-grade class vanish without a trace, leaving only one child, Alex Lilly, behind.

Nearly a month after the disappearance, the local community is gripped with suspicion, and Principal Marcus Miller places Justine on leave, believing she might somehow be involved. As she sinks into depression and estrangement, she turns to alcohol for solace and seeks comfort from her former boyfriend, Officer Paul Morgan. Meanwhile, Archer Graff, father of one of the missing children, Matthew, begins to grow increasingly frustrated with the police’s ineffective investigation. Driven by his own sense of urgency, Archer starts his own probe into the case, feeling that the authorities are not doing enough.

Concerned about Alex, Justine takes it upon herself to follow him home, noticing the house has all their windows covered in newspaper and observing that Alex’s parents sit silently on the couch. She tries to persuade Marcus to conduct a wellness check on the child, suspecting that something is terribly wrong. Both Justine and Archer experience haunting dreams featuring the missing children and a mysterious woman with clown-like makeup, hinting at an otherworldly presence at play.

Later, Justine visits Alex’s house but falls asleep in her car nearby. From the shadows, Alex’s mother emerges in what appears to be a puppet-like trance, then unexpectedly opens the car door and cuts a lock of Justine’s hair. The situation escalates when a local drug addict and small-time thief, James, breaks into Alex’s house, discovering Alex’s parents and the children in the basement, all in a state of catatonia. James reports his findings to the police, hoping for help, but Officer Paul, who had previously threatened James, spots him and chases him through the woods. That night, Paul apprehends James and drags him back to Alex’s house, leaving him cuffed in the car.

The investigation deepens when Marcus is visited at school by Gladys Lilly, the eccentric aunt of Alex and caretaker of the family after Alex’s parents fall ill. Marcus insists on meeting Alex’s parents directly, sensing the situation warrants further inquiry. Later, Gladys appears at Marcus and his husband Terry’s home, feigning distress. She performs a disturbing ritual involving a thorny stick, a stolen ribbon, and hair from both Marcus and Terry, casting a spell that enchants Marcus. Under her influence, Marcus becomes violent and turns against Terry, forcing him to attack his own husband. Tragically, Marcus is then fatally hit by a car during an attack on Justine at a gas station, where he interrupts her argument with Archer.

As events unfold, Justine and Archer reconcile, sensing that the missing children were drawn toward Alex’s house. It’s then revealed that Gladys is not just an eccentric relative but a dying witch who has been secretly manipulating those around her. She can subjugate others by weaponizing personal items such as hair and name tags, which she used to cast a powerful spell. Gladys ordered Alex to collect objects from each of his classmates, promising she would leave once she recovered. Using these items, she cast a spell, summoning the children and trapping them in the basement to drain their life force and prolong her own life.

The climax intensifies when Justine and Archer enter Alex’s house, only to be attacked by spellbound Paul and James. In a desperate act, Justine seizes Paul’s gun and fatally shoots both Paul and James. They then confront Gladys in the basement, where Archer finds Julia Garner’s character, Justine’s, nightmare figure, attempting to break her enchantment. Gladys, wielding her dark magic, tries to turn Archer against Justine, but Archer manages to copy her spell using hair he collects from her wig.

Once the spell is broken, the children, now free of the enchantment, rise against Gladys and ruthlessly eliminate her, breaking her hold once and for all. In the aftermath, Archer finds a seemingly catatonic Matthew, with the implication that some of the children are beginning to recover.

The story concludes with a sense of hope: Alex moves away to live with a kindlier aunt after his parents are institutionalized. The children are reunited with their families, and some are starting to speak again, with a hopeful outlook that all of them will eventually regain full speech and normalcy. Throughout the film, a theme of hope and resilience emerges, even amidst the darkness of supernatural manipulation and tragedy.

Last Updated: August 19, 2025 at 05:15