Nothing brings a chilling fear down someone’s spine like a horror movie teasing that its plot is based on real events. Weapons, released on August 8, 2025, is the latest Warner Bros. film to haunt viewers, and many walked out of theaters wondering if it’s based on a true story. So, is it? Hollywood Life is separating fact from fiction as we break down Weapons here. (Warning: spoilers are ahead for Weapons)
Is There a Post-Credits Scene After Weapons?
No, Weapons does not have a post-credits scene. Speculation circulated online, though, since several box office hits this year have mid- or post-credits scenes.
Why Did Gladys Need the Kids in Weapons?
In short, Gladys — Alex’s aunt in the film — needs the children in order to remain youthful and to restore her health. As for how she’s able to concoct her scheme, Gladys uses the name tags from Alex’s classmates taken from their cubbies at school. Using a ritual with the tags, she lures the children into the basement, and Gladys keeps the kids there while covering up her plot with a tree.
Is Weapons Based on a True Story?
No, Weapons is not based on a true story. However, director, screenwriter and producer Zach Cregger created the film because of a real-life tragedy, he told Entertainment Weekly in April 2025.
“I had a tragedy in my life that was really, really tough,” Zach explained. “Someone very, very, very close to me died suddenly and, honestly, 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.”
Calling Weapons an “incredibly personal story,” the filmmaker added that there are “certain chapters of [Weapons] that are legitimately autobiographical that I feel like I lived.”
Three months later, Zach revealed in a separate interview with GQ that the person close to him who died was his late friend Trevor Moore, a fellow actor and filmmaker. Weapons‘ eerie opening narration literally includes “true story,” which Zach said “just sprang out” of him during the writing process.
“I literally started with the sentence, ‘This is a true story,’” Zach pointed out. “I thought it would be cool to start a movie where a little girl was telling a campfire story. I didn’t even know what story she’s going to tell.”
Who Was Trevor Moore?
Trevor was an actor, comedian, filmmaker and musician who was a member of the comedy troupe called The Whitest Kids U’ Know that Zach was also a part of.
In August 2021, Trevor died after accidentally falling off a balcony at his Franklin Hills, Los Angeles, home. His cause of death was ruled to be blunt force head trauma, and Trevor’s blood alcohol content was far above the legal limit, according to Deadline.