Latest news with #AuntGladys
Geek Tyrant
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Geek Tyrant
How Old Is Aunt Gladys in WEAPONS? The Witch Theory That Changes Everything — GeekTyrant
If you walked away from Weapons wondering what the deal was with creepy Aunt Gladys, you're not alone. Her eerie presence, strange behavior, and influence over everyone around her suggest there's way more going on than just a creepy relative showing up after a long absence. So how old is she really? And is she even human? While Weapons never comes right out and says how old Aunt Gladys is, there are plenty of clues that she might be centuries old. One of the biggest red flags is her use of the word 'consumption' when talking about tuberculosis. That's a term that hasn't been commonly used since the 19th century. Either she's a history buff or she's been around a very long time. Then there's the timeline mess. Alex's parents claim they haven't seen Gladys in 15 years. But Gladys insists the last time she saw Alex was when he was a baby. That doesn't line up at all. When you add in her ability to implant false memories. Gladys shows up after Alex's parents get sick, presenting herself as his great-aunt. But it quickly becomes clear that she's more than just a distant relative. She's a witch who practices sympathetic magic, a nasty form of sorcery that lets her control and feed off others. She needs a piece of someone (like hair or a personal item), her own blood, and blackthorn branches to activate her spells, which she casts using a bell covered in occult markings. She keeps all of this hidden from everyone, except Alex, forcing him to promise not to tell anyone about her or what she's doing. At first, she takes control of his parents. Then she sends Alex to gather items from his 17 classmates. Using those items, she traps the kids in her basement and feeds off their life force to heal herself and slow down the disease that's consuming her. Her reach goes beyond just Alex and the kids. She hypnotizes Principal Marcus into murdering his husband. She sets her sights on Justine Gandy and Archer Graff too, using her controlled victims to attack and kill anyone who threatens her plan. The magic-fueled chaos doesn't stop until Alex finally figures out how to take control of her powers. So, is Aunt Gladys immortal? Not exactly. But she may have found a way to cheat death. Zach Cregger, the film's director, explained the character's true nature like this: 'Gladys is either a human who turned to dark magic to survive illness or a non-human creature posing as one.' Either way, she's a witch in the story, and everything she does revolves around draining others to keep herself going. In the end, the very kids she imprisoned are the ones who take her down. Her reign of terror collapses the moment she loses control. Whether she's a centuries-old sorceress or something even darker, Gladys is a extremely chilling and evil character, not just because of her powers, but because of the mystery around who, or what, she really is. Personally, I don't think this is Aunt Gladys at all, I think Aunt Gladys is dead, and an ancient witch has taken over her body and is trying to keep it alive. Maybe in the movie she is trying to find a new human vessel to transfer her conciousness into, but the vessel has to have all the right elements? What do you think?
Gizmodo
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Gizmodo
The Mystery Star of ‘Weapons' Talks About Its Most Unforgettable Scene
After watching Zach Cregger's Weapons, a lot of things may run through your mind. There are the characters, the reveals, and the scares. Additionally, there's a lot of actual running that could be running through your mind. Kids running through the streets. Kids running through the woods. Kids running through… other things on the hunt for… someone. We won't spoil it here, but in her first interview about her role in the film, actress Amy Madigan talks about filming her character's unforgettable scene at the end of the plays Aunt Gladys in the film, the eccentric witch aunt of Alex, the last remaining child in the class where everyone else disappeared. We soon learn that Gladys is the one responsible for the kids in Alex's class disappearing, but near the end of the film, Alex turns the tables. He uses her magic against her and sends all the kids from the class after her at the exact same time. They barrel through houses, walls, everything, in a hilarious, exciting, and ultimately gory turn of events. Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Madigan revealed she was actually the one person running from the kids. 'I said, 'Oh no, I'm going to be doing this running,' except when I get tackled at the very end,' the Field of Dreams star said. 'Thank goodness this stunt woman came in and was tackled. Then I had to roll over and get eviscerated. Zach would say 'you're panicked' and all that, but 'just have your body be out there, flail around.' That's all I need to hear because I like being a physical actor.' So that wacky running? That was Madigan. The screaming and flailing on the ground? Madigan. But the being tackled was not. In terms of talking more about Gladys, like where she came from or what her deal was, Madigan was less open. 'I used a lot of different bits of information, but I wouldn't say it's one or the other. I think it's a combination of a lot of things,' Madigan said. 'People ask that question, 'Is she real or is it this or that?' I said, 'Good, you guys figure it out 'cause I can't answer that.'' She also commented on the potential of an Aunt Gladys prequel, which she doesn't quite believe in yet but is seemingly interested in. 'It's not that I discount it, but in this business, nothing's real till it's real,' she said. 'I just had such a great time working with Zach and being inside that brain of his. That's really the gift of how the movie came out. The other stuff has to do with all sorts of conversations that I would never be privy in and business things like that. But, you know, I love Gladys, so I'll leave it at that.' Hopefully, we don't all have to leave it at that, and we learn more about Gladys in the future. Weapons is now in theaters. Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what's next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.
Geek Tyrant
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Geek Tyrant
WEAPONS Director Zach Cregger Reveals Two Possible Backstories for Aunt Gladys — GeekTyrant
If you've already seen Weapons , you know that Aunt Gladys is one of the creepiest horror villains in recent memory. But where did she come from? According to Zach Cregger, the director behind this year's massive horror hit, there's more than one answer to that question. Weapons stormed into theaters and pulled in $43 million in its opening weekend and quickly climbing past $80 million globally. With a cast that includes Amy Madigan, Josh Brolin, Julia Garner, Benedict Wong, and Alden Ehrenreich, the film has become one of 2025's biggest box office surprises. At the center of all the terror is Amy Madigan's character, Aunt Gladys. On the surface, she seems like just another sweet old clown lady. But fans quickly find out that she's a witch who preys on missing children to heal herself. Her true age is never confirmed in the film, adding to her unsettling mystique. In an interview with Vanity Fair, Cregger broke down the two possible origin stories he gave Madigan to work with. 'I was like, 'You can pick one of these two,'' he said. The first version is more grounded in dark realism. 'She had to adopt this methodology that she uses out of a place of emergency to keep herself alive. I won't say any more than that.' The second version pushes deeper into the supernatural. Aunt Gladys isn't human at all, just something trying to pass as one. 'That's an interesting way to think about it. I like that a lot,' Cregger added. She wears exaggerated makeup and a red wig to mimic a human appearance, but something always feels… off. And there's another layer too. Cregger drew a parallel between Gladys' twisted magic and real-world struggles like addiction. 'This foreign substance comes in and it changes everyone's behavior. 'The house becomes a scary place. You can go to school and act like everything's cool, and then you come home and you hide from a zombie parent. That felt so real to me.' Whether you see Aunt Gladys as a sick old woman clinging to life with dark magic or as a monstrous entity trying to imitate humanity, one thing's clear. Weapons has given horror fans a villain they won't forget anytime soon.
Forbes
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Forbes
A Lost ‘Weapons' Chapter May Spawn An Entire Prequel
Weapons does not seem like a movie that warrants a sequel, a bit of a throwback to the one-off Get Out, which garnered similar praise. But it may not be the last we see of this universe all the same. While there were at least some rumblings of a Weapons 2 initially, the idea may have now shifted to Weapons: Origins, or whatever they might call a prequel. The idea here is that it would focus on the show-stealing Aunt Gladys, played by Amy Madigan, who some are already saying may get an Oscar nomination for that part. This would be a film showing her origin story. That origin is at least somewhat hinted at in the movie, at least by the fact that it would be set a very, very long time ago. The singular clue here is that she refers to the comatose parents as having 'consumption,' a very old word for what would eventually become tuberculosis, as the principal notes. How old is 'consumption?' Well, that may provide a clue as to how old the quasi-vampiric Gladys is. It first appeared in writing in the 14th century and then was used medically in the 15th century where then, for four more centuries, was referred to as a 'wasting disease,' again, what would be the extremely deadly pulmonary tuberculosis that killed millions before treatment and prevention was established. So that Gladys is probably at least close to 150 years old, based on when that term stopped being used, though of course she could be even older. As it turns out, we almost learned a lot her origin in the movie itself. Via THR: So, there was at least some plan in motion for her origin already, but this is still just a concept. No deals for the movie, no timeline for when it may came out. And importantly, it's an open question whether this could be a 'young Gladys' prequel where she would not be played by Madigan, though I have to imagine that she would either fully star or at least appear, given that the interest in the character is almost solely through her performance. It seems unlikely that director Zach Cregger may have time for this any time soon. He's already working on his next film, Resident Evil, which we've just learned stars Weapons MVP Austin Abrams, the former Euphoria star who played the drug addict James. It's not a direct adaptation of the games, but a new story set within them. Needless to say after Barbarian and Weapons, the Resident Evil fanbase is eager to see how this goes. As for the prequel? I'm not sure how likely it will be in the end as Cregger may simply want to move on, but we'll look for updates on that front. Follow me on Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram.
Gizmodo
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Gizmodo
Warner Bros. Wants a ‘Weapons' Prequel About That Character
Weapons hasn't been in theaters a week, but the studio already wants more. The Hollywood Reporter says it has talked to writer-director Zach Cregger about doing some sort of prequel centering on Aunt Gladys, a crucial, instantly iconic character in the film played by Amy Madigan. Cregger revealed to io9 recently that he had, at one point, written a chapter centered on Gladys, but eventually cut it. 'In an earlier draft of the script I had given her her own chapter,' Cregger told io9. 'It was a little bit of an origin before she came to town. But I realized that it was just giving too much away. It's more compelling to not know some of these things. So I ended up cutting it very early on in the writing process.' Well, now, Warner Bros. is hoping he will turn that story into a full feature. No deals are in place yet; it's just talks, but it's brewing. Of course, Cregger will next make a new Resident Evil movie, based on the iconic video game franchise. It's an original story that he's very excited about, but once that's out, nothing is lined up just yet. If Resident Evil is a hit, maybe Sony backs up the dump truck for a sequel. Or, Warner Bros. knocks into that dump truck with its own dump truck, hoping to get Cregger back for more Weapons. Time will tell. As for the Gladys movie, Cregger also told io9 that much of where the character came from and what she was about was largely left up to Madigan. 'I kind of had an idea of what was going on with her,' he said. 'And I talked with Amy about that somewhat, but I also want to respect Amy's process. And I want her to take ownership, and I want her to kind of create her own mythology. So I gave her a couple of options of what I think might be going on. And then I kind of didn't ask her too many questions about where she landed with it.' Maybe we'll find out in a big way sometime in the future. Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what's next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.
