‘Weapons’ Ending Explained: Why Did the 17 Kids Run Away From Home and Where Did They Go?
By William Earl
SPOILER ALERT: This story discusses all major plot developments, including the ending, in “Weapons,” currently playing in theaters.
Zach Cregger’s new horror film “Weapons” has been released, and the marketing for the movie is centered upon a mystery printed on the poster: “Last night, at 2:17 am, every child from Mrs. Gandy’s class woke up, got out of bed, went downstairs, opened the front door, walked into the dark … and they never came back.”
Related Stories
Lance Armstrong to Narrate Doc About Schwinn Bikes From Unfeatured Films, Which Uses AI To Utilize Old Photos and Footage
8 Reasons Aliens Exist and Have Visited Earth, According to ‘The Age of Disclosure’ Documentary
Too scared to go see the movie, but curious to find out what happened? Read on for a breakdown of the plot.
Popular on Variety
https://imasdk.googleapis.com/js/core/bridge3.733.0_en.html#deid=%22%22&eventfe_experiment_ids=%5B%5D&fid=%22goog_161746028%22&genotype_experiment_data=%7B%22experimentStateProto%22%3A%22%5B%5B%5B45713128%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B%5D%5D%2C%5Bnull%2C749060184%2Cnull%2C%5Bnull%2C100%5D%5D%2C%5B45722344%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B%5D%5D%2C%5B45706017%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B%5D%5D%2C%5B45740207%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B%5D%5D%2C%5B45668885%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B%5D%5D%2C%5B45685340%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B%5D%5D%2C%5B45734716%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B%5D%5D%2C%5B45735891%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B%5D%5D%2C%5B45663239%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B%5D%5D%2C%5B45715032%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B1%5D%5D%2C%5B45661356%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B%5D%5D%2C%5B45676441%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B%5D%5D%2C%5B45675307%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B1%5D%5D%2C%5B45675308%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B1%5D%5D%2C%5Bnull%2C45645574%2Cnull%2C%5B%5D%5D%2C%5B45688859%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B%5D%5D%2C%5B45656766%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B%5D%5D%2C%5B45710689%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B%5D%5D%2C%5B45710688%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B1%5D%5D%2C%5B45685601%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B%5D%5D%2C%5Bnull%2C45685602%2Cnull%2C%5Bnull%2C500%5D%5D%2C%5B775241416%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B%5D%5D%2C%5B781107959%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B%5D%5D%2C%5B781107958%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B%5D%5D%2C%5B792614055%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B%5D%5D%2C%5B781107957%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B%5D%5D%2C%5B45729602%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B%5D%5D%2C%5B45658982%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B%5D%5D%2C%5B45725657%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B%5D%5D%5D%2C%5B%5B16%2C%5B%5B1%2C%5B%5B31089630%5D%2C%5B31089631%2C%5B%5B45668885%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B1%5D%5D%5D%5D%5D%5D%2C%5B1000%2C%5B%5B95332046%5D%5D%5D%2C%5Bnull%2C%5B%5B95332047%5D%5D%5D%2C%5B10%2C%5B%5B95333808%5D%2C%5B95333809%2C%5B%5B635466687%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B1%5D%5D%5D%5D%5D%5D%2C%5B10%2C%5B%5B95338769%2C%5B%5Bnull%2C45645574%2Cnull%2C%5Bnull%2C1%5D%5D%5D%5D%2C%5B95338770%2C%5B%5Bnull%2C45645574%2Cnull%2C%5Bnull%2C2%5D%5D%5D%5D%5D%5D%2C%5B10%2C%5B%5B95345206%5D%2C%5B95345207%2C%5B%5B45661356%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B1%5D%5D%5D%5D%5D%5D%2C%5Bnull%2C%5B%5B95351425%5D%2C%5B95351426%2C%5B%5B45676441%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B1%5D%5D%5D%5D%5D%5D%2C%5B10%2C%5B%5B95356068%5D%2C%5B95356069%2C%5B%5B45685601%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B%5D%5D%2C%5Bnull%2C45685602%2Cnull%2C%5B%5D%5D%5D%5D%2C%5B95356070%2C%5B%5B45685601%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B1%5D%5D%2C%5Bnull%2C45685602%2Cnull%2C%5B%5D%5D%5D%5D%2C%5B95356071%2C%5B%5B45685601%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B1%5D%5D%2C%5Bnull%2C45685602%2Cnull%2C%5Bnull%2C100%5D%5D%5D%5D%5D%5D%2C%5B10%2C%5B%5B95372277%5D%2C%5B95372278%2C%5B%5Bnull%2C745150931%2Cnull%2C%5Bnull%2C1%5D%5D%5D%5D%5D%5D%2C%5B1%2C%5B%5B95373378%2C%5B%5B792614055%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B1%5D%5D%5D%5D%2C%5B95373379%2C%5B%5B781107959%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B1%5D%5D%2C%5B792614055%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B1%5D%5D%2C%5B781107957%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B1%5D%5D%5D%5D%5D%5D%2C%5B50%2C%5B%5B95375505%5D%2C%5B95375506%2C%5B%5Bnull%2C749060184%2Cnull%2C%5B%5D%5D%5D%5D%5D%5D%2C%5Bnull%2C%5B%5B95375930%5D%2C%5B95375931%2C%5B%5B45734716%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B1%5D%5D%5D%5D%2C%5B95376520%2C%5B%5B45734716%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B1%5D%5D%2C%5B45735891%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B1%5D%5D%5D%5D%5D%5D%2C%5Bnull%2C%5B%5B95378095%5D%2C%5B95378096%2C%5B%5B45740207%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B1%5D%5D%5D%5D%5D%5D%2C%5B1%2C%5B%5B95378629%5D%2C%5B95378630%2C%5B%5B45729602%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B1%5D%5D%5D%5D%5D%5D%5D%5D%5D%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5Bnull%2C1000%2C1%2C1000%5D%5D%22%7D&imalib_experiments=%5B95322027%2C95331589%2C95332046%2C95375506%5D&is_eap_loader=false&managed_js_experiment_id=0&pvsid=6747950963402103&top_accessible_page_url=%22https%3A%2F%2Fvariety.com%2F2025%2Ffilm%2Fnews%2Fweapons-ending-explained-where-did-the-kids-go-1236464791%2F%22
https://imasdk.googleapis.com/js/core/bridge3.733.0_en.html#deid=%22%22&eventfe_experiment_ids=%5B%5D&fid=%22goog_161746029%22&genotype_experiment_data=%7B%22experimentStateProto%22%3A%22%5B%5B%5B45713128%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B%5D%5D%2C%5Bnull%2C749060184%2Cnull%2C%5Bnull%2C100%5D%5D%2C%5B45722344%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B%5D%5D%2C%5B45706017%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B%5D%5D%2C%5B45740207%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B%5D%5D%2C%5B45668885%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B%5D%5D%2C%5B45685340%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B%5D%5D%2C%5B45734716%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B%5D%5D%2C%5B45735891%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B%5D%5D%2C%5B45663239%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B%5D%5D%2C%5B45715032%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B1%5D%5D%2C%5B45661356%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B%5D%5D%2C%5B45676441%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B%5D%5D%2C%5B45675307%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B1%5D%5D%2C%5B45675308%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B1%5D%5D%2C%5Bnull%2C45645574%2Cnull%2C%5B%5D%5D%2C%5B45688859%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B%5D%5D%2C%5B45656766%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B%5D%5D%2C%5B45710689%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B%5D%5D%2C%5B45710688%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B1%5D%5D%2C%5B45685601%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B%5D%5D%2C%5Bnull%2C45685602%2Cnull%2C%5Bnull%2C500%5D%5D%2C%5B775241416%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B%5D%5D%2C%5B781107959%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B%5D%5D%2C%5B781107958%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B%5D%5D%2C%5B792614055%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B%5D%5D%2C%5B781107957%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B%5D%5D%2C%5B45729602%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B%5D%5D%2C%5B45658982%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B%5D%5D%2C%5B45725657%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B%5D%5D%5D%2C%5B%5B16%2C%5B%5B1%2C%5B%5B31089630%5D%2C%5B31089631%2C%5B%5B45668885%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B1%5D%5D%5D%5D%5D%5D%2C%5B1000%2C%5B%5B95332046%5D%5D%5D%2C%5Bnull%2C%5B%5B95332047%5D%5D%5D%2C%5B10%2C%5B%5B95333808%5D%2C%5B95333809%2C%5B%5B635466687%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B1%5D%5D%5D%5D%5D%5D%2C%5B10%2C%5B%5B95338769%2C%5B%5Bnull%2C45645574%2Cnull%2C%5Bnull%2C1%5D%5D%5D%5D%2C%5B95338770%2C%5B%5Bnull%2C45645574%2Cnull%2C%5Bnull%2C2%5D%5D%5D%5D%5D%5D%2C%5B10%2C%5B%5B95345206%5D%2C%5B95345207%2C%5B%5B45661356%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B1%5D%5D%5D%5D%5D%5D%2C%5Bnull%2C%5B%5B95351425%5D%2C%5B95351426%2C%5B%5B45676441%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B1%5D%5D%5D%5D%5D%5D%2C%5B10%2C%5B%5B95356068%5D%2C%5B95356069%2C%5B%5B45685601%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B%5D%5D%2C%5Bnull%2C45685602%2Cnull%2C%5B%5D%5D%5D%5D%2C%5B95356070%2C%5B%5B45685601%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B1%5D%5D%2C%5Bnull%2C45685602%2Cnull%2C%5B%5D%5D%5D%5D%2C%5B95356071%2C%5B%5B45685601%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B1%5D%5D%2C%5Bnull%2C45685602%2Cnull%2C%5Bnull%2C100%5D%5D%5D%5D%5D%5D%2C%5B10%2C%5B%5B95372277%5D%2C%5B95372278%2C%5B%5Bnull%2C745150931%2Cnull%2C%5Bnull%2C1%5D%5D%5D%5D%5D%5D%2C%5B1%2C%5B%5B95373378%2C%5B%5B792614055%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B1%5D%5D%5D%5D%2C%5B95373379%2C%5B%5B781107959%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B1%5D%5D%2C%5B792614055%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B1%5D%5D%2C%5B781107957%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B1%5D%5D%5D%5D%5D%5D%2C%5B50%2C%5B%5B95375505%5D%2C%5B95375506%2C%5B%5Bnull%2C749060184%2Cnull%2C%5B%5D%5D%5D%5D%5D%5D%2C%5Bnull%2C%5B%5B95375930%5D%2C%5B95375931%2C%5B%5B45734716%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B1%5D%5D%5D%5D%2C%5B95376520%2C%5B%5B45734716%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B1%5D%5D%2C%5B45735891%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B1%5D%5D%5D%5D%5D%5D%2C%5Bnull%2C%5B%5B95378095%5D%2C%5B95378096%2C%5B%5B45740207%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B1%5D%5D%5D%5D%5D%5D%2C%5B1%2C%5B%5B95378629%5D%2C%5B95378630%2C%5B%5B45729602%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B1%5D%5D%5D%5D%5D%5D%5D%5D%5D%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5Bnull%2C1000%2C1%2C1000%5D%5D%22%7D&imalib_experiments=%5B95322027%2C95331589%2C95332046%2C95375506%5D&is_eap_loader=false&managed_js_experiment_id=0&pvsid=6747950963402103&top_accessible_page_url=%22https%3A%2F%2Fvariety.com%2F2025%2Ffilm%2Fnews%2Fweapons-ending-explained-where-did-the-kids-go-1236464791%2F%22
https://imasdk.googleapis.com/js/core/bridge3.733.0_en.html#deid=%22%22&eventfe_experiment_ids=%5B%5D&fid=%22goog_161746030%22&genotype_experiment_data=%7B%22experimentStateProto%22%3A%22%5B%5B%5B45713128%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B%5D%5D%2C%5Bnull%2C749060184%2Cnull%2C%5Bnull%2C100%5D%5D%2C%5B45722344%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B%5D%5D%2C%5B45706017%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B%5D%5D%2C%5B45740207%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B%5D%5D%2C%5B45668885%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B%5D%5D%2C%5B45685340%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B%5D%5D%2C%5B45734716%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B%5D%5D%2C%5B45735891%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B%5D%5D%2C%5B45663239%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B%5D%5D%2C%5B45715032%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B1%5D%5D%2C%5B45661356%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B%5D%5D%2C%5B45676441%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B%5D%5D%2C%5B45675307%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B1%5D%5D%2C%5B45675308%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B1%5D%5D%2C%5Bnull%2C45645574%2Cnull%2C%5B%5D%5D%2C%5B45688859%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B%5D%5D%2C%5B45656766%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B%5D%5D%2C%5B45710689%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B%5D%5D%2C%5B45710688%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B1%5D%5D%2C%5B45685601%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B%5D%5D%2C%5Bnull%2C45685602%2Cnull%2C%5Bnull%2C500%5D%5D%2C%5B775241416%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B%5D%5D%2C%5B781107959%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B%5D%5D%2C%5B781107958%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B%5D%5D%2C%5B792614055%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B%5D%5D%2C%5B781107957%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B%5D%5D%2C%5B45729602%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B%5D%5D%2C%5B45658982%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B%5D%5D%2C%5B45725657%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B%5D%5D%5D%2C%5B%5B16%2C%5B%5B1%2C%5B%5B31089630%5D%2C%5B31089631%2C%5B%5B45668885%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B1%5D%5D%5D%5D%5D%5D%2C%5B1000%2C%5B%5B95332046%5D%5D%5D%2C%5Bnull%2C%5B%5B95332047%5D%5D%5D%2C%5B10%2C%5B%5B95333808%5D%2C%5B95333809%2C%5B%5B635466687%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B1%5D%5D%5D%5D%5D%5D%2C%5B10%2C%5B%5B95338769%2C%5B%5Bnull%2C45645574%2Cnull%2C%5Bnull%2C1%5D%5D%5D%5D%2C%5B95338770%2C%5B%5Bnull%2C45645574%2Cnull%2C%5Bnull%2C2%5D%5D%5D%5D%5D%5D%2C%5B10%2C%5B%5B95345206%5D%2C%5B95345207%2C%5B%5B45661356%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B1%5D%5D%5D%5D%5D%5D%2C%5Bnull%2C%5B%5B95351425%5D%2C%5B95351426%2C%5B%5B45676441%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B1%5D%5D%5D%5D%5D%5D%2C%5B10%2C%5B%5B95356068%5D%2C%5B95356069%2C%5B%5B45685601%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B%5D%5D%2C%5Bnull%2C45685602%2Cnull%2C%5B%5D%5D%5D%5D%2C%5B95356070%2C%5B%5B45685601%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B1%5D%5D%2C%5Bnull%2C45685602%2Cnull%2C%5B%5D%5D%5D%5D%2C%5B95356071%2C%5B%5B45685601%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B1%5D%5D%2C%5Bnull%2C45685602%2Cnull%2C%5Bnull%2C100%5D%5D%5D%5D%5D%5D%2C%5B10%2C%5B%5B95372277%5D%2C%5B95372278%2C%5B%5Bnull%2C745150931%2Cnull%2C%5Bnull%2C1%5D%5D%5D%5D%5D%5D%2C%5B1%2C%5B%5B95373378%2C%5B%5B792614055%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B1%5D%5D%5D%5D%2C%5B95373379%2C%5B%5B781107959%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B1%5D%5D%2C%5B792614055%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B1%5D%5D%2C%5B781107957%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B1%5D%5D%5D%5D%5D%5D%2C%5B50%2C%5B%5B95375505%5D%2C%5B95375506%2C%5B%5Bnull%2C749060184%2Cnull%2C%5B%5D%5D%5D%5D%5D%5D%2C%5Bnull%2C%5B%5B95375930%5D%2C%5B95375931%2C%5B%5B45734716%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B1%5D%5D%5D%5D%2C%5B95376520%2C%5B%5B45734716%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B1%5D%5D%2C%5B45735891%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B1%5D%5D%5D%5D%5D%5D%2C%5Bnull%2C%5B%5B95378095%5D%2C%5B95378096%2C%5B%5B45740207%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B1%5D%5D%5D%5D%5D%5D%2C%5B1%2C%5B%5B95378629%5D%2C%5B95378630%2C%5B%5B45729602%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B1%5D%5D%5D%5D%5D%5D%5D%5D%5D%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5Bnull%2C1000%2C1%2C1000%5D%5D%22%7D&imalib_experiments=%5B95322027%2C95331589%2C95332046%2C95375506%5D&is_eap_loader=false&managed_js_experiment_id=0&pvsid=6747950963402103&top_accessible_page_url=%22https%3A%2F%2Fvariety.com%2F2025%2Ffilm%2Fnews%2Fweapons-ending-explained-where-did-the-kids-go-1236464791%2F%22
https://imasdk.googleapis.com/js/core/bridge3.733.0_en.html#deid=%22%22&eventfe_experiment_ids=%5B%5D&fid=%22goog_161746031%22&genotype_experiment_data=%7B%22experimentStateProto%22%3A%22%5B%5B%5B45713128%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B%5D%5D%2C%5Bnull%2C749060184%2Cnull%2C%5Bnull%2C100%5D%5D%2C%5B45722344%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B%5D%5D%2C%5B45706017%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B%5D%5D%2C%5B45740207%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B%5D%5D%2C%5B45668885%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B%5D%5D%2C%5B45685340%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B%5D%5D%2C%5B45734716%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B%5D%5D%2C%5B45735891%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B%5D%5D%2C%5B45663239%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B%5D%5D%2C%5B45715032%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B1%5D%5D%2C%5B45661356%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B%5D%5D%2C%5B45676441%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B%5D%5D%2C%5B45675307%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B1%5D%5D%2C%5B45675308%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B1%5D%5D%2C%5Bnull%2C45645574%2Cnull%2C%5B%5D%5D%2C%5B45688859%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B%5D%5D%2C%5B45656766%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B%5D%5D%2C%5B45710689%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B%5D%5D%2C%5B45710688%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B1%5D%5D%2C%5B45685601%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B%5D%5D%2C%5Bnull%2C45685602%2Cnull%2C%5Bnull%2C500%5D%5D%2C%5B775241416%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B%5D%5D%2C%5B781107959%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B%5D%5D%2C%5B781107958%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B%5D%5D%2C%5B792614055%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B%5D%5D%2C%5B781107957%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B%5D%5D%2C%5B45729602%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B%5D%5D%2C%5B45658982%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B%5D%5D%2C%5B45725657%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B%5D%5D%5D%2C%5B%5B16%2C%5B%5B1%2C%5B%5B31089630%5D%2C%5B31089631%2C%5B%5B45668885%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B1%5D%5D%5D%5D%5D%5D%2C%5B1000%2C%5B%5B95332046%5D%5D%5D%2C%5Bnull%2C%5B%5B95332047%5D%5D%5D%2C%5B10%2C%5B%5B95333808%5D%2C%5B95333809%2C%5B%5B635466687%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B1%5D%5D%5D%5D%5D%5D%2C%5B10%2C%5B%5B95338769%2C%5B%5Bnull%2C45645574%2Cnull%2C%5Bnull%2C1%5D%5D%5D%5D%2C%5B95338770%2C%5B%5Bnull%2C45645574%2Cnull%2C%5Bnull%2C2%5D%5D%5D%5D%5D%5D%2C%5B10%2C%5B%5B95345206%5D%2C%5B95345207%2C%5B%5B45661356%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B1%5D%5D%5D%5D%5D%5D%2C%5Bnull%2C%5B%5B95351425%5D%2C%5B95351426%2C%5B%5B45676441%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B1%5D%5D%5D%5D%5D%5D%2C%5B10%2C%5B%5B95356068%5D%2C%5B95356069%2C%5B%5B45685601%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B%5D%5D%2C%5Bnull%2C45685602%2Cnull%2C%5B%5D%5D%5D%5D%2C%5B95356070%2C%5B%5B45685601%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B1%5D%5D%2C%5Bnull%2C45685602%2Cnull%2C%5B%5D%5D%5D%5D%2C%5B95356071%2C%5B%5B45685601%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B1%5D%5D%2C%5Bnull%2C45685602%2Cnull%2C%5Bnull%2C100%5D%5D%5D%5D%5D%5D%2C%5B10%2C%5B%5B95372277%5D%2C%5B95372278%2C%5B%5Bnull%2C745150931%2Cnull%2C%5Bnull%2C1%5D%5D%5D%5D%5D%5D%2C%5B1%2C%5B%5B95373378%2C%5B%5B792614055%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B1%5D%5D%5D%5D%2C%5B95373379%2C%5B%5B781107959%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B1%5D%5D%2C%5B792614055%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B1%5D%5D%2C%5B781107957%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B1%5D%5D%5D%5D%5D%5D%2C%5B50%2C%5B%5B95375505%5D%2C%5B95375506%2C%5B%5Bnull%2C749060184%2Cnull%2C%5B%5D%5D%5D%5D%5D%5D%2C%5Bnull%2C%5B%5B95375930%5D%2C%5B95375931%2C%5B%5B45734716%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B1%5D%5D%5D%5D%2C%5B95376520%2C%5B%5B45734716%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B1%5D%5D%2C%5B45735891%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B1%5D%5D%5D%5D%5D%5D%2C%5Bnull%2C%5B%5B95378095%5D%2C%5B95378096%2C%5B%5B45740207%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B1%5D%5D%5D%5D%5D%5D%2C%5B1%2C%5B%5B95378629%5D%2C%5B95378630%2C%5B%5B45729602%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5B1%5D%5D%5D%5D%5D%5D%5D%5D%5D%2Cnull%2Cnull%2C%5Bnull%2C1000%2C1%2C1000%5D%5D%22%7D&imalib_experiments=%5B95322027%2C95331589%2C95332046%2C95375506%5D&is_eap_loader=false&managed_js_experiment_id=0&pvsid=6747950963402103&top_accessible_page_url=%22https%3A%2F%2Fvariety.com%2F2025%2Ffilm%2Fnews%2Fweapons-ending-explained-where-did-the-kids-go-1236464791%2F%22The video player is currently playing an ad.
The film starts right away with the central mystery, and the increasingly desperate parents in the town are convinced that Justine Gandy (Julia Garner) knows something about why every middle school student — besides a young boy named Alex (Cary Christopher) — from her class disappeared and where they went.
As the search hits the one-month mark and school goes back into session, the film splinters into short segments following several people impacted by the disappearances:
*Justine is haunted by the real and imagined threats from parents who feel like she knows the answers. She also hooks up with her police officer ex-boyfriend, Paul (Alden Ehrenreich).
*Archer Graff (Josh Brolin), whose son Matthew disappeared, is one of the parents harassing Justine, but he is also doing his own investigation into the disappearance because he doesn’t think the cops have done enough.
*Prompted by a concerned Justine, the school’s principal, Marcus (Benedict Wong), tries to do a welfare check with Alex’s parents, but is only met by his creepy Aunt Gladys (Amy Madigan).
At this point, the mystery of the plot starts to unravel. A sick Aunt Gladys has come to town to stay with Alex and his parents, and she is a powerful witch. She first uses her spells — which largely consist of prickly sticks, blood, locks of hair, a bowl of water and a bell — to render Alex’s parents mute and motionless in the house, and she appears to be feeding off of their energy and getting healthier.
Gladys then convinces Alex to get a personal item from each of his classmates, and he steals their hand-drawn nametags from their school cubbies. This allows Gladys to do a spell and have the kids all run to Alex’s family house in the middle of the night and hide in the basement, with Gladys seeming to refuel her battery on them as well.
But the plan starts to fall apart once Gladys starts using her other major witch power, which is to make a person under her spell brainwashed so that their only mission is to find someone and kill them — effectively weaponizing them, ergo the title. While Archer is confronting Justine at a gas station, a brainwashed Marcus comes running up to Justine, trying to choke and bash her head in. Archer intercepts him several times so that Justine can get away, and Marcus is killed as he’s running down the street and gets hit by a speeding car.
This convinces Justine and Archer to create a truce, and they figure out that by triangulating the angles the kids all left from on a map, their paths all lead to Alex’s house.
As they arrive, they are attacked by a brainwashed Paul and James, a drug addict Paul has been tangling with for much of the movie. Justine and Archer eventually overpower and kill the pair, all while Alex is trying to hide from his parents, who are brainwashed into trying to kill him.
Archer heads to the basement where the kids are being held and accidentally runs into Gladys, who makes him go after Justine. Although it looks like Justine will be choked to death and Alex will be ripped apart by his parents, Alex quickly makes a new spell so that his classmates are all brainwashed into trying to kill Gladys. This causes the witch to flee the house, chased by 17 children hell-bent on killing her, and they soon overtake her, ripping her head and limbs apart. As she dies, the other spells are broken, and Archer and Alex’s parents snap back to normal.
As the film ends, we’re told through narration that Alex’s parents were sent to be institutionalized and he now lives with a nice aunt, and the kids were all returned home after escaping the basement — and some of them even started talking again this year, a tough final line which shows the effect all of the spells had on people.
Here’s what the (bad) reviews are saying about Alec Baldwin’s family reality series
‘The Baldwins’ employs the actor’s rather spoiled offspring in what some are calling a failed attempt to rehabilitate his reputation after ‘the Rust incident’
Madrid – MAR 04, 2025 – 21:59 CET
The Baldwins debuted on February 23 on TLC, offering an “intimate, behind-the-scenes look into the lives of Alec and Hilaria Baldwin and their seven children, with the challenges and humor that come while raising a large family in the public eye.” According to reviews the reality show has received thus far, if you haven’t gotten the chance to check it out, you’ve done yourself a favor. “What hideous people! Now I really have no sympathy for has-been Alec Baldwin,” runs the headline of its coverage in the Daily Mail. “This fly-on-the-wall series about the actor’s family in the lead-up to the Rust trial feels in extremely poor taste. It’s entirely unnecessary television,” declares a subtitle in The Guardian. The Telegraph (since these are all British publications, it might be worth noting that the series is available on Discovery+ in the UK) gave the show its lowest rating, a single star. “Alec Baldwin was once a rival of Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt for the title of Hollywood’s pre-eminent heartthrob,” begins the article, before pegging his new project as a humiliation.
The eight-episode series presents Alec, 66, and Hilaria, 41, along with their extensive brood: Carmen (11), Rafael (9), Leonardo (8), Eduardo (4), Lucia (4) — born via surrogacy just five months after her brother following Hilaria’s 2019 miscarriage — and Ilaria (2). “The show follows them between their New York City apartment and palatial pad in the Hamptons. There are also two nannies (who deserve medals for valor), four dogs and four cats — despite Baldwin being decidedly allergic to the last,” explains The Times.
TLC advertises the program as a demonstration of “what life is really like for the Baldwins — chaotic, funny, exhausting and filled with love.” But the actor’s attempt to clean up his image, the gamble he took on exposing his world to the public in a light-hearted fashion in order to connect with viewers (how could they not empathize with parents who deal with the daily madness of seven mischievous imps?) achieves the complete opposite. “The Baldwins supplies textbook guidance for raising a pack of undisciplined tearaways. The only thing to be said in defense of the seven children, aged two to ten, is that their parents are even more appalling,” writes Daily Mail’s Christopher Stevens. “The Baldwin brood are not only spoilt rotten but encouraged to whinge, bicker, fight, sulk, and insult their parents.” The commentary on social media has not been any more positive. “It’s just children screaming and running all over the house, her trying to convince the masses that she’s not fake and him organizing things with his OCD,” says one of the internet’s many critics.
https://www.instagram.com/p/DGBsybNpT07/embed/captioned/?cr=1&v=14&wp=658&rd=https%3A%2F%2Fenglish.elpais.com&rp=%2Fculture%2F2025-03-04%2Fheres-what-the-bad-reviews-are-saying-about-alec-baldwins-family-reality-series.html#%7B%22ci%22%3A0%2C%22os%22%3A193.5%7D
Alec Baldwin has always guarded his private life jealously, and in the past has had various incidents with paparazzi during moments when he’s felt incapable of maintaining that distance. The first of these took place in 1995, when he and his wife at the time, actress Kim Basinger, returned home with their newborn daughter and encountered a photographer. The actor insisted there be no photos taken of the baby, and when the paparazzo declined to comply, Baldwin wound up delivering him a blow that broke the guy’s nose, for which the performer was arrested. In 2013, a similar situation happened, this time when Baldwin was with Hilaria. Several media outlets published photos of the actor shoving a photographer up against a car while angrily trying to snatch his camera. In 2016, a video went viral of Baldwin screaming at another paparazzo who was trying to take a photo of his wife. Given this history, the timing of the actor opening the door to his homes is somewhat suspicious, particularly in light of the show’s mandate to not only point cameras at Baldwin, but his entire family, who he has always fought to keep out of the spotlight (though Hilaria does has a penchant for showing them off on social media.)
The Telegraph’s critic Ed Power describes The Baldwins as a saccharine pity party in which the actor oscillates between spending time with his children and staring off into the distance as he reflects on charges of involuntary manslaughter. On July 13, 2024, those charges were dismissed after Baldwin’s lawyers argued that the police in Santa Fe [where Rust was being filmed] had withheld important evidence that would have benefited the defendant, who was facing a possible 18-month prison sentence. The family didn’t know this would be the outcome when they filmed The Baldwins shortly before the actor went to trial. “This has been just surreal. I mean, I can’t even believe that we’re going through this,” the actor confesses in the first episode. “This past year was just terrible. There were times I’d lay in bed. I’d go, ‘Wow, my kids. I can’t get up.’ That’s not like me.” Meanwhile, Hilaria says her husband’s mental health has deteriorated and that he has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. “He says, in his darkest moments, ‘If an accident had to have happened on this day, why am I still here? Why couldn’t it be me?,’” the yoga teacher shares.
Be that as it may, reviewers are in agreement that the actor’s desperate attempt to clean up his image after the accident and even victimize himself in so doing, appear forced, unnecessary and even obscene. For Lucy Mangan of The Guardian, there are only three ways to justify the show. “The first is that a secret cell of revolutionary communists has successfully infiltrated the commissioning corridors of the Discovery channel and created its new reality show The Baldwins as a weapon to bring down western capitalism,” she writes, noting that viewing the show for 20 minutes would be enough to convince many to join their movement. The second, she continues, is that it’s actually a parody written by comic genius Tina Fey, a reference to Fey’s program 30 Rock in which Baldwin starred as the obnoxious Jack Donaghy. “Otherwise we are left with a third option; The Baldwins is just a reality show designed and timed to ease the actor’s way back into public life and affection in the wake of his trial. And that really would be a rare thing — a new low for television.”
The Baldwins marks the actor’s most definitive return to the public sphere since the tragedy of Rust, of which he was both producer and star. Baldwin also made a brief appearance on February 16 at the 50th anniversary celebration of Saturday Night Live, where he holds the record for most times hosting the program and is best-known for his Donald Trump imitation. He attended with Hilaria, with whom he kissed and cuddled in front of the cameras in a sharp departure from his past public protocol. “Honestly, from the bottom of my soul, I don’t know where I’d be if I didn’t have you and these kids,” the actor says in one moment from the series. “Sometimes I say, ‘Why do we have seven kids?’ and it’s to help carry me and you through this situation,” he tells Hilaria.
The problem with the show, say critics, is that its stars are trying for authenticity, yet are doing so in the falsest way possible. “What we are watching is a father of seven minor children anticipating the potential end of his life as a parent as he’s known it; as such, the canned, stock reality-show instrumentals feel extra-tinny, the moments of gaiety extra-forced,” holds Variety. They only thing that comes across as believable is their presumptuous, arrogant lifestyle. “Last week, Alec Baldwin was just a has-been actor to me. Now I know exactly who he and his wife are,” concludes Stevens. “What hideous people.”
Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAÍS USA Edition
