Is new horror film Weapons based on a true story?

It's probably not too much of a spoiler to suggest that some of the events that follow cast doubt on those lines of opening narration, given the film goes to some pretty far-fetched places.

Weapons unfolds from the perspectives of six different locals in the town, following their overlapping stories as they deal with the disappearance and try to get to the bottom of it – with Josh Brolin, Julia Garner and Alden Ehrenreich among those to play major roles.

Benedict Wong, Austin Abrams, Cary Christopher and Amy Madigan round out the cast.

So, is Weapons based on a real event? Does the case remain a mystery? Continue reading for more.

Is Weapons based on a true story?

No – it is not based on a true story, although Cregger has used real stories as inspiration.

In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, Cregger addressed this openly, explaining that although the film is not based on a specific situation it was inspired by very real pain.

"I had a tragedy in my life that was really, really tough," he said. "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."

He added: "It’s an incredibly personal story. There’s certain chapters of this that are legitimately autobiographical that I feel like I lived."

In a separate interview with GQ he added: "The movie’s about that overwhelming emotion you get when you lose someone close to you. This script was me venting about that. So I didn’t explode."

There have also been some rumblings that the film is loosely inspired by school shootings throughout the US, but Cregger has said that there was no one particular case that he used as a jumping off point.

So while the plot, notably the mass disappearance, is fictional, the film's emotional core is based on reality.

Cregger has also emphasised that the movie's direction shifts significantly throughout the runtime. "That mystery is going to propel you through at least half of the movie, but that is not the movie," the director revealed.

"The movie will fork and change and reinvent and go in new places. It doesn't abandon that question, believe me, but that's not the whole movie at all. By the midpoint, we've moved on to way crazier s**t than that."

If you've already seen the film and need a recap and explanation of some of the crazy events that follow, check out our Weapons ending explained.

Weapons is now showing in UK cinemas.

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