what is weapons based on

The movie "Weapons" is not based on a true story or real incident. It is a fictional horror film created by director Zach Cregger. While the story itself is made up, it draws emotional inspiration from a personal tragedy that Cregger experienced—the sudden death of a close friend. The film also loosely references some real-life events such as the Vietnam napalm attack and cases of missing children, but these are not direct sources for the plot. The story follows the mysterious disappearance of a whole class of children in a small town and the impact on the community, but this premise is fictional. Cregger wrote the film as a way to process his grief and emotions rather than to depict true events. Additionally, the film subtly comments on themes related to grief, trauma, and the communal impact of tragedy, with some parallels drawn to the emotional aftermath of school shootings, though the movie is not explicitly about that topic. In summary, "Weapons" is based on fictional events, but the emotional core and some thematic elements are drawn from real- life experiences and tragedies known to the filmmaker.