Weapons Doesn't 'Work' Without One Actor, According To Director Zach Cregger

Enormous spoilers for "Weapons" follow, because everything about this particular character is a massive spoiler — so if you haven't seen "Weapons" yet, come back and read this another time!

Anyone who's gotten the chance to see horror director Zach Cregger's sophomore movie "Weapons" knows that, among the extremely talented cast, there's one standout ... and it's the character who will, I imagine, serve as the inspiration for a million costumes this Halloween. That honor belongs to "Aunt" Gladys Lily, played by veteran actress (and Oscar nominee) Amy Madigan, who barely appears in the movie's marketing — and for good reason, considering she's the key to the entire film's narrative.

Cregger, the sketch comedian turned writer-director behind this film and 2022's "Barbarian," spoke to Vanity Fair about Madigan's performance and, truly, had nothing negative to say about Madigan. "Look, I'm more than happy to sing Amy's praises in the press all day long," Cregger clarified. "She's so incredible in this movie. Without her, the movie doesn't work. She saved me. It's just hard to discuss her character without getting into spoilers, so it's tricky."

What Cregger is talking about is the fact that Madigan's Gladys is the reason that 17 children disappear from their beds in the middle of the night in the sleepy town of Maybrook, Pennsylvania, because she's a witch who steals life forces. After invading the Lily family home and putting young Alex's (Cary Christopher) parents into a horrifying trance so that she can steal their life force (to cure some sort of mystery illness or, perhaps, keep her alive after centuries), Gladys is firmly established as the movie's villain. Despite that, Madigan — who should get an Oscar nomination for the role — injects some deeply human moments into her creepy, otherworldly performance.

"Amy does this amazing thing where she shape-shifts throughout this movie. You never really feel like you've pinned her down, except maybe when she's threatening Alex at the breakfast table," Cregger told the outlet. "Maybe we're seeing the real her, or maybe the real her is this vulnerable thing." Another moment Cregger points to is when Gladys, in need of more life force, asks Alex to help her kidnap those 17 children, all of whom are in his third-grade class. If he does this, Gladys says, she'll leave — giving Madigan another opportunity for a tonal shift. "Amy looks so hurt by the fact that he doesn't want her to stay in the house," Cregger says. "I was like, 'Is that the real her?'"

So how did Cregger get a venerated actress like Madigan to play the weirdest and most vital character in "Weapons?" Here's what he told Vanity Fair about Madigan's casting process.

So how did Zach Cregger even come up with the idea to cast Amy Madigan in the role of the terrifying yet offbeat Gladys? (Full disclosure: when I saw "Weapons," I first thought Gladys was played by Kathryn Hunter, a noted portrayer of delightful weirdos; with all due respect to Hunter, I now know only Madigan could have pulled off this dynamic part.) As Cregger told Vanity Fair, her previous projects helped him understand that she's one of Hollywood's most layered and underrated performers. After mentioning her "sparky" performance in "Field of Dreams" and her "stillness" in "Gone Baby Gone," Cregger continued, "I was like, 'Okay, so she's got the weight and she's got the fluff.' And then you watch [the HBO original series] 'Carnival,' and she's terrifying. I just could smell that she had everything I needed."

When the two actually sat down to meet for a meal, though, Cregger was so enthusiastic that he basically got in his own way. "I was like, 'Okay, Zach, don't offer her the role at lunch, even if it goes well.' Because I'm an impulsive person," Cregger said. Apparently, though, that didn't exactly work out. He went on:

"I'm telling you, dude: Within 10 minutes of sitting down at the table — the food hadn't even come yet — I was like, 'You have to play this part! There's no one else. It has to be you.' It was just so clear just looking at her. I was like, 'This is it. I don't need to hunt any further.'"

If this sounds silly, it is — but it's also true. Madigan spoke to the New York Times about playing Gladys and revealed to Kyle Buchanan that she got the "Weapons" script and loved Gladys, only to learn that Cregger was really excited to meet her. "So we sat down to lunch and Zach was thinking, 'Don't offer her the part at lunch,' which I didn't know," Madigan said. "We just hit it off, and he was like, "Well, I'd like you to do it." It happened in a natural way, which was nice. It doesn't often happen like that."

So ... wait. Madigan loved the movie's villain, Gladys? She sure did — and ultimately, Madigan's affection for Gladys deepens the character and performance.

In that aforementioned Vanity Fair interview, Zach Cregger was open about the fact that Gladys overtaking the Lily house is meant to reflect his experiences growing up with alcoholic parents (one of many reasons that, even if you're not a horror movie fan, you should see "Weapons" — it's deeper than you think!). So how did Amy Madigan approach Gladys? With empathy, as she told Kyle Buchanan.

"I think she's a very misunderstood woman! For lack of a better term, I am the bad guy in the movie, but a girl's just doing what she has to do to get through," Madigan said of Gladys. "She has a plan, but I don't think she quite knew how that was going to unfold. She's like an artist, she's very extemporaneous." 

One amazing thing about "Weapons" — which I personally hope isn't "ruined" by a prequel — is that Gladys is completely shrouded in mystery. Yes, we get a glimpse of her process and know she needs life force from others to survive, but who the hell is she?! Where did she come from, and how long has she been doing this? When Buchanan asked a question many fans of the movie probably have — is she actually Alex Lily's aunt, or is she lying? — Madigan demurred. "Well, what do you think? Because I'm more interested in what you kind of got from it. Who am I to say, honestly? People are like, 'Does she really have these magical powers? Is she a real person, is she from outer space, or is she from underneath the ground?'"

To add on to that, Buchanan repeated Cregger's admission, which can also be found in his Vanity Fair profile, that he gave Madigan the choice of two backstories for Gladys, and she never told him which she chose. "I would say it is an amalgamation of things, I wouldn't say it was one or the other," Madigan said. "I liked mushing them together, and I like the idea of mystery. As long as I'm intentional in my work and what I'm doing, then I'm OK with that." (Hey, whatever Madigan did to prepare for Gladys, it worked.)

At the very beginning of her profile with Buchanan, Madigan said, "I'm realistic about who I am. I don't have as many opportunities as I used to have, or as many as someone else. But to get an opportunity like this and create someone with Zach from the ground up was pretty special." Hopefully, thanks to Cregger and "Weapons," this leads to many, many more opportunities for Madigan. "Weapons" is in theaters now.