Weapons (2025) has a hauntingly real portrayal of child abuse, and one of the simplest yet most effective elements of that is, of course, Aunt Gladys. Specifically, the way she speaks, how she speaks, and who to. The first time we encounter her in Marcus’ office, she is bright, both visually and in the demeanour she presents, and she is personable. She seems, if a bit strange and eccentric, as though she is well intentioned to an onlooker without the context of the knowledge that she exists within a horror film. Even in Marcus’ house, before any blood is shed, though her eccentricity and strangeness is dialed up, she speaks brightly, she smiles, she is not overtly threatening. But with Alex, behind closed doors, that’s all gone. Gladys is not bright or personable or charismatic with Alex. She demonstrates her powers to hurt him, to hurt the people he loves, how easily she can do so. She forces him to be complicit, turning a young boy into a caretaker for his own parents and dragging him into the depths of the missing children. She forces Alex to stay silent as they sit with the police, knowing he is next to the woman responsible for his missing classmates, with his father, another victim of hers, right beside him as well. He is kept silent and complicit through fear and threats, and only he has seen what Gladys is truly capable of, the kind of person she is behind the makeup and the bright colours and the smile. One of the clearest scenes when it comes to the angle of child abuse is how Gladys, after they have made sure the house shall raise no suspicion when CPS call, regains that bright and charismatic persona, only to immediately drop it when she knows only Alex is watching her.
I would also say Gladys’ styling is very reflective of this. In public, she is dressed extremely strikingly, the most colourful person in any room. Her hair is immediately recognisable, her makeup is messy, heavy and brightly coloured against her pale skin, her outfits are always bright and eye catching. Her clothing, of course, serves to set her apart from the attire of the modern day, hinting to us from the moment we have a full look at her that something about Gladys is off, just like the consumption line. But additionally, Gladys’ colour palette behind closed doors is notably different. While still striking, her face is bare of makeup, her wig is mostly absent, and her clothing is significantly less bright in colour. Her clothing is just as much of a disguise as her demeanour in public, hiding the sinister reality of what lurks beneath that only Alex truly sees.
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