Energy Vampires Aren’t Cool! An Environmental Take on “Weapons”
**spoiler alert**
Watching Zach Cregger’s Weapons is intense—but hey, try being a coral reef in 2025.
This EMA Gold Seal for Sustainable Production film follows five characters as they navigate through the suspicious disappearance of 17 kids. Ultimately, they are found entranced in the basement of Amy Madigan’s character Aunt Gladys as she sucks the life from them. By the end of the film, it is clear enough what happened plot-wise, but the film is full of rich symbolism and themes that invite deeper interpretations.
The theme of an older person siphoning the life out of another, younger person is all too common in pop literature and culture. Take the story of Rapunzel or last year’s hit “The Substance”, where Demi Moore drained her life (sometimes unwillingly) to sustain her younger version, Margaret Qualley.
We seem to keep coming back to the agreement that sucking the life from something else is bad. Seeing this in “Weapons”, we hope that Gladys is stopped. We’re all meant to grow, flourish, and whither at our own pace and in our own time. So, when we see the 17 children that Gladys drained chasing her like heat-seeking missiles, we feel an extreme sense of satisfaction. To us, Gladys gets what she deserves because we know that life is a precious thing.
Ending the cycle
So, why do we let the cycle continue, where we, like the children, are drained for the benefit of polluters? Just as Gladys feeds on others to extend her life, industries suck the vitality from ecosystems and communities to stay profitable and powerful. And we’re left gasping for air.
At some point, we’ve all felt like something was taken away from us, environment-wise:
A scenic view not ruined by brightly colored litter, a year that doesn’t break storms records, produce without a side of pesticides, or a backyard where kids can play without coughing; when's the last time you saw that?
Certainly, these simple things are becoming increasingly scarce.
We have extracted so much of the Earth’s resources in just the past 30 years that in that timeframe, human stuff exceeds the mass of all living things on Earth. It’s imperative that we stop letting industries suck the life from us and the Earth. Like Cary Christopher’s character Alex Lilly, it’s in our hands to put an end to poor industry practices and hold them accountable.
Avoiding Unnecessary Witch Hunts
Like those bewitched in Weapons, we need to make sure we home in on the correct targets. Otherwise, we risk starting witch hunts. In the days immediately following the disappearances of the town’s children, it pointed its finger at Justine (Julia Garner), starting a witch hunt on her, not the actual witch. More fell victim to Gladys during that time.
We’re apt to do the same in the environmental world, where we’re quick to blame individual lifestyles and let industry practices fly under our radar.
That looks like telling off someone for using a plastic straw and turning our heads to the fact that only 56 companies are responsible for half of the world’s plastic pollution. Or feeling annoyed at your neighbor for religiously watering their lawn, all the while AI data centers continue to chug alarming amounts of fresh water.
If we’re not careful, we might get distracted by the little things while big polluters and consumers fly under the radar. Once again, we find that the real villains aren't those who are easiest to blame; they’re the ones quietly draining life from us and who we must go and search for.
Witch hunts might make good drama, but they don’t save the planet. Let’s do our best to stop corporations from draining the planet. Support businesses with positive social and environmental impacts, educate yourself and friends on current events, and keep an eye out for the Aunt Gladys of the world.
EMA Keeps the Focus on Polluters
At EMA, we keep the focus on the big polluters and encourage people to lead with hope instead of pessimism and set examples instead of offering critiques. While the populace points fingers, the trillion-dollar industries will continue to suck the life out of Earth in the name of profit. Movies such as “Weapons” are great allegories for power imbalances within humanity and how they can lead to suffering and conflict.
For more media with environmental storytelling and allegories, check out the 2025 EMA Awards!