Warning: Major spoilers ahead for WeaponsZach Cregger’s mystery horror opus Weapons doesn’t have many on-screen deaths, but the ones that it does have are extremely upsetting both from a gore and context perspective. Cregger’s second entry into the pantheon of modern horror debuted to record-breaking Rotten Tomatoes scores, and will be a bona fide box office hit by the end of its theatrical run.

Starring Julia Garner and Josh Brolin at the head of a small ensemble cast, Weapons follows the aftermath in a small town after a classroom of 17 kids all disappear from their homes on the same night, vanishing without a trace. As the truth about the nature of their disappearance unravels, several members of the small town of Maybrook get swept up in the evil plaguing the town.

That leads to a number of grisly deaths and scary moments, some more upsetting to see than others. Cregger wields gore with surgical precision, ensuring that each death packs a visceral punch leading up to Weapons‘ insane ending. Some are harder to watch based on the context (who’s killing who and how) and the nature of their death, and this is the definitive rank for the five major deaths in Weapons.

5

James

Maybrook’s resident troubled youth James has the least connection to the missing kids of any character, but that unfortunately doesn’t keep him safe from the terrifying power that forced their disappearance. The habitual drug user ran afoul of Paul earlier in the movie before encountering him again on his way to report the missing children he discovered.

A lengthy pursuit resulted in James in the back of Paul’s police car as the beleaguered officer went to investigate the Lilly household where the children were being kept. Paul was possessed and weaponized by Gladys once inside, and under her influence he pulled James into the house to be possessed as well.

Paul and James were planted on the first floor of the Lilly house to be used as a booby trap for anyone who might have designs on interfering with Gladys’ escape. When Justine steps over the salt boundary on the floor, Paul and James are “activated”, and after an intense mortal struggle, Justine kills Paul with his own service weapon before killing James as well.

James’ death is unfortunate given his relative innocence in the situation, and of the deaths it’s the least upsetting because the sequence is mostly comical. The possessed James rushes Archer, who delivers a number of knockout blows, only for James to keep getting up and trying to rush him again. It’s a funny bit in the intense climax, but still unfortunate for the character.

4

Paul Morgan

Like most of the deaths in Weapons, Paul’s (Alden Ehrenreich) is upsetting because of how innocent he was in the narrative. Despite being functionally similar, Paul’s death is even more upsetting than James’ because of how it unfolds. While the possessed James attacked Archer, Paul was set against Justine, a woman he had a romantic history with.

Paul’s attempted strangulation of Justine is hard to watch, and is accented by a gruesome moment in which Justine attempts to slow him down by using a potato peeler on his face. Undeterred, the possessed Paul continued to try to kill her, forcing her to grab his gun and shoot him twice, once through the throat, then in the head when he still kept coming.

The romantic connection between Paul and Justine makes his death more poetically tragic than Paul’s, and the more graphic nature of his death sequence makes it more upsetting overall. The potato peeler to the face is one of the more gruesome moments in the ultra-gory climax of Weapons.

3

Marcus

Benedict Wong’s school principal Marcus’ death is particularly tragic, as his entire involvement in Gladys’ plot is born out of him caring for the welfare of his students, and of Justine. In one of the movie’s most memorable scenes, a possessed Marcus kills his husband in their own home before sprinting across the town of Maybrook in search of Justine.

Marcus’ swollen, bloody face is one of the more upsetting images from Weapons, and his desperate pursuit of Justine at the gas station is particularly intense. After she escapes in her car, Marcus continues to run after her in the middle of the road with Archer on his trail, and he’s eventually obliterated by a car as he sprints through an intersection.

Zach Cregger is not shy about showing the audience a smashed-up head, and one of the grisliest instances comes when the camera pans from the car that hit Marcus, settling briefly on his mᴀssacred skull and body before quickly cutting away. Marcus’ death scene is certainly not for those with weak stomachs.

2

Gladys Lilly

To be clear, there is no tragedy ᴀssociated with the death of Aunt Gladys (Amy Madigan), who is the witch behind the possession of everyone in the town of Maybrook. Her death is a moment of vengeance for everyone affected, but the nature of her death is still legitimately upsetting based on the circumstances surrounding it.

Although her motivations and origins are left mysterious, Gladys possesses the children of Maybrook to siphon their life force away and sustain her. Context clues indicate that she’s been at it for much longer than the average human lifespan, so the children of Maybrook certainly aren’t her first victims.

Alex (Cary Christopher) is able to turn the tables on Gladys in the movie’s climax, holding off his own possessed parents long enough to execute the blood magic that Gladys uses to break her hold over the missing children of Maybrook. Alex instead turns them on Gladys herself, leading to a suburban chase scene that is 90% comedy until the very end.

When the children finally catch up to Gladys, they quite literally tear her to pieces. Cregger once again isn’t shy about showing the destruction of the human body, as their small hands ripping Gladys’ body and face apart are shown in excruciating detail. The gore is tough to stomach for many, but the most upsetting part is the fact that innocent children were forced into such extreme violence.

1

Terry

As bad as each of the preceding deaths in this list were, the circumstances surrounding the exceptionally ghastly death of Marcus’ husband Terry (Clayton Farris) might be the most tragic of all. Gladys visited Marcus at his home under the pretense of discussing Alex, and the only thing Terry did wrong was being at home when she showed up.

Terry was suddenly and brutally killed by the man he loves in his own home, which is upsetting in and of itself. The violent nature of his death, which came when Marcus tackled him and headʙuттed his skull into a pulp, is what sends Terry’s death over the edge and earns it the тιтle of most upsetting death in the movie.

Terry’s death is symbolic for the entire town of Maybrook. He had been living a seemingly idyllic life in relative peace, when his life was changed in an instant (and in his case, ended) by something evil, completely out of his control. There are many themes to take away from Weapons, but Terry’s death sums up the destruction of innocence in poignant and grisly fashion.