Weapons' Aunt Gladys nearly looked very different as film's hair boss admits trying '22 wigs'

*Warning: Contains major spoilers for Weapons*

The terrifying villain of Zach Cregger's blockbuster new horror film Weapons has quickly gained icon status with her shocking red bob and ill-applied lippy. However, the character could have had a very different look to the one that appears on-screen.

Portrayed by Amy Madigan, the character of Aunt Gladys isn't properly unveiled until late in the film, although audiences do get momentary glimpses of her preceding the grand reveal.

She is eventually introduced to audiences as the sickly aunt of Alex Lilly (Cary Christopher), who we know is the only child in Justine Gandy's (Julia Garner) class who didn't go missing in the middle of the night. Through the eyes of Alex, we learn the exact role his long-lost family member had to play in the disappearance of his 17 classmates - and the terrifying powers she possesses.

It's up to audiences to decide whether Gladys Lilly is who she says she is, but one thing is for certain: she's not to be messed with.

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In an exclusive chat with the Mirror's Screen Time team, the film's hair department head, Melizah Wheat, revealed the painstaking process of nailing Aunt Gladys' distinctive look.

"We tested 22 wigs, 22 different shades of red," she shared, explaining that the red hair was a non-negotiable from Cregger's end.

"I'm like 'Ok, we got thousands of shades of red'. There's copper red, blue red... different variations of red. So I really had to peel the layers back and do a show and tell like 'Is this what you mean?'. We had great direction to start with which is lovely, because that's the bones of creating a character."

Describing the process as a "gradual song and dance," Melizah said it was the last wig they tried that hit the mark, and pushing it back on the head gave the team a "wow" moment.

"I tried the wig longer, I tried the bangs longer. Right on camera test I got to the last one. I said 'Let's try this one and see how this one looks and Zach was just over the moon. He was like 'This is it! Gladys is born'," she recalled.

"Those bangs... the minute I shifted that wig back it was like 'Wow'. You guys [special make-up effects] put the bald pieces on the side to accommodate my wig going so far back... it's just magic."

The character is already becoming a top pick for Halloween costumes this October, a fact that the film's make-up department head Leo Satkovich still can't believe.

"It's crazy! There's people that are like 'I'm going as Aunt Gladys for Halloween,'" he said.

"He [Zach] told us in the interview the basic premise of what he wants and what he wants Gladys to look like, so he was very upfront with everything which made it seem even more a dream project of creating this kooky, creepy, campy horror villain that breaks all the moulds of horror that we know. It’s cool."

Weapons is out now in cinemas