There’s a new running meme taking over social media that comes from a horror movie called Weapons. The meme shows a kid sprinting down a dark street with his arms stuck out to his sides in the weirdest way possible.
The image, which shows the boy staring straight ahead while doing this robot-like run, has become viral content across TikTok, Twitter, and Instagram. Meme creators are slapping funny captions on the screenshot and using it for all kinds of everyday situations, completely changing what was supposed to be a scary movie moment into comedy gold.
So where did the “Weapons Run” meme come from? What’s happening in the original movie scene, and why does this kid run like he’s broken? Let’s break it down.
What Is The Original ‘Weapons Run’ Video?
In August 2025, a horror movie called Weapons hit theaters across the United States. The film starred several child actors and was directed by Zach Cregger, who you might know from his previous horror hit Barbarian.
Weapons follows a group of children who get caught up in supernatural horror events. The storyline follows a town in shock after an entire elementary school class mysteriously vanishes one night, after all the children suddenly run out of their homes. The specific scene that became the meme shows a young boy running at night through suburban streets, but he’s not running normally – his arms are held stiffly halfway up at his sides while he maintains a completely serious expression.
The scene appeared in the movie’s trailer, which Warner Bros. released on April 29, 2025. At exactly 1:26 in that trailer, you can see this bizarre running style that immediately caught viewers’ attention. The image became the closing visual in many of the film’s TV spots, showing how significant the studio thought it was.
The running pose looks unnatural and creepy, which was exactly what director Zach Cregger intended. In interviews, he revealed that he based the children’s running style on the famous “Napalm Girl” photograph from the Vietnam War, where a young girl runs with her arms outstretched after a napalm attack.
Who Is Zach Cregger?
Zach Cregger, the director behind the “Weapons Run” meme, is an American filmmaker who gained major attention in the horror genre with his 2022 film Barbarian.
Barbarian was a surprise hit that earned over $45 million worldwide on a small budget and received critical acclaim for its clever twists and scares. The success of that film gave Cregger the opportunity to make Weapons with a bigger budget and studio backing.
Before directing horror movies, Cregger was part of the comedy troupe The Whitest Kids U’ Know, which had a sketch comedy show on IFC. His transition from comedy to horror has been one of the more interesting career moves in recent Hollywood history.
Weapons represents his attempt to create a new type of horror film that focuses on children in danger, using unsettling imagery like the distinctive running pose to create atmosphere.
Where Did The ‘Weapons Run’ Meme Come From?
The meme started on Twitter on August 8, 2025 – the exact same day Weapons opened in theaters. A user named @luv2read13 posted the screenshot of the running boy with the caption “omw to the liqa sto” (internet slang for “on my way to the liquor store”).
That tweet exploded with over 45,000 likes within 24 hours, showing how instantly people connected with the absurd image.
The meme really took off when other Twitter users started grabbing the same screenshot and adding their own captions about everyday situations where someone might need to run quickly. Posts like “leaving work early on a Friday afternoon like” and “realizing I can run while I’m drunk” started getting tens of thousands of likes.
TikTok creators took it even further by actually performing the Weapons run themselves. @juicy.jacobb posted a video of themselves doing the stiff-armed sprint through a shopping mall, complete with dramatic background music. That video hit nearly 500,000 views in one day, turning the meme from static images into a full participatory trend.
The timing was perfect – the horror movie was brand new, people were looking for fresh meme content, and the image was so unusual that it could work for almost any joke someone wanted to make.
How The Meme Evolved
The “Weapons Run” quickly evolved beyond simple caption memes. TikTok users began filming themselves mimicking the strange running style in public places like malls, streets, and even gym treadmills.
The meme spread internationally as users in different countries started making versions with captions in Spanish, German, and other languages. Artists created cartoon redraws and animated GIFs, while others photoshopped the boy into different settings or gave him different facial expressions.
Current Status
As of late August 2025, the “Weapons Run” meme continues to appear regularly across social media platforms, though it’s past its initial viral peak. TikTok remains the most active platform for new content, with users still posting videos of themselves doing the run.
The meme has become a flexible reaction image that people use to express feelings of excitement, panic, or the need to escape quickly from situations. Its simplicity and versatility suggest it could remain part of internet culture for months or even years to come.
Additional Context and References
About the “Napalm Girl” Photograph
The famous “Napalm Girl” photograph, officially titled “The Terror of War,” was taken on June 8, 1972, during the Vietnam War. It shows Phan Thi Kim Phuc, a 9-year-old girl, running naked with her arms outstretched after being severely burned by a South Vietnamese napalm attack that mistakenly hit her village of Trảng Bàng. The photograph, credited to Associated Press photographer Nick Ut, became one of the most powerful anti-war images of the 20th century and won the Pulitzer Prize. Zach Cregger‘s decision to reference this iconic image in his horror film demonstrates the deliberate artistic choices behind the seemingly absurd running pose that became a meme.
The Whitest Kids U’ Know Background
The Whitest Kids U’ Know was an American sketch comedy troupe consisting of Zach Cregger, Trevor Moore, Sam Brown, Timmy Williams, and Darren Trumeter. The group’s television series ran from 2007 to 2011, originally on Fuse TV before moving to IFC. The show was known for its dark humor and controversial sketches that often pushed boundaries. Cregger’s background in sketch comedy helps explain his ability to create horror content that inadvertently becomes comedic meme material, as seen with the Weapons Run phenomenon.
Film Industry Context
Barbarian, Zach Cregger‘s previous film, was a critical and commercial success that established him as a rising talent in horror cinema. The film’s unexpected plot twists and blend of horror with dark comedy set the stage for the anticipation surrounding Weapons. The success of Barbarian gave Cregger the creative freedom and budget to experiment with more ambitious concepts in Weapons, including the distinctive visual elements that would later become internet phenomena.
About the Author
