Frailty (2001)

A man confesses to an FBI agent his family's story of how his religious fanatic father's visions lead to a series of murders to destroy supposed "demons."

Director:

Bill Paxton

Writer:

Brent Hanley

Stars:

Bill Paxton, Matthew McConaughey, Powers Boothe

6 wins & 8 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Bill Paxton	...	Dad Meiks
Matthew McConaughey	...	Fenton Meiks
Powers Boothe	...	FBI Agent Wesley Doyle
Matt O'Leary	...	Young Fenton
Jeremy Sumpter	...	Young Adam
Luke Askew	...	Sheriff Smalls
Levi Kreis	...	Fenton Meiks
Derk Cheetwood	...	Agent Griffin Hull
Missy Crider	...	Becky Meiks (as Melissa Crider)
Alan Davidson	...	Brad White
Cynthia Ettinger	...	Cynthia Harbridge
Vincent Chase	...	Edward March
Gwen McGee	...	Operator
Edmond Scott Ratliff	...	The Angel
Rebecca Tilney	...	Teacher

Storyline

FBI agent Wesley Doyle is startled by the spontaneous declaration of youngster Fenton Meiks about how his father's delusions to have a divine mission as avenging angel required him and his brother Adam to become his 'demon-slaying' murder accomplices. And how hard an dangerously revolting proved. But when Doyle accepts to be shown concealed victim graves, the plot twists in the present just as gruesomely.

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Plot Keywords:

fbi | fbi agent | demon | murder | religious fanatic | 

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Taglines:

There are demons among us

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence and some language

Details

Country:

USA Germany Italy

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 April 2002 (USA)

Also Known As:

Dämonisch

Filming Locations:

Huntington Library & Botanical Gardens - 1151 Oxford Road, San Marino, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$11,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$36,288 (South Africa) (4 October 2002)

Gross:

$36,288 (South Africa) (4 October 2002)

Company Credits

Production Co:

David Kirschner Productions, American Entertainment, Cinerenta Medienbeteiligungs KG

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color (FotoKem)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Bill Paxton mentions in the director commentary at 54:19 "We couldn't really dig it [the hole] that deep .. unless it's reinforced, so actually in this shot [54:31] I'm on my knees and kind of making it look like I'm standing up to make the hole look deeper and of course there's a little mound there [at the lip of the hole]."

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Goofs

When the boys are in bed at 13:04, Adam says "Goodnight, Curtis" to his pet millipede in a jar, not to his brother Fenton.

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Quotes

Dad: May God welcome you, and keep you.

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Crazy Credits

Directors Sam Raimi, Ivan Reitman and James Cameron, among others, are thanked at the end of the credits.

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Connections

Referenced in Stephen King's Dead Zone: Cycle of Violence (2004)

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Soundtracks

"Ball & Chain"
Performed by Dale Watson
Written by Dale Watson
Courtesy of Hightone Records
Published by Bug Music o/b/o Watson Texas Music (BMI), and Songs of Windswept Pacific
By Arrangement with Ocean Park Music Group

User Reviews

Wow-what a good one!

There is such rubbish on the cable movie channels that I hit a gem with this one. From beginning to end it had me gripped and deserves top marks.

Father of two sons hears messages from "God" to kill people who he is told are 'demons'.

When the opening credits showed the director as one of the cast that can often be a warning of a bad film; exceptionally it is the reverse here as the drama is non-stop from beginning to end.

And there is not one moment in the movie when one is not fully enthralled as there are no unnecessary or needless sub-plots, and the script is first class.

All the actors give wholly convincing performances especially the lead child actor who is exceptional.

This film is at least as good as the likes of 'Silence of the Lambs'.