Frailty (2001)

Director:

Bill Paxton

Writer (WGA):

Brent Hanley (written by)

Release Date:

12 April 2002 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

There are demons among us

Plot:

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."

Plot Keywords:

FBI | God | Demon | Vision | Flashback

Awards:

3 wins & 8 nominations

Cast

Bill Paxton	...	Dad Meiks
Matthew McConaughey	...	'Fenton Meiks' / Adam 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

Also Known As:

Dämonisch (Germany)
Frailty - Nessuno è al sicuro (Italy)

MPAA:

Rated R for violence and some language.

Runtime:

100 min | Austria:96 min

Country:

USA | Germany | Italy

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Malaysia:18SG (uncut version) | Malaysia:U (cut version) | Argentina:16 | Australia:MA | Canada:14A | Finland:K-15 | France:-16 | Germany:18 | Italy:T | Japan:PG-12 | Netherlands:16 | Peru:18 | Portugal:M/18 | Singapore:NC-16 | South Korea:18 | Spain:18 | UK:15 | USA:R (certificate #38149) | Philippines:R-18

Filming Locations:

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

Company:

David Kirschner Productions

Trivia:

Bill Paxton's directorial debut. Allegedly, the title Frailty (which is never spoken in the film) refers not to the slow disintegration of the family, but to the very low budget for the movie. Lion's Gate considered changing the title to "God's Hands" (which is a phrase spoken in the film) but Paxton and writer Brent Hanley insisted against this. Ironically, the Brazilian title is 'A Mão do Diabo' (The Devil's Hand').

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: When Fenton brings the FBI agent to the rose garden, a man's shadow can be seen in the dark near the parked car.

Quotes:

Young Adam: It's not fair! All I get to see are demons and Fenton gets to see God!

Movie Connections:

References Meatballs (1979)

Soundtrack:

A Real Country Song

Good work by first-time director Bill Paxton.

Actor Paxton made his directorial debut with this chilling, dark, and competently made thriller about a widowed mechanic (Paxton himself) who ropes his two sons into participating in savage ax murders, claiming that the victims are not human beings at all but "demons", and that they have been selected by God to destroy these "demons". This is all told in flashback by one of the sons, now grown up (Matthew McConaughey) to skeptical FBI agent (Powers Boothe).

Hard to automatically forget this film; better than most serial killer features, it's a twisty and unsettling tale told in straightforward fashion with a bare minimum of cinema gimmicks. Paxton, commendably, barely shows any blood at all until near the end. Well acted by all, especially the two child actors (Jeremy Sumpter of the recent "Peter Pan" and Matt O'Leary of "Spy Kids 2" and "Domestic Disturbance"). The only reason I deducted any points at all is because I can understand that some people may find all of this hard to stomach. In any event, it's an atypical thriller with a decent script.

8/10