Frailty
Movie Review
Editor’s Note:
Today we join Frank Kidd in the theater room to go over his latest film review. Frailty, according to Frank, is a hidden gem worth watching for any horror buff. I’ve added it to my list of movies to watch this weekend.
Enjoy this review.
- Frank Theodat
This week's hidden gem is a horror movie that somehow remains criminally underrated and more or less unknown.
Frailty is Bill Paxton’s directorial debut. He is also its star, and proves himself as great behind the camera as he is in front of it. It also stars a young Matthew McConaughey and the always fantastic Powers Booth.
I'll warn you right here, that this movie is worth watching, and it's especially worth watching unspoiled. So if you haven't seen it, please stop reading. Then come back and let me know what you thought of it in the comments.
I need you to trust me, and if my word is not enough, take it from the King of Horror himself, Stephen King, who said it was one of the best horror movies released that year.
If however, you do what you want, then by all means keep reading. It's a free country, and I'm not your mom, your government, or HR.
Image retrieved from: IMDB, Frailty (2001)
Frailty is laid out non-linearly, and switches between present day (2001) and 1979. In present day, Matthew McConaughey pays a visit to the FBI, where he meets Agent Doyle, played by Powers Booth. He wants to confess a secret he's kept hidden forever. His father is the infamous "God's Hand" killer, one of the most notorious serial killers in Texas history. He can tell the story now, after all these years, because his brother Fenton has committed suicide.
Most of the story is then told via flashback. Paxton is a widower and the father of two young boys named Adam and Fenton. He is loving, devoted, and committed to teaching the boys right from wrong. He is also a devout Christian. But one day, the boys perfect world is turned on its head. Paxton solemnly tells them that he has received a vision from God. Demons walk among us. They look human, but they aren't. Paxton and his son’s have been called to be His holy hand of retribution, and they must be ready to answer that call.
The boys are terrified by this revelation, but react differently. Fenton believes his father. Adam thinks his Dad has finally lost it. For a while things start to settle down, and Adam begins to believe everything will return to normal, but then his father receives another vision. One that guides him to his new holy weapon—an axe, named Otis.
Image retrieved from: IMDB, Frailty (2001)
Paxton picks his targets while claiming that each one has been shown to him through divine revelation. Fenton continues to believe his father wholeheartedly, eventually even claiming to be able to see the demons as well, while Adam is driven from his faith, convinced that his once loving father is in the grip of a murderous psychosis. Since the flashback is told mostly from Adam’s point of view, we never get to see the demons either. Like Adam, we have to take Paxton’s word for it.
Most of the movie is incredibly hard to watch. Especially, when Paxton begins forcing his sons to partake in the killings. Adam refuses, even going so far as trying to get help from the local Sheriff, where he is promptly laughed off. Paxton is an upstanding citizen, the story itself sounds insane, and Adam is surely trying to get back at his father for some perceived slight. There were several moments like this where me and my girl looked at each other with expressions that said, “WTF are we watching?”
After this incident, Paxton realizes that his son still can’t see the demons. He doesn’t have enough faith. And so he doubles his efforts to bring Adam around, going so far as to force him to dig the killing cellar behind their house. Paxton means it as a lesson, and several times tries to tell Adam to take a break, to use gloves, or to drink water, but finishing the cellar, minus gloves and water, becomes both Adam’s penance and his rebellion.
Paxton’s charm and directing chops carry this portion of the movie. From Adam’s point of view he is a deranged, abusive, psychotic serial killer. From Paxton’s point of view he is a loving dad trying to guide his son to the light. After all, his son’s soul is absolutely on the line. The only problem being that, Paxton and supposedly Fenton, are the only ones that can see it. A special kind of line has to be delicately walked in order to buy into both points of view, a line that Paxton walks brilliantly.
Back in the present day, McConaughey agrees to show Agent Doyle where the bodies are buried, and so they take a late night drive.
This is your last chance, so bail now for spoilers.
Image retrieved from: IMDB, Frailty (2001)
It’s on this drive that we start to get the sense that McConaughey might not be who he says he is. He might not be Adam. It’s at this point that we learn he is actually Fenton. And for the first time in the entire movie, we can see the demons. Through a brilliant unreliable narrator and a point of view shift, like Paxton, we receive a vision. To see through Fenton’s eyes is to brush up against a “victim” and see a pedophile, or even a man that killed his own mother. Agent Doyle is just such a man. And now he has to pay. The entire interview has been a ruse to get Agent Doyle alone so that Fenton can kill him.
I can see why people wouldn’t like this movie even while admitting that it is very good. I’m also not really here to debate the theology of the movie, while I believe it holds up well enough for the story being told. I saw one reviewer say it was “irresponsible,” and I think what they mean by that, is that it was true to its own in-world logic. So true, that the ending leaves you feeling crazy. It asks what if demons are real, and you were told by God to kill them? And then it tells you in no uncertain terms that, that is in fact the metaphysics of this movie world.
That is a ridiculously bold direction to go, especially when none of it is played for laughs or action or gore. It’s played completely, and horrifically straight. Its been a month or two since I watched it, but its stuck with me.
Great movie. I actually didn’t know it was directed by Paxton.
This is one of my favorite horror films. I love the acting and the overall story. Paxton could just be a nutjob or he could be getting these visions and he's actually right. Adam is the younger brother and believes in his dad no matter what, but Fenton is at the age of rebellion and honestly, you can't argue with the kid. Going by logic, he's absolutely right in a crazy world. Then we see that Adam and the dad are right in the end. It's a very interesting story and I don't know. What if there are real demons? Isn't slaying them a good idea? Especially if the law can't or won't stop them? They are heroes in their own way. And Paxton's acting when he has to kill the sheriff is spot-on. We see he truly believes he's been killing demons and now he's had to actually commit murder. The conflicts built in are so well-written. It was also good to see Morgan Earp and Curly Bill reunited here. Powers Boothe is excellent as Agent Doyle. You just know he's hiding something. One critique I heard years ago from my girlfriend at the time, was that they should not have shown if Paxton was right or not with the visions and just let the audience make up its own mind. I think that would have been interesting, too. Great movie and great post, Frank.