Check Out the Trailer

This is one of the best films of 2002. It’s a rare horror film that has something on its mind other than high body counts. This film will haunt your mind.

The story follows a single parent family lead by Bill Paxton (WEIRD SCIENCE, A SIMPLE PLAN), who is only known as Dad. One day he wakes his two boys, Fenton and Adam, in the middle of the night to tell them that God was given him a mission to kill demons, who are hiding out on Earth as people. Fenton (Matthew O’Leary, DOMESTIC DISTURBANCE) quickly questions whether his father has gone insane and struggles with what he should do to stop him from killing people. In a parallel story line, Matthew McConaughey (A TIME TO KILL) plays one of the kids grown up, but we’re never quite sure which one he is. There’s a serial killer on the loose calling himself the Hand of God and McConaughey goes to the FBI agent (Powers Boothe, MEN OF HONOR, TOMBSTONE) in charge to tell him that his brother is the killer.

Paxton makes an impressive directorial debut with this gothic thriller, which grips the viewer from start to finish. In a very subtle and unforced way, he borrows from Hitchcock. However, the most amazing thing about the film is that it can be read two ways — either Paxton is nuts or he really is on a mission from God. The depth that the film has is amazing and really makes the audience think about religion, family and insanity. It addresses all the questions that need to be addressed regarding the subject matter, but doesn’t try to answer them with concrete answers.

Paxton’s performance is perfect. You really feel he believes what he’s saying, which makes both readings of the film work equally well and also adds a lot of creepy tension to the overall film. He’s a religious fanatic on acid. The cinematography is excellent and the few special effects shots are quite good as well. Another good thing about the film is the way it handles the violence. It doesn’t exploit the situation and has the violence happen off-screen much like it was done in the classic Hollywood pictures.

A great horror film needs an interesting villain and an understanding of what really makes people scared. Most horror doesn’t try to attain anything deep about the human experience, but from time to time the genre deals with issues that straight dramas rarely address. This film has all of that going for it. FRAILTY is a top-notched accomplishment — do not miss it.