For other uses, see Frailty (film) (disambiguation).
| Frailty |
Theatrical release poster |
| Directed by |
Bill Paxton |
| Produced by |
David Blocker
Tom Huckabee
Eberhard Kayser
David Kirschner
Frederick Levy
Karen Loop
Mario Ohoven
Michael Ohoven
Tom Ortenberg
Michael Paseornek
James Sbardellati
Corey Sienega |
| Written by |
Brent Hanley |
| Starring |
Bill Paxton
Matthew McConaughey
Powers Boothe
Matt O'Leary
Jeremy Sumpter |
| Music by |
Brian Tyler |
| Cinematography |
Bill Butler |
| Editing by |
Arnold Glassman |
| Studio |
David Kirschner Productions
American Entertainment Co.
Cinerenta Medienbeteiligungs KG
Cinedelta |
| Distributed by |
Lionsgate |
| Release date(s) |
November 17, 2001 (Deep Ellum Film Festival) |
| Running time |
100 minutes |
| Country |
United States
Germany
Italy |
| Language |
English |
| Budget |
$11,000,000 |
| Box office |
$17,423,030 |
Frailty is a 2001 American-German-Italian psychological horror film, directed by and starring Bill Paxton, and co-starring Matthew McConaughey. This film is the directorial debut for Paxton. The plot focuses on the strange relationship between two young boys and their fanatically religious father, who believes that he has been commanded by God to kill demons.
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Contents
- 1 Plot
- 2 Release
- 2.1 Reception
- 2.2 Accolades
- 3 See also
- 4 References
- 5 External links
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Plot
A man (McConaughey) enters the Dallas, Texas FBI office one rainy night, and introduces himself as Fenton Meiks. He wants to speak to Agent Wesley Doyle (Powers Boothe) about his belief that his brother Adam (Levi Kreis) is the notorious "God's Hand" serial killer.
Fenton explains that he is only coming forward at this time because earlier that day, Adam had called him to say that he cannot stop the "demons" because there are too many of them. Fenton claims to have stolen and buried Adam's body at the Thurman Rose Garden. Doyle is skeptical, and Fenton unfolds through flashback the story of their childhood with their widower father (Paxton).
One night many years ago, their father tells them that they have been tasked by God to root out and destroy demons whose names were to be provided for him by an angel. To assist him in his "crusade", he has been provided with special tools: gloves to protect his hands from "revealing" the supposed demons' crimes until "justice" was to be administered, a lead pipe to knock the "demons" unconscious and an axe named 'Otis' to "destroy" them. Fenton goes into denial, refusing to believe their father would actually murder people, but Adam quickly believes their father to be doing God's work. Their father also tells them that God will protect them from being caught by the authorities.
Their father captures his first victim, a woman named Cynthia Harbridge (Cynthia Ettinger). When he touches her, he claims to "see" the sins she has committed, and feels no guilt when he uses Otis to "destroy" her. Both Fenton and Adam are forced to witness this act; Fenton is horrified, but Adam claims he can "see" the woman's sins as well. They bury her outdoors in the Thurman Rose Garden, which is adjacent to the Meiks house. Fenton tries to explain to Adam that their father has gone insane, but Adam genuinely believes that they are on a righteous crusade, leading Fenton to conclude that his brother has been brainwashed. Their father soon kidnaps a second victim, a man he claims to be a child murderer, and enlists Fenton's help in the kidnapping.
After their father kidnaps a third victim and orders Fenton to "destroy" the man, Fenton flees in horror and informs the town sheriff (Luke Askew) of the crime, but after he brings Fenton back to the Meiks home, Fenton's father kills the sheriff with the axe. Fenton's father is aghast, believing the act to be "murder" unlike the first two killings, and blames Fenton for forcing him to commit the crime. The father confesses that the angel told him that Fenton is also a demon who must be slain, which his father refuses to believe. Fenton begs for mercy, and his father locks him in the cellar. Fenton is confined to the cellar for over a week, nearly starving to death, until he has a "vision of God" and says he understands what he must do. Overjoyed, his father releases him from the makeshift prison.
Fenton, Adam and their father track down and capture another supposed demon. This time, Fenton is given Otis to decapitate the man, but he instead kills his own father by driving the axe into his heart. As Fenton moves to release the captured man, Adam grabs the axe and slays the "demon", as Adam apparently wants to continue the "crusade".
Agent Doyle is convinced that Fenton's story has weight, and drives him to the Thurman Rose Garden, where Adam would surely have buried his victims. Once they arrive, it is revealed that the man who has been calling himself "Fenton" is actually Adam. However, the "God's Hand" killer is the real Fenton, who kept the bodies of his victims as trophies in his basement. Fenton used the "God's Hand" nickname to lure Adam out of the shadows, knowing that his brother would have to kill him one day in order to fulfill the task their father could not complete. Fenton has been buried in the Rose Garden, along with the several "demons" Adam "destroyed" over the years. It is also revealed that all of the "demons" killed by their father were in fact murderers, and when their father touched them, he actually had visions of their crimes.
Adam also explains that he lured Doyle to the Rose Garden because Doyle was on "God's list". When Adam touches Doyle's hand, he has a vision of Doyle killing his own mother in cold blood. Adam picks up Otis from the undergrowth and kills Doyle before burying him in the Rose Garden.
A day after Doyle's disappearance, agents at the bureau frantically try to find the "Fenton Meiks", the man with whom Doyle was last seen leaving the building. Agent Hull (Derk Cheetwood), who met "Fenton" (Adam) the previous night, cannot remember the man's face, and all security footage showing Adam's face has been distorted. Eventually the FBI storm the real Fenton Meiks' house, only to find evidence of his murders, along with Doyle's FBI badge.
Hull visits the office of the local sheriff, who is revealed to be Adam Meiks. Hull does not recognize him, and explains that his visit is to inform him about his brother's killing spree and disappearance and asks that, if he thinks of anything to contact him. They shake hands, during which Adam holds a moment too long only to tell the agent, "You're a good man, Agent Hull. "
Release
Frailty grossed $13,110,448 at the box office.[1]
Reception
Frailty received generally positive reviews from, with a 74% "fresh" rating on movie review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes based on one-hundred-and-thirty-six reviews.[2] Roger Ebert in particular singled it out for praise, giving the film four out of four stars and declaring that "Frailty is an extraordinary work, concealing in its depths not only unexpected story turns but also implications, hidden at first, that make it even deeper and more sad."[3]
Accolades
Moviefone listed Frailty as the eleventh best horror movie of all time (very Good).[citation needed] Bloody Disgusting gave the film an 'Honourable Mention' in their list of the twenty best horror films of the 2000s, calling the film an "underrated gem [...] a small-scale, thought-provoking horror film that deserves a second look."[4]
See also
- Binding of Isaac
- The Greatest Game Ever Played
References
- ^ "Frailty (2002) – Box Office Mojo". Box Office Mojo. http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=frailty.htm. Retrieved September 28, 2012.
- ^ "Frailty – Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes. http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/frailty/. Retrieved September 28, 2012.
- ^ Ebert, Roger (April 12, 2002). "Frailty". Chicago Sun-Times. http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20020412/REVIEWS/204120303/1023. Retrieved September 28, 2012.
- ^ "00's Retrospect: Bloody Disgusting's Top 20 Films of the Decade...Part 1". Bloody Disgusting. December 15, 2009. http://bloody-disgusting.com/editorials/18403/00s-retrospect-bloody-disgustings-top-20-films-of-the-decade-part-1/. Retrieved September 28, 2012.
External links
- Frailty (film) at the Internet Movie Database
