Movies with twist endings are a dime a dozen these days, but once
in awhile, a movie comes along that completely pulls the rug from
under your feet and leaves you affected for hours after you've seen
it. The Usual Suspects was a movie that had a particularly
effective twist ending. So was last year's Memento. Horror movies
have long been known for creating twists when revealing the
identity of a killer, but rarely, has there been a horror movie that
has taken such an intellectual route to unveiling a story and then
trumping it with such an unexpected twist ending.
As Frailty opens, the FBI is plagued by a series of serial killings
and disappearances by a criminal calling himself "God's Hands".
They've reached an impasse in the case until a Fenton Meeks
(played by Matthew McConaughey) comes to their door and
reveals that his brother may be the killer. He then proceeds to
relay an incredible story about how their father dragged the boys
into a mission to destroy demons, conveniently disguised as local
townsfolk.
Told in flashback, the story is set in a typical small town in the
South, where Meeks' father, played by Bill Paxton, is a widower
raising his two sons on his own. In the middle of the night, he tells
his sons that God has come to him in the form of an angel to
enroll him as a soldier in God's army in a war against demons
living on earth. These demons look just like humans, except that
Meeks' father can see them by putting his hands on them. His
mission is to destroy them. Fenton is a bit suspicious and
skeptical, but his trusting younger brother, Adam, is enthralled and
ready to do whatever his father needs him to do. Fenton's
suspicions quickly turn to fear, as he witnesses his father destroy
his first demon with an axe and then bury the body in the rose
garden behind their house. His father's convictions in what he is
doing are so strong that he is able to sound convincing and sane,
except that Fenton realizes he must stop his father. The conflict
between the two leads to Fenton's lack of faith and a refusal to
believe in God, as his father continuously pushes him to
participate in the mission.
Directed by Paxton, Frailty is a true horror movie of the highest
magnitude, and it's one of those intelligent character-driven
thrillers that are far too rare. The tone and setting of the movie is
like something that Stephen King might have written, while the
movie itself is reminiscent of two of his better movie adaptations,
the coming-of-age drama Stand by Me and Pet Sematary. Some
aspects of Frailty also remind one of M. Night Shamalayan's
dreadful, Unbreakable. Although this tends to be equally as slow,
Paxton takes a similar premise and does it in a way that manages
to keep the viewer riveted to the screen. The most disturbing
aspect of the movie is watching Paxton as the loving father who
gets his children involved in his brutal crimes, and the situation is
even more tense when one realizes how witnessing such carnage
could affect these young minds. Setting the story in such a simple
locale as this Everytown, USA, makes the nature of the killings
even more harrowing. After spending the entire movie thinking you
know what will happen, the back-to-back plot twists at the end are
every bit as satisfying as those in The Usual Suspects and
Memento.
Considering that this is Paxton's first time as director, the excellent
performances by the entire cast are even more impressive,
particularly Matthew O'Leary, who plays the young Fenton Meeks.
O'Leary's performance makes him one of those child actors that
should be kept an eye upon. Jeremy Sumpter plays his optimistic
brother, Adam, in a way that brings a nice counterpoint to the
brothers' relationship with their father. Without question, Paxton is
every bit as good in this as he was in A Simple Plan, playing the
father with a creepy smile of confidence and an air of politeness
that makes his cause seem just. By comparison, Matthew
McConaughey's role is fairly minor, as he only appears in the
framing sequences and acts as narrator for the flashback scenes.
When he is in front of the camera, he does a nice job looking and
acting as haggard as one who might after experiencing some of
the things he did as a teenager.
The script by first-time screenwriter, Brian Hanley, is sharp and the
storytelling is coherent and easy to follow, which can be rare in this
sort of movie. Some of the twist movies that Frailty draws
comparisons to have left the viewer thinking, "huh?", due to the
overly complex storytelling. Even though Frailty sometimes uses a
flashback within the main flashback, it still manages to keep
things comparatively simple and cohesive.
The movie doesn't actually show much of the inherent violence or
gore, making it even more disturbing as the mind fills in the
blanks with the graphic detail, and the sound effects add further to
the effect. The background music works well to help build the
tension, and the lighting is used to create a mood more effectively
than any other recent movie I've seen. From the light pouring
through the slats in a shed to the light emblazoning the police car
grill onto McConaughey's face, the lighting plays the largest part in
making this movie visually stunning, much like Alan Parker's Angel
Heart.
Frailty is easily one of the best horror movies I've seen in a long
time, almost like that Stephen King movie that no one has yet been
able to make. Paxton should be commended on such a fine
directorial debut and for bringing together such a fine group of
actors.
in awhile, a movie comes along that completely pulls the rug from
under your feet and leaves you affected for hours after you've seen
it. The Usual Suspects was a movie that had a particularly
effective twist ending. So was last year's Memento. Horror movies
have long been known for creating twists when revealing the
identity of a killer, but rarely, has there been a horror movie that
has taken such an intellectual route to unveiling a story and then
trumping it with such an unexpected twist ending.
As Frailty opens, the FBI is plagued by a series of serial killings
and disappearances by a criminal calling himself "God's Hands".
They've reached an impasse in the case until a Fenton Meeks
(played by Matthew McConaughey) comes to their door and
reveals that his brother may be the killer. He then proceeds to
relay an incredible story about how their father dragged the boys
into a mission to destroy demons, conveniently disguised as local
townsfolk.
Told in flashback, the story is set in a typical small town in the
South, where Meeks' father, played by Bill Paxton, is a widower
raising his two sons on his own. In the middle of the night, he tells
his sons that God has come to him in the form of an angel to
enroll him as a soldier in God's army in a war against demons
living on earth. These demons look just like humans, except that
Meeks' father can see them by putting his hands on them. His
mission is to destroy them. Fenton is a bit suspicious and
skeptical, but his trusting younger brother, Adam, is enthralled and
ready to do whatever his father needs him to do. Fenton's
suspicions quickly turn to fear, as he witnesses his father destroy
his first demon with an axe and then bury the body in the rose
garden behind their house. His father's convictions in what he is
doing are so strong that he is able to sound convincing and sane,
except that Fenton realizes he must stop his father. The conflict
between the two leads to Fenton's lack of faith and a refusal to
believe in God, as his father continuously pushes him to
participate in the mission.
Directed by Paxton, Frailty is a true horror movie of the highest
magnitude, and it's one of those intelligent character-driven
thrillers that are far too rare. The tone and setting of the movie is
like something that Stephen King might have written, while the
movie itself is reminiscent of two of his better movie adaptations,
the coming-of-age drama Stand by Me and Pet Sematary. Some
aspects of Frailty also remind one of M. Night Shamalayan's
dreadful, Unbreakable. Although this tends to be equally as slow,
Paxton takes a similar premise and does it in a way that manages
to keep the viewer riveted to the screen. The most disturbing
aspect of the movie is watching Paxton as the loving father who
gets his children involved in his brutal crimes, and the situation is
even more tense when one realizes how witnessing such carnage
could affect these young minds. Setting the story in such a simple
locale as this Everytown, USA, makes the nature of the killings
even more harrowing. After spending the entire movie thinking you
know what will happen, the back-to-back plot twists at the end are
every bit as satisfying as those in The Usual Suspects and
Memento.
Considering that this is Paxton's first time as director, the excellent
performances by the entire cast are even more impressive,
particularly Matthew O'Leary, who plays the young Fenton Meeks.
O'Leary's performance makes him one of those child actors that
should be kept an eye upon. Jeremy Sumpter plays his optimistic
brother, Adam, in a way that brings a nice counterpoint to the
brothers' relationship with their father. Without question, Paxton is
every bit as good in this as he was in A Simple Plan, playing the
father with a creepy smile of confidence and an air of politeness
that makes his cause seem just. By comparison, Matthew
McConaughey's role is fairly minor, as he only appears in the
framing sequences and acts as narrator for the flashback scenes.
When he is in front of the camera, he does a nice job looking and
acting as haggard as one who might after experiencing some of
the things he did as a teenager.
The script by first-time screenwriter, Brian Hanley, is sharp and the
storytelling is coherent and easy to follow, which can be rare in this
sort of movie. Some of the twist movies that Frailty draws
comparisons to have left the viewer thinking, "huh?", due to the
overly complex storytelling. Even though Frailty sometimes uses a
flashback within the main flashback, it still manages to keep
things comparatively simple and cohesive.
The movie doesn't actually show much of the inherent violence or
gore, making it even more disturbing as the mind fills in the
blanks with the graphic detail, and the sound effects add further to
the effect. The background music works well to help build the
tension, and the lighting is used to create a mood more effectively
than any other recent movie I've seen. From the light pouring
through the slats in a shed to the light emblazoning the police car
grill onto McConaughey's face, the lighting plays the largest part in
making this movie visually stunning, much like Alan Parker's Angel
Heart.
Frailty is easily one of the best horror movies I've seen in a long
time, almost like that Stephen King movie that no one has yet been
able to make. Paxton should be commended on such a fine
directorial debut and for bringing together such a fine group of
actors.
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