Frailty 2001 Lions Gate Films   Buy It Now

I’ve long been a fan of horror films, and in fact I can remember spending at least five years of my life where that was probably about the only thing that I rented or watched. While so may think that viewing habits like that would have some adverse effects on the human psyche, it was more or less learning experience. Sure, I’m desensitized to pretty much any violent act or scene of gore that you could put on film, but on the other hand, there were many things that I began to take note of: the camera effect, the visuals, how some of the make-up was done, and just about anything else that you could think of. My attraction to horror began a downward spiral though as the “golden age of gore” was quickly replaced with mainstream tripe that appealed not to the true horror fan, but teenagers that really didn’t know any better and would get scared of their own shadows.

As fate would have it though, there were occasionally directors and film studios that realized that there were horror fans that wanted something with a little more bite. They weren’t interested in Scream or anything senseless like that. Films like The Sixth Sense may have appealed to the casual filmgoer, but there were old school horror fans that the film appealed to as well, despite the lack of gore. And although these films were few and far between, if they looked appealing enough, then there were those of us that had no problem with taking a trip to the theater. Frailty is one of those films that wants to go the extra mile and make you think a little, and try and scare you at the same time.

Frailty follows, through flashbacks, the lives of a normal family. Fenton Meiks has come to the FBI with information on a serial killer known as The God’s Hand Killer. He begins to retell the tale of his father who back in 1979 was trying his best to raise his two sons, Adam and of course Fenton. Their normal life however was soon changed when an angel visited their father, informing him that the end of the world was coming and the family is to do God’s work, which means killing demons. However, while young Adam claims to be able to see the sins of these demons, Fenton knows better, and sees them for what they truly are: people.

As a film, Frailty falls into the category of being “American gothic,” one of those movies that takes something that could be easily attributed to real life. It’s not the fanciful details of a hockey masked killer or a child killer come back from the dead, but instead involves “real life” people that could just as easily be the family next door as they could a newspaper headline you read tomorrow morning. For all intents and purposes, the Meiks are serial killers instructed by “the will of God.” It’s an idea not so far fetched either, as we’ve seen time and time again in history or heard the insane ramblings of “God told me to do it,” usually followed with an insanity plea by their lawyer. But, we all know that religious insanity doesn’t necessarily need to involve murder either, and it can take the form of sending a preacher money or God will strike him dead.

Overall, the casting for the film isn’t too terribly bad at all. Bill Paxton, who directed the film, managed to cast himself as the father, but I really wouldn’t view him as the main character of the film either. While it is true that the murders begin with him, much of the story revolves around young Fenton, played by Matthew O’Leary (Domestic Disturbance, Spy Kids 2.) Fenton watches his family slowly begin to disintegrate and is even subjected to abuse, most of it being emotional instead of physical. Out of all the starts and feature players in the film though, I’d certainly have to say that young O’Leary stands head and shoulders above them all, especially considering his age as well as short career to date.

What Paxton has done with the film has created something that’s rather magnificent to look at most of the time. Several old school tricks from the pages of filmmaking were used in the film, and they work quite well. Astute viewers will see some very slick fades and scene transitions, but it’s never anything that comes across as being too flashy or cheesy. Instead, it’s just classic filmmaking done just right, and Paxton does a fantastic job at blending the past with the present to tell the story, and even gives a sense of isolation at times. In fact, the film stands out very well visually, with subtle nuances that are sure to be caught in separate viewings.

However, the films visual style is really about all the makes it stand out .The script itself is rather weak, and very predictable at times as well. It’s slow going for the most part, and really offers little in the way of payoff. One of the discs extras, Anatomy of a Scene from The Sundance Channel, finds Paxton telling us how he wanted to capture the feel of Hitchcock. That’s quite a lofty goal if I do say so myself, and the one rule for any sort of entertainment industry, regardless of what it may be, should be to never announce any sort of intentions to replicate anything else. Immediately, comparisons are made and there are some fairly big shoes to have to fill in most cases. Frailty lacks any of the real Hitchcock feeling, and although the film attempts to go for that twist ending, it fails to do so. For the most part, most of the events that are portrayed in the film are fairly predictable, and even frustrating at times. I find it hard to believe that any branch of the FBI wouldn’t do any sort of investigation using a forensics team, but that’s the case here. The agents accept the clues, as they are, not bothering to do any real investigation regarding the matter in the least. The clues for everything are fairly well l aid out, if you pay attention that is.

The film is also very slow moving, and that’s being kind. Although it does a fairly good job at drawing you in and making you wonder on a few situations, but it takes far too long to get to any sort of real payoff. Instead, we’re given a recounting of family history, and even though it can be somewhat compelling to watch and listen to, it serves as nothing more than backdrop. Frailty has been classed by some to be a horror film, but bear in mind that often, the horrors that may be associated with the real world aren’t even as tantalizing as those of fantasy. Frailty offers nothing in terms of scare or chills, and keeping in tune with a sort of Texas Chainsaw Massacre vibe, there’s no onscreen bloodshed to say the least. Really, this comes down to the old standby that a great actor, or cast in this case, can’t save a bad film. But it’s not that Frailty is a horrible film, it’s that it never really gives itself a chance to be anything but a retelling of history with very little dealings with the present for the most part, although the film is left wide open for a sequel, which will undoubtedly happen due to the mindset of Hollywood.

While some viewers may find this a masterpiece of a film, where the real meat of the film lies is in the extras themselves, at least in my opinion. Having always had a mild interest in the aspects of film making, the Sundance Channel special is quite an interesting piece indeed. It’s not the acting abilities or range that are really looked at, but more the creation of illusions, those subtle parts of filmmaking that lead the audience to believe something that isn’t true. The special gives a wealth of information and shows some very simplistic techniques that were used to achieve a very effective look. The main focus is the car ride, which takes up about one third of the film (the story is told as Fenton and the FBI agent drive to his old home.) The scenes may seem to have the look that the car was actually being driven, but that’s not the case at all. In fact, it was filmed in a stationary position while the crew used some very rudimentary effects to give the illusion of movement, and it seems to be something that even a novice filmmaker could achieve.

The behind the scenes “making of” is fairly interesting, but doesn’t offer anything that puts it above the Sundance special.  There are also two different audio commentary tracks that are included that give a little good insight on the film, but in all honesty, it makes it even slower to watch. At least there was an effort to include something of that nature though, and it’s at least better than some of the barebones, trailer only discs that have been coming out on the market. Of course, this doesn’t include all of the $pecial editions that have been coming out just to sell a sequel.  

I don’t mind a film that has a slower pacing, Darren Aronofsky’s Pi instantly coming to mind, but Frailty just didn’t manage to capture my hopes quite as well as I’d though. Again, it’s not a bad film in the least, but there are many other films that I can think of that are far better in the category of thriller than this one, and a plethora of legitimate horror films that are far more entertaining. The average movie watcher certainly won’t catch most of the plot twists or the “surprise” ending, even if it was laid out in plain and simple terms in easy to understand flashcards, and will find a great deal of enjoyment in the film. It’s even viewable under the premise of seeing it as an “artistic” venture into the world of filmmaking, but truth be told, I really don’t feel that Frailty is worthy of being called the masterpiece that many people wanted to look at it as. It is worth at least one viewing though, but don’t get your hopes up for something that’s going to have any lasting appeal that will stick with you for years to come.

 -mike-
 

Directed by: Bill Paxton   Written by: Brent Hanley   Cast: Bill Paxton Matthew McConaughey Powers Booth Matthew O'Leary Jeremy Sumpter Luke Askew Levi Kreis

DVD Features: English & Spanish Subtitles Theatrical Trailer "Anatomy of a Scene" special from Sundance Channel The Making of Frailty Deleted Scenes Sill Photo Gallery Director Commentary Production Commentary Writer Commentary