By Robert Scucci
| Published
Growing up, I always did whatever my father told me, but it was pretty straightforward stuff that most regular kids are expected to do. When the grass got too tall in the backyard, I was asked to help with the lawn care, and if I wanted to go out with my friends on the weekend, I almost always had permission so long as my homework got done in a timely fashion. That is all to say that my father was, and still is, a very reasonable man, and I thank my lucky stars every day that I wasn’t living in a version of 2001’s Frailty, where the kind of asks from the authority figure in the household involve abducting supposed demons, murdering them in the hidden cellar below the tool shed, and burying them in a rose garden.
Frailty, Bill Paxton’s directorial debut, is a horrifying look at a strained family dynamic that only continues to get worse as time passes because supernatural forces, or, at the very least, a psychotic break is at play. Unlike so many other psychological horror flicks that have come and gone since its release, you’ll find yourself not fully knowing what’s actually going on well into its third act because Frailty plays its gloved hand very close to its chest.
Two Boys And Their Dad
Frailty is framed as a series of flashbacks told by Fenton Meiks (Matthew McConaughey) to FBI Agent Wesley Doyle (Powers Boothe). Fenton, who traveled to Dallas, Texas to confront the agent, confesses that his brother, Adam, is the elusive serial killer responsible for the slayings known as the God’s Hand Murders that took place in his hometown of Thurman, Texas. Stating that Adam’s recent suicide is the catalyst for a long-overdue confession, Fenton is ready to confront his past and offer closer to the case.
Initially skeptical that Fenton is telling the truth about the slayings in Frailty, Wesley listens to his story, which ultimately gives him reason to believe his claims because he’s privy to information about the serial killings that wouldn’t be known to the public.
The God’s Hand Murders
Back in 1979, we’re introduced to young Fenton (Matt O’Leary) and Adam’s (Jeremy Sumpter) father, simply known as Dad (Bill Paxton). By all measures, Dad is a great father who cares deeply about his children, and does his best as a widower to make sure that they have a great life. After allegedly being visited by an angel in his dreams, Dad’s personality shifts dramatically in Frailty, as he was told that he’s been appointed by God to destroy demons disguised as humans who are walking the Earth, and that it’s his calling in life to eliminate them with the three weapons that would later be revealed to him: an axe, a pair of gloves, and a pipe.
While Adam seems to be on board with the abducting and murdering of citizens that look human but are supposedly demons, Fenton is shaken to his core, and resists Dad’s instructions every step of the way. Brutally punished for his insubordination, Fenton finds himself tasked with the monolithic duty of digging a massive hole in the backyard that will function as a dungeon and murder room that would be hidden under the tool shed so Dad can carry out his heinous crimes. Sincerely believing that he is carrying out God’s will, and protected by the lord in doing so, Dad becomes increasingly violent as the body count starts to climb, using his sons as helpers to help dispose of the bodies.
A Masterclass In Misdirection
Fenton’s recounting of his childhood to Agent Wesley is the stuff of nightmares in Frailty, but that’s only the beginning of the tension that you’ll experience as a viewer. Though present-day Fenton clearly wants to help close the investigation with the information that he’s kept private up to this point in his life, Wesley keeps him at an arm’s length, and even detains him while trying to put the pieces together through proper police protocol. Fenton seems just a little too comfortable incriminating himself in the string of killings because even if he was an innocent child who was afraid for his life when his father went off the deep end, he was complicit with his actions at the end of the day.
Though its narrative plays it 100 percent straight, Frailty will continue to surprise you because Fenton’s flashbacks are coming from a sincere place, but it’s also not every day that a grown man confesses to having inside knowledge about a brutal string of unsolved murders that have frightened his local community for decades. As the story unfolds, you’ll be shocked with every twist and turn that’s taken because there may be more to Dad’s story than he’s letting on.
An effective psychological horror flick by every measure, Frailty will leave you stunned as it withholds the answers to all of the questions it raises until the moment is just right.
To experience its slayings, familial drama, and bone-chilling conclusion, you can stream Frailty for free with ads through Prime Video (formerly known as Freevee) as of this writing.
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