DVD Review | Frailty
Written by: Kage Alan

Film Rating: A-
DVD Special Features: A

Considering how many films Bill Paxton has acted in and never made it to the
end of the picture because his character was killed off or he was only
featured in a tiny role, it's about time the man has been given a meaty role
like this and the opportunity to direct to boot.  There's no doubt that he's
is extremely talented (check out the film "Near Dark"), only he's rarely had
material that allowed him to show off just how much he has to bring to a
project.  The waiting is over, though, with "Frailty".

The film opens with Agent Wesley Doyle (Powers Boothe, "The Emerald Forrest") walking into the FBI building during a rainy night and meeting Fenton Meeks (Matthew McConaughey, "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation"), a young man who claims to know the identity of a serial killer Doyle is seeking.  The agent is dismissive at first, but soon begins to listen to what Meeks has to say as one heck of a tale begins to unfold before us.

It begins back in 1979 in a small tight knit family of three.  There's Dad
(Paxton), an auto mechanic, and his two sons, Fenton (Matthew O'Leary, "Spy Kids 2") and Adam (Jeremy Sumpter, "Local Boys").  Life is good to them and the future appears bright, but nothing ever quite stays that way.  Dad is awakened one night by a vision of an angel who tells him that there are
demons walking among them and that they (the family) have been chosen by God to rid the world of the threat.  Adam, the youngest, eats the story up while
the older brother remains skeptical.  When Dad shows up with a pipe, an axe,
a pair of gloves and later on a list of people they are supposed to kill,
things go from strange to downright insane.

The kids discover Dad moving the body of a woman into the shed one night
quite late and watch in horror as he touches her without the gloves, claims
to see her sins and then takes the axe to her.  Things don't end there,
though, and Fenton and Adam are soon accomplices helping distract the demons so Dad can knock them out and bring them home to be killed.  Fenton
desperately wants to get away, only Dad feels his son just lacks faith and
the two begin a struggle to make the other see the light of reason.  The rest
of what unfolds is horrifying and the conclusion completely unexpected (my
other half predicted part of it, but not all of it).

Paxton really shines here in both roles of director and actor, but it's
O'Leary and Sumpter who make the film a complete success.  Without a
believable performance out of the child actors, the film just wouldn't have
worked.  As for the story, while the Religious Right probably doesn't like
the idea of having some of their members portrayed as messengers of God
arbitrarily killing people, writer Brent Hanley wanted this to be a horror
film and the premise truly is disturbing.  "Frailty" wasn't meant to be a
gospel according to any of the cast or crew, so that needs to be taken into
consideration while watching it.

Lions Gate has delivered an incredible Widescreen transfer of the film along
with a fantastic 5.1 Dolby Digital soundtrack.  The picture, which does
consist of plenty of dark or night shots, looks very good and Bryan Tyler's
score helps accentuate the impact of the film extremely well.  As for extras,
this ought to have been called a special edition.  First up are three (count
em' folks, three) audio commentaries.  The first one is with Bill Paxton and
the man never stops talking the entire time.  It's a great commentary and
full of anecdotes as well as information about how the project developed from
its initial beginning to how things progressed during the actual filming. 
This is exactly how a commentary should be.  The second commentary is with
Editor Arnold Glassman, Producer David Kirschner and Soundtrack creator Bryan Tyler.  Their contribution is fairly decent, only not as good as Paxton's. 
The final commentary is with writer Brent Hanley and I found his comments to
actually be better than the Production commentary.  Still, Paxton's is the
standout.

Also included on the disc is a trailer, a 19-minute Making Of Frailty
featuring lots of interviews with cast and crew as well as behind-the-scenes
footage, the Sundance Channel's 26-minute Anatomy of a Scene again featuring interviews and behind-the-scenes footage, a photo gallery, 8 minutes of deleted scenes with optional Bill Paxton commentary and a storyboard section. Yes, this puppy is packed!


While the majority of horror films coming out these days need a gimmick or
some disgusting gore to attract an audience, "Frailty" packs a punch right
where it should in the script and the acting.  The film won't be met with
open arms by all viewers and it's likely people will be as skeptical as I was
during the first thirty minutes or so as to where it's going to go, but the
end pays off.  Hats off to Bill Paxton and the rest of the actors and
production team for not only giving us one heck of a powerhouse and
unsettling film.