COUNTDOWN TO HALLOWEEN: DAY 23-“FRAILTY”

In honor of the witching season, we’ll profile a new Halloween-centric title every day throughout the month of October.

THE DEVIL MADE HIM DO IT…OR DID HE?

Article by Adam Mast

FRAILTY (R)-2001

Today, as we continue our Countdown to Halloween, we thought we’d focus on a film many readers might not be familiar with. If you haven’t heard of FRAILTY, do your horror loving self a favor and seek it out immediately. This is an incredibly effective work of horror directed by actor Bill Paxton. There’s a lot of stuff at play here; The American family, mental illness, religious extremism, evil, etc.

As FRAILTY opens, a man (Matthew McConaughey) openly shares the story behind his religious father’s involvement in a string of horrific murders, and he shares this story with a most unlikely individual; An FBI agent (played by Powers Boothe).  As this man descriptively fills the the agent in by way of all the horrific details, we the viewer are witness to this eerie tale via flashback.

Dad (Bill Paxton), as he’s referred to throughout the film,  is a God-fearing man and a loving father. Raising Fenton (Matt O’Leary) and Adam (Jeremy Sumpter) is quite a challenge for this single dad but the real challenge falls upon these young siblings, especially  after their father visits their bedroom late one night and informs them  that demons are living among them. Worse still, these demons look like regular people and God has seen it fit to have Dad destroy them. Shortly after sharing this terrifying information, Dad takes his boys on the road and attempts to teach them to aid him in doing “God’s work.”

FRAILTY is quite a terrifying film because we’re never entirely sure if Dad has a screw loose or if  he actually does see what he claims to see. And once he begins taking his kids along on his blood soaked mission, this film becomes even more unnerving.

Paxton is an amazing storyteller and FRAILTY is so good, you’ll wonder why this fantastic actor doesn’t direct more often. This picture positively oozes atmosphere and by the time it was over, the hair on my neck was literally standing on end.

Paxton the actor here is equally superb. His Dad  is scary to be sure, but Paxton infuses this man with a sympathetic quality. Furthermore, at the risk of sounding like I might have a screw loose myself,  there’s something uncomfortably rational about some of the seemingly crazy choices this character makes and that makes FRAILTY all the more unsettling.

Rounding out an exceptional cast are Paxton’s gifted young co-stars  O’Leary and Sumpter. They are both asked to delve into pretty dark subject matter and they handle the proceedings like seasoned pros.

Finally, we have McConaughey and Boothe. These actors play off of each other beautifully in the bookend scenes and their work is vital to the overall effectiveness of the movie. Why? Like I’m going to spoil that here.

FRAILTY is a gritty and often disturbing work of horror.   But there’s also real drama and a grand sense of mystery here. This is an extremely efficient, fittingly low key, and undeniably unsettling directorial debut from Paxton. Even Stephen King gave this movie a big endorsement when it was released in 2001, so you don’t really need another excuse to watch it.

COUNTDOWN TO HALLOWEEN

October 22nd- “Psycho” – Click Here
October 21st-“Killer Klowns From Outer Space”– Click Here
October 20th- “Horrorfest 2015” – Click Here
October 19th- “Hocus Pocus” – Click Here
October 18th-“The Exorcist”– Click Here
October 17th-“Prince of Darkness”– Click Here
October 16th- “The Omen” – Click Here
October 15th-“Dawn of the Dead”– Click Here
October 14th- Student Bodies”–Click Here
October 13th-“Habit”–Click Here
October 12th- “The Twilight Zone” – Click Here
October 11th- “Creepshow” – Click Here
October 10th-“Shaun of the Dead“-Click Here
October 9th-“Invasion of the Body Snatchers”– Click Here
October 8th-“The Final Girls”–Click Here
October 7th-“Something Wicked This Way Comes”–Click Here
October 6th- “We Are Still Here”–Click Here
October 5th-“Evil Dead II: Dead By Dawn”–Click Here
October 4th- “Phantom of the Paradise“-Click Here
October 3rd-“Poltergeist“-Click Here
October 2nd-“The Babadook“-Click Here
October 1st-“John Carpenter’s The Thing“-Click Here

About Author

Adam Mast

Adam Mast has been a lifelong film enthusiast dating back to age 6 when his parents took him to see a little movie called JAWS at a drive-in theater in Northern California. This would lead him to several writing stints for various publications and outlets. Mast would also have a hand in several film projects of various shapes and sizes. In 2014, Mast would join forces with colleague John Pugh to create Cinemast.net as a means discuss film from a fan and analytical perspective. Together, Mast and Pugh would also create the 501 (C)(3) nonprofit, Film and Media Alliance of Southern Utah (FMASU) in 2017. FMASU’s mission is to encourage, inspire and educate filmmaking talent and to preserve film history. Adam currently resides in southern Utah with his amazing wife, Tonja, and their four wonderful children.

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