By Geno McGahee
In 2001, Bill Paxton directed the movie “FRAILTY.” I have been a Bill Paxton fan for some time. The first time I saw Paxton was when he was heckling a naked Arnold Schwarzenegger in the 1984 film “THE TERMINATOR.” In 1985, he was the older prick brother in the semi-classic “WEIRD SCIENCE,” and then made his name in the horror world with the vampire flick “NEAR DARK.” He has been consistent and always gives a great performance, even when he deals with a mediocre script like PREDATOR 2.
In FRAILTY, we have Paxton as Dad Meiks, a mechanic working hard to take care of his two young sons. His wife died and now he is on his own, working a lot of hours. His older son, Fenton (Matt O’Leary), takes care of his younger brother, Adam (Jeremy Sumpter), while his covers all the bills. It is a happy and productive family.
One night, Dad storms into his sons’ room and wakes them up. He tells them that he was visited by an angel and that God had a very special mission for him. There are demons on the earth and God needs people like Dad Meiks to kill them. Adam immediately believes his father while Fenton cannot and thinks that the cheese fell off his dad’s cracker. Shortly after the meeting with angel, weapons are supplied to kill the demons: an axe and a pipe. Those are the weapons that God supplied, which makes Fenton even more doubtful about his dad’s meeting.
One night, Fenton is called over by his father. Lying near his shed is a woman tied up and bleeding. In front of his oldest son, Dad murders her with an axe. As time goes by, Dad kills more and more, all names on a list supplied by God. Fenton doesn’t know what to do, but he eventually goes to the police. They automatically dismiss the claims and he has to deal with his Dad, and the punishment is severe. Fenton is locked underground, underneath the shed until he sees the light. Dad is also fighting one of his instructions…to kill a demon. That demon is his son, Fenton.
This story is being told by an older Fenton (Matthew McConaughey) to a FBI Agent Doyle (Powers Boothe). When Dad passed away, Adam picked up where he left off, killing all demons and became the “hand of God killer,” a serial killer that the FBI was after. Fenton intends to help them capture his brother, but there is a twist involved.
FRAILTY is a great movie. With great performances all around and a great story, you cannot lose. It’s one of those movies where you can put yourself in the role of both the father and oldest son. What would you do in those situations? Paxton really delivers both from an acting standpoint and his direction. This is a great movie and it is wrapped up very well. I highly recommend this.
Scared Stiff Rating: 8/10. Paxton delivers yet again.
