Frailty

Rating:
Summary: Classic horror/suspense gem
Review: Frailty is one of the best psychological horror movies ever made. I have looked at some of the poor reviews for this movie and I can't understand them. They must want mutant Jason Vorhees to pop out and slice someone's head off every five minutes. I like slasher movies but damn, there is room for a little suspense sometimes too. This movie is excellent, it made me tense from the opening credits to the ending. Even the music was good. With Halloween coming up, do yourself a favor and rent this one, you'll get some good thrills. I hope Bill Paxton keeps making movies like this, if he does, i'll sure be happy to enjoy them.

Rating:
Summary: The Thinking Man's Horror Flick
Review: I have to admit I was afraid to watch this movie because of the violence I had heard about in it. However, the violence (blood and gore) is more suggested than shown. The story line itself will leave you thinking long after it is over. It is so dark and creepy with a distinctly supernatural flavor to it. Who is good and who is bad, who is right and who is wrong are topics that are clouded throughout the film. It will leave you wondering you should have been rooting for - if anyone. The acting is amazingly well done as well. Be warned the religion plays a large part in this film - and may not be seen in the best light - if you have a problem with religion or seeing Christianity knocked at all, you may want to skip this film. It's difficult to review this film without giving anything away and I think it is a much better film going into it with little knowledge of it and few expectations. Bottom line - very dark, very violent, and very good.

Rating:
Summary: Great movie...
Review: I loved this movie... I thought it was great. Some of it is really kooky and we were laughing out loud watching it, which makes the end all that more shocking. ...

Rating:
Summary: VERY DISTURBING
Review:
...I for one, love thrillers and somewhat horror movies, but this one crossed the line (I guess i'm not your average Stephan King lover)..
This movie really puts you in a mental shock, who can think or come up with such a story?

I have to admit though, that the acting was top class.. Paxton does a great job being the loving father and a loyal Christian, the kids too are superb..
But I will never watch this movie again, and nor would I recommend it full heartedly to anyone.

Rating:
Summary: Wow, What A Bad Film! Fundamentalists Might Like It.
Review: Wow, this is bad. I feel cheated. I can't believe anyone could enjoy this heavy handed train wreck of a movie. Paxton needs a director to rein him in. The plot is silly. What type of F.B.I. agent allows a suspect to cuff himself in front? The entire film is completely predictable except for the twist that God really is telling these serial killers who to victimize: including killing your own brother and son. Who are you supposed to sympathize with? The movie is funny without even trying. The ending is beyond stupid. I guess a fundamentalist Christian might enjoy the concept of a killer whose victims are chosen by God. The cinematography is good but otherwise the movie is very bad. How Old Testament! Since the film waits till the very end to reveal this foolish twist you can't even sympathize with the correct parties. Wow, what a stinker. Hope you don't believe in a gentle God full of love. This is definitely the worst movie I've seen in some time. Interestingly, the positive reviews onthe box match the acknowledged list of investors in the film. What a sellout. Don't waste your money and don't mess with Texas.

Rating:
Summary: could have been much, much better
Review: This is a movie that does not need a plot twist. The premise is intriguing: a father believed that he received a mission from God to destroy the demons who walked on Earth in the guise of humans. As he made his children his accomplices in his horrifying acts, the elder son realized in horror that his father was going mad. Since he loved his father dearly, the son struggled to find ways to escape the nightmare. As the son became rebellious, an angel told the father a terrible secret...

Had the movie been developed more along this story line, I believe that it would have the potential of being a classic horror movie. However, as Hollywood is still in love with plot twists, the movie decided on a predictable, and very banal plot twist that basically stripped away the story's humanity. While the twist could still serve as a subject for debate, it left little room for ambiguity, and no room for the movie's actors to deliver their acting chops. I'm sure McConaughey would have loved to flex his acting talent on showing the adult Fenton's struggles with the memory of his demonic act when he was a boy. Was his act justified or was his father right after all (about him and about the people that the father killed)? The movie should have had a much more ambiguous ending. As it is, the movie seems to be like a Hollywood justification for those abortion clinic attacks in the past number of years.

Rating:
Summary: Mesmerized Entire Time
Review: I was absolutely spellbound the entire time this film played. I do not ordinarily do well with films that are horror genre allied but this was the exception. One big reason this film succeeds is that it has a story that catches hold of you and never lets go. I found myself wondering what I would do if I were the son, Fenton, whose father embarked on an avenging angel serial killing quest and expected me to be his helper along with my smaller sibling. There does seem to be a side issue too as to whether the father and the younger son actually have some psychic ability too so that they can actually see the "crimes" of their victims which make them "demons". That ultimately is left to your own viewer judgement, however. The next big reason this film works is that the acting is first rate. Paxton is superb as the father (and the film director) who is gripped by this apocalyptic vision and quest. The two boys playing his sons are equally great as his followers, one willing and the other unwilling. And Matthew McConnerghy and Powers Booth bring it all home as the adults years later who are left with the aftermath of the father's legacy.

Rating:
Summary: Disturbing. Effective.
Review: I've been using Amazon reviews for several years, but this is the first time I decided to share my opinion with others. "Frailty" is one of the most effective horror films I've seen in years. It shouldn't be missed by fans of the genre. Is it terrifying? No, but it is disturbing on so many levels; it sticks with you. It treads hard on a couple deeply set taboos, and I suspect this is why it wasn't an enormous hit at the box office. It's got something to offend almost everyone -- not an insult, if you enjoy being challenged by your choices in entertainment. I've been laughing at Bill Paxton's characters for years -- sometimes in appreciation ("Why don't you put her in charge?", Aliens), sometimes in ridicule ("Run!", Twister). But I couldn't respect more his accomplishment here. It kind of reminds me of another actor's first time achievement as a director -- Charles Laughton's "Night of the Hunter." The movies are comparable in more ways than one. Let's hope, unlike Laughton, we see a second film from Paxton.

Is it a perfect film? No. One development with Fenton's character seemed unlikely, and unnecessary. And a couple times the movie probably crossed the line to farce. But when a film hits as many perfect notes as this one, I can forgive a couple minor missteps. See the movie.

Rating:
Summary: Fascinating Horror
Review: It's good to see that Bill Paxton is as good a director as he is an actor. This is his debut behind the camera and he pulls it off very well.

The story centers around a father and his two sons. They live a comfortable and secure life in the midwest, content and secure. That is until the father, played very well by Paxton, begins to see divine visions. These visions instruct him to kill several people, who are deemed "demons". To do this, God presents him several "holy" weapons, including a fiendish looking axe named Otis. He tells his sons that they must help him in his murder spree.

Besides the disturbing thought of a family murdering people for a holy cause, the movie brings out other questions. More horrifying than some of the murders is the dedication one of the sons, Adam, has for his father. He is unquestioning, totally loyal to his father, no matter how many people he wants to kill. It shows the power authority figures have over their followers. Although the story sometimes becomes muddled and slow, the overall plot is very sharp and streamlined. The story keeps you guessing until the twisted ending, which brings out a lot of questions on its own.

Very good movie, with a few drawbacks.

Rating:
Summary: Nasty little horror flick
Review: Directorial debuts by actors are always received with a certain amount of skepticism. However, when Bill Paxton's 'Frailty' was released it was awash with praise from such prestigious sources as James Cameron (who worked with Paxton on 'Aliens' and 'Titanic'), Sam Raimi and Stephen King. And to an extent this is rightly so. Paxton has produced an effectively put together, suspense-filled horror movie that marks itself from the rest of the batch of scary films flooding the market right now.

The premise has Paxton as an ordinary guy that believes he has heard a message from God to go out an kill 'demons' with an axe. Taking his sons along for the ride he tells them that such demons look like ordinary people but they're not. And so the death toll mounts up, with one of his sons being a great deal more skeptical than the other. Fast forward to the present day and we have Matthew McConaughey telling the detective in charge of investigating the God's hand murders why he believes it's his brother committing the crimes, thus unravelling his own knotted childhood in the process.

What's most impressive about this film is that it is actually quite disturbing, something that is certainly praise-worthy given that you don't actually see any of the murders (a wise decision, given the recent proneness to blood and gore). Paxton understands that the most disturbing aspects of the story aren't the crimes themselves but the gradual corruption of the two children in the story and the juxtaposition of what the family does at night with their humdrum existence watching TV or eating family meals together (even if there is one murder scene in particular that will make you jump out of your skin). However, it is the immensely assured and matured performance from Matthew O'Leary as Paxton's son, Fenton, that provides the emotional centrepiece of the entire movie. Managing to convey fear, love and loathing all at the same time puts him in the Haley Joel Osmont category of child acting and if his work on 'Frailty' is anything to go by, he's destined for greater things.

Given this, it's a real shame that the twist at the end is so obvious and that the action that takes place in the present day is too muddled and confused to provide any kind of real climax. Still, kudos should definitely be awarded for not only a very impressive directorial debut but also a great performance from Paxton, and a story that really sets you on edge. This is probably the best horror film of the year so far, especially given the fact that Paxton didn't feel a need to overpopulate his screen with hormonal teenagers and excessive violence. Okay so it's no classic, but it's certainly one of the best movies of the year so far.