Very disappointing...

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

Just watched this again recently. It's a very good thriller with a very interesting ending. I love when all the pieces fit together perfectly at the end. Not an A+ movie, but definitely a B+ and absolutely worth watching.

This film had wins and nominations, but it is still underrated and deserves to be among the classics with Silence of the Lambs and The Exorcist. Every moment is masterfully crafted and comes together at the end with a very Stephen King flavor. The entire premise is very simple, but that is what helps the film be so intense. It never wavers; it builds upon itself gloriously. The casting of the film's two children was impeccable, and Paxton's direction of them must have been perfect. The viewer really feels every moment of pure dread and anguish the children felt at the hands of their father, who commits atrocities in front of them and makes them help him. As far as special effects, it was a brilliant choice to keep it simple with sprays of blood on clothing as opposed to tossing buckets onto the actors. Even though a viewer never actually sees any weapon make contact, it still feels like they do. The background score is very simple yet effective- the standard powerful strings building as tension rises. To reveal every bit of the-masterfully written- plot, one has to watch even the very last second, and looking away is something to be regretted.

How would you respond to a person claiming that an angel had revealed to them a secret mission to fight forces of evil? Can you imagine a child confronting such an adult? What if that adult is child's father? These scary questions are exactly what furnishes Frailty's context.Frailty can be described as a noir mystery thriller. The atmosphere itself is extremely gloomy, never pointing to a happy ending. It can be compared to darkness and bleakness in The Machinist. The whole milieu made me feel very uncomfortable, more than most of the horror movies could. If you want to experience similar tension see It Follows (2014).So, one day a man (McConaughey) walks into detective's office apparently knowing who the God's Hand killer is. It's very dark, it's raining and there's nobody there except this exhausted man and steady, calm detective. This man starts to tell detective a story about his father (Bill Paxton) who was once approached by an angel and given a secret mission. From that point on nothing was the same again.As he continues to tell his story we delve more and more into a dark world which is created by psychological states and religious convictions each member of the family has. Tension is thus brilliantly furnished by focusing on family relationship which is by definition somewhat separated from the rest of the world existing as a private entity. All three members of the family are on different levels be it maturity, physical strength, religious convictions or intellect. Now add to it a seemingly supernatural element which influences different members differently and plays with their psyche and you have a formidable movie without using explicit techniques horror movies usually use.Everything that happens points out and prepares us for the twist. Since Frailty's main premise is religious, the twist establishes a framework for a debate on the topic of religious fanaticism; what makes a religious fanatic? Why does one become religious fanatic? Only due to family influences or due to psychological delusion? But what if Christian doctrine of angelology and demonology is true? What if angels and demons do exist and can communicate with us and even take human form? Would that possibility somehow justify at least some actions?Mentioning anything more would rip you off from the experience. Wait for a rainy night and watch it by yourself. Don't forget to buy some snacks - they'll save your fingernails.

This thriller was obviously a labour of love for actor Bill Paxton, who directs and also stars in the leading role as a man convinced that the world is populated by demons masquerading as humans and who believes that God has given him a mission to kill them all. It sounds pretty odd, and it is, and it also could have been extremely cheesy BUFFY-style entertainment if handled wrongly. Instead, everything goes right with this film: great acting, direction, cinematography – and as a result it becomes one of the most disturbing mainstream films I've seen in recent years.The film works because you're never sure whether the characters really do have some supernatural mission from God or whether they're criminally insane. You do find out at the climax, and I have to say that knowledge spoils what otherwise would have been a flawless film; knowing for sure subtracts from the carefully built suspense that has come before. Otherwise, this is literate and engaging, boasting a truly frightening performance from nice-guy Bill Paxton playing to form, as well as some excellent support from a career-best Matthew McConaughey and Powers Boothe, an actor who can do no wrong in my eyes. The grisly subject matter might be a turn off for some, but the carefully detailed human relationships that are kept first and foremost are what made me keep watching this one.