Frailty

Reviewed by:
Eric Alt

Axe-weilding psychopaths? Yawn. Bible-thumping killers from Texas? A-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H! We’re not sure if the Lone Star State is aware of this or not, but nearly every movie that takes place there terrifies us beyond the capacity for rational thought. As far as movies are concerned, Texas is a cesspool of serial killers, religious zealotry, and whiny slackers (but that’s just Austin, isn’t it?). While this is undoubtedly an unfortunate misrepresentation, it does make for some entertaining flicks. Like the latest from director-star Bill Paxton, Frailty.

A tense American Gothic thriller, Frailty is told in a deliberate and measured style that builds to a conclusion that, minus one or two twists, might have been really great. As it stands, it ends up being only very good. Before it gets too horror-filmy, Frailty spins a creepily believable tale of madness that doesn’t come in the form of masked monsters but in the form of kindly and seemingly upright dads. Both Paxton and Matthew McConaughey keep their natural hamminess to a minimum, which allows the tale to unfold at its own unnerving pace. Again, the ending might be seen as a betrayal of what went before it, but by the time it comes around you’ll be engrossed enough to let it slide.

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