FRAILTY

Fenton Meek contacts the FBI to report his brother Adam, convinced that he is responsible for a series of murders committed by a serial killer who signs his work as 'Hand of God'. To the agent handling the investigation, Fenton begins to recount his childhood marked by the madness of his father, obsessed with the idea of destroying the demons hidden within every human being. A 'mission' that earned the admiration of the then-child Adam, and, instead, the contempt of Fenton... Starring and directed by Bill Paxton ('Boxing Helena', 'Twister', 'Titanic'), who for the first time takes on the role behind the camera, and written by Brent Hanley, 'Frailty' is a metaphysical thriller that invests heavily in the plot and less in special effects, which are almost non-existent. The film is entirely centered on the figure of the father (Bill Paxton): until the end, the viewer has no way of knowing whether he is a mad murderer or one inspired by God, and it is for this reason that the film maintains a certain interest and retains a good dose of suspense, despite a rhythm that is not particularly brilliant. All this is due above all to the solid screenplay by Brent Hanley, who deliberately plays on the ambiguity of the situation, touching on frequent social themes such as mystical exaltation and serial killings with a religious background. What 'Frailty' truly lacks - beyond, as mentioned, a bit of rhythm - is, as often happens, a good dose of... blood! Many murders - all carried out with an axe - and not a single drop of blood spilled! It is true that the quality of a horror (or thriller) is not measured by the liters (or rather drops) of blood spilled, but that every murder ends with an axe being raised, the sound of the blow struck, and a black screen really doesn't cut it! Knowing that it was an independent film with a low budget, one hoped for a bit more 'courage'. To conclude, mention must be made of the sterile 'controversy' linked to the advertising campaign for the film's launch, which was promoted by quoting the overly positive comments of three eminent figures in the industry like Stephen King, Sam Raimi, and James Cameron, who praised 'Frailty' as a masterpiece of horror cinema. It is a pity that it was not remembered that all three figures are close friends of the new director Paxton and that one of them, precisely King, also participated, albeit with minimal input, in the making of the film. Perhaps their enthusiastic comments were not entirely 'disinterested'...