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Frailty (2002)

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All Critics
Top Critics

Average Rating: 6.8/10
Reviews Counted: 136
Fresh: 100 | Rotten: 36

Creepy and disturbing, Frailty is well-crafted, low-key horror.

Average Rating: 6.6/10
Critic Reviews: 31
Fresh: 22 | Rotten: 9

Creepy and disturbing, Frailty is well-crafted, low-key horror.

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Average Rating: 3.5/5
User Ratings: 49,986

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Movie Info

Actor Bill Paxton made his directorial debut with Frailty. The bulk of the story is told through flashbacks, as a mysterious man (Matthew McConaughey) tells a terrible tale to an FBI agent (Powers Boothe) investigating the "God's Hand" serial killer case. The man grew up in a small town in Texas, where he and his brother lived a bucolic life with their kindhearted widower father (Paxton). One night, the father awakens the two boys, Fenton (Matthew O'Leary) and Adam (Jeremy Sumpter), and tells

R, 1 hr. 39 min.

Mystery & Suspense, Horror

Directed By: Bill Paxton

Written By: Brent Hanley

In Theaters: Apr 12, 2002 Wide

On DVD: Sep 17, 2002

Box Office:$13.1M

Lions Gate Films

Frailty Trailer & Photos

More Photos (8)

Cast

Bill Paxton
Dad
Matthew McConaughey
Fenton Meiks
Powers Boothe
Wesley Doyle
Matt O'Leary
Young Fenton Meiks
Jeremy Sumpter
Young Adam Meiks
Luke Askew
Sheriff Smalls
Derk Cheetwood
Agent Griffin Hull
Missy Crider
Becky
Cynthia Ettinger
Cynthia Harbridge
Alan Davidson
Brad White
Vincent Chase
Edward March
Gwen McGee
Operator
Lance E. Nichols
FBI Agent No. 4
Edgar Davis
FBI Agent No. 2
Levi Kreis
Fenton Meiks
Edmond Scott Ratliff
The Angel
Rebecca Tilney
Teacher
Blake King
Eric
Brad Berryhill
Teenage Demon
Greg Serano
FBI Agent No. 1
Jim Flowers
FBI Agent No. 3
John Paxton
Janitor In Lobby
Richard A. Bell
Curtis
Chelsea Blain Butler
Little Girl
Jennifer Drake
Teacher's Aid
Betty Gurule
Doyle's Mother

Critic Reviews for Frailty

All Critics (151) | Top Critics (32) | Fresh (102) | Rotten (36) | DVD (36)

Paxton wins quiet victories here as both star and helmer.

July 20, 2002 Full Review Source: Chicago Tribune

| Comment

Michael Wilmington

Chicago Tribune

Top Critic

I love the way that it took chances and really asks you to take these great leaps of faith and pays off.

April 15, 2002 Full Review Source: Ebert & Roeper

| Comment

Richard Roeper

Ebert & Roeper

Top Critic

A terrifying low-budget thriller that packs a greater wallop than most of the high-priced studio scarefests.

April 14, 2002 Full Review Source: New York Magazine

| Comment

Peter Rainer

New York Magazine

Top Critic

A suitably suspenseful and disturbing drama.

April 12, 2002 Comment

Desson Thomson

Washington Post

Top Critic

A spectacularly gruesome and emotionally destructive, if fictitious, account of child abuse, mounted to provide two tweaks of emotion in a clumsily telegraphed surprise ending.

April 12, 2002 Full Review Source: Washington Post

| Comment

Stephen Hunter

Washington Post

Top Critic

As a first-time director, Paxton has tapped something in himself as an actor that provides Frailty with its dark soul.

April 12, 2002 Full Review Source: Toronto Star

| Comment

Geoff Pevere

Toronto Star

Top Critic

...a solid thriller from a promising first-time director.

December 18, 2011 Full Review Source: Reel Film Reviews

| Comment

David Nusair

Reel Film Reviews

Violent and ultimately uneven and unsatisfying.

December 24, 2010 Full Review Source: Common Sense Media

| Comment (1)

Nell Minow

Common Sense Media

Bill Paxton, longtime bit-player and significantly underrated character actor, makes his directorial debut with Frailty, a joyless tale of one family's psychotic cycle of violence.

July 2, 2008 Full Review Source: IGN Movies

| Comment (1)

Todd Gilchrist

IGN Movies

The film's just about perfect.

June 17, 2008 Full Review Source: ESplatter

| Comment

Lucius Gore

ESplatter

Feels like Sling Blade rewritten at a crawl by Stephen King.

February 13, 2008 Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com

| Comment (1)

Rob Gonsalves

eFilmCritic.com

An overpraised thriller that's really as superficial as a bruise.

August 5, 2007 Full Review Source: Bangor Daily News (Maine)

| Comment

Christopher Smith

Bangor Daily News (Maine)

The intricate plotting . . . reveals everything and yet, using the audiences preconceived notions, makes each fact a surprise and each fiction a shock.

April 5, 2003 Full Review Source: Killer Movie Reviews

| Comment

Andrea Chase

Killer Movie Reviews

So grim, dim, and formulaic, that there is no room for any kind of visceral connection or genuine suspense.

March 19, 2003 Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com

| Comment (1)

Brian Mckay

eFilmCritic.com

More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for Frailty

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Sloppy B-movie trying to pass as sophisticated horror. Even though its script is seriously bad and repetitive, Frailty does manage to hold your attention. Actor/director Bill Paxton offers a lackluster performance, but Matt O'Leary, Jeremy Sumpter and Matthew McConaughey make up for that. The film also features some

June 14, 2007

Fernando Rafael Quintero Casta�eda

Super Reviewer

Frailty is one of those Horror greats that no one really knows about or tries to ignore. What I mean by that is the film is a film that horror fans seem to avoid. However when they do finally get a hold of this superior horror film, they are blown away. I was one of those people as well. Frailty tells the story of the

January 22, 2011