Frailty (2001)

Crime, Drama, Thriller

Director: Bill Paxton
Writer: Brent Hanley
Starring: Bill Paxton, Matthew McConaughey, Powers Boothe, Matt O'Leary

"Only demons should fear me.... and you're not a demon, are you?"

A fanatically religious and seemingly-schizophrenic widower involves his two sons in carrying out the mission he was commissioned by God to do, of cleansing the Earth of "demons" who walk around in human form. The older boy, Fenton Meiks, portrayed as an adult by a mysterious Matthew McConaughey, begins to question his father's sanity, as he witnesses him perform a series of gruesome murders, based on a list given to him by an angel.

Marking the directorial debut of actor Bill Paxton, who also plays the central character in the movie, Frailty is a somewhat disturbing thriller, bordering on a classic horror, but without making use of the typical gore, blood or the other spectacular effects the genre has become accustomed to. The film instead cleverly explores the madness that comes with everyday life, perhaps more frightening than any supernatural event.

Plot summary from IMDb: FBI agent Wesley Doyle is startled by the spontaneous declaration of youngster Fenton Meiks about how his father's delusions to have a divine mission as avenging angel required him and his brother Adam to become his 'demon-slaying' murder accomplices. And how hard an dangerously revolting proved. But when Doyle accepts to be shown concealed victim graves, the plot twists in the present just as gruesomely.

Awards: 6 wins & 10 nominations.
Runtime: 100 min
R