Frailty

Name: Frailty
Genre: Sci-Fi, Drama, Thriller, Horror
Released: April 12, 2002
Duration: 100 min
Rating: 64
Cast: Bill Paxton, Matthew McConaughey

2002

METASCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 32 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Universal acclaim based on 226 Ratings

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8.8

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8.8	User Score Universal acclaim based on 226 Ratings

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Frailty

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Movie Details & Credits

Lions Gate Films | Release Date: April 12, 2002 | R

Starring: Bill Paxton, Matthew McConaughey

Summary: The story of the FBI's search for the notorious "God's Hand" murderer. (Lion Gate Films)

Director: Bill Paxton

Genre(s): Sci-Fi, Drama, Thriller, Horror

Rating: R

Runtime: 100 min

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Critic Reviews

100

Roger Ebert

Andrea Yates believed she was possessed by Satan and could save her children by drowning them. Frailty is as chilling. Read full review

Peter Rainer

The film becomes cumulatively stranger as it goes along, and it has a lulu of a kicker. Read full review

Hank Sartin

It's good old-fashioned rural gothic that would make Flannery O'Connor proud, with tricky switcheroos that keep shaking up our assumptions about what's going on. Read full review

Marjorie Baumgarten

Chills to the bone -- and beyond, but for pure excitement it's best not to look far beneath the surface. Read full review

Chuck Wilson

Audiences are destined to debate the film's final scenes, where Hanley piles on plot twists, leading to a coda that turns a creepily ambiguous story about God and the terrifying power of paternal love into something closer to an X-File. Read full review

Michael Sragow

Gory but lifeless. Read full review

Carla Meyer

Dumb but also unrelentingly dark and ugly, thereby depriving the viewer of any camp value. Read full review

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User Reviews

Eilidh2

Sep 21, 2014

Just saw this on TV after it was recommended by 'Mystery Exec" on twitter. Excellent thriller. Great performances from Bill Paxton and Matthew McConaughey. Bill Paxton should direct again. Strange it got such poor reviews when it came out. Only Ebert seems to have seen what a compelling film it is.

4 of 4 users found this helpful40

GeorgeS.

Nov 14, 2005

Even though I have rated a good 15 movies in the last 10 minutes the truth is I really don't like a Numbered rating system. that 10 is for being able to scare the living crap out of me without being overly graphic. The movie itself something like a 9.2 but the story although not the Even though I have rated a good 15 movies in the last 10 minutes the truth is I really don't like a Numbered rating system. that 10 is for being able to scare the living crap out of me without being overly graphic. The movie itself something like a 9.2 but the story although not the most clean and polished one of the best movies I have ever seen for messing with your head. up there with Identity and Memento.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful

Libation70

Aug 3, 2021

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0 of 0 users found this helpful00

joe_mcfarlane

Sep 2, 2011

This is a good film.. i thought that the plot was well thought out and it's a very interesting film to watch. the ending is very clever and i liked this film a lot. whilst the film's plot twist is obvious from the beginning it's still very gripping

2 of 5 users found this helpful23

JoeB.

Mar 3, 2009

This film was okay--well acted, but I saw every big twist coming way before it happened. While it was an interesting character study, there was just something missing--that intangible quality that separates okay films from great ones.

0 of 0 users found this helpful

JLuis_001

Sep 16, 2021

I liked the atmosphere, but the notable lack of variation that Bill Paxton prints to the narrative of his film, makes it become boring after a while, because it's just unable to move forward.

Clearly the plot has enough traction, but it walks along the same plot line, which never gets moreI liked the atmosphere, but the notable lack of variation that Bill Paxton prints to the narrative of his film, makes it become boring after a while, because it's just unable to move forward.

Clearly the plot has enough traction, but it walks along the same plot line, which never gets more dramatic or crucial for that matter.
For that same reason, the construction of the climax doesn't make it resounding or powerful… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

DHE

Dec 3, 2011

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. A bait-and-switch contrivance of the worst kind. (Is there a good kind?) The creepy religious weirdness that characterized the bulk of the movie was an accurate - and disturbing - cautionary tale about how faith and belief untethered to objective reality morphs seamlessly into bat-**** crazy. Unfortunately, there are plenty of people like those depicted in the film (some of them are currently running for president), so the apparent message of the film would have seemed to be: watch out for nut-jobs masquerading as good God-fearing people. I say apparent because this prevailing theme gives way in the end to its opposite. Namely, no matter how crazy you thought these people were, you were wrong: they were actually doing God's handiwork. Really. So I guess regardless of how irrational people might seem, who knows, they may just be taking orders from God. This is not a plot twist; it's a plot reversal. Or a sick joke. If you're truly religious, I don't see how you could make it through most of this movie. If you're not, you'll be thoroughly disgusted with the ending. If you're neither, maybe this is the movie for you.… Expand

0 of 4 users found this helpful04

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47	#47 Most Discussed Movie of 2002
31	#31 Most Shared Movie of 2002