Opening Night Gala

FRAILTY

USA 2001
Regie bill paxton
Darsteller bill paxton, matthew mcconaughey, powers boothe, matthew o’leary, luke askew

Da betritt eines Nachts ein junger Mann das FBI-Headquarter in Dallas und behauptet, die Identität des Killers zu kennen! Mit unverhohlenem Misstrauen lauscht Agent Doyle (Powers Boothe) der schier unglaublichen Geschichte von Fenton Meeks (Matthew McConaughey), deren Anfang lange zurück liegt. Flashbacks führen uns in die 70er Jahre, als die Welt für den damals Neunjährigen und seinen kleinen Bruder Adam völlig in Ordnung war. Bis zu dem verfluchten Tag, als Gott ihrem Vater eine Botschaft sandte: auserwählt sei er, Dämonen in Menschengestalt zu vernichten, mit Axt, Eisenstange und Handschuhen als Werkzeuge. Als er kurz darauf die göttlich erstellte Liste der ersten sieben Opfer erhält, macht sich Daddy daran den teuflischen Sündern einem nach dem anderen den Kopf abzuhacken. Während Fenton (Matthew O’Leary in der Rolle des Neunjährigen) mit aller Macht versucht, den Vater zur Räson zu bringen, ist Bruder Adam (Jeremy Sumpter) noch zu klein, um zu begreifen, dass Dad übergeschnappt ist...

Erstlings-Filmemacher Bill Paxton – markanter All-Time-Nebenstar (VERTICAL LIMIT, TWISTER, TITANIC, APOLLO 13, TRUE LIES, ALIENS) mit unergründlichem Blick; hier zusätzlich in der Rolle des Vaters – fängt den Horror, den der heranwachsende Fenton durchlebt, mit meisterhafter Intensität ein. Das alptraumhafte Dilemma eines Jungen, der ohnmächtiger Zeuge der schlimmsten Verbrechen wird und nichts tun kann, ohne sein eigenes Leben zu gefährden. Und der seine Familie schließlich auch liebt, egal was geschieht.

FRAILTY ist ein (viel zu seltener) Genre-Glücksgriff. Ein ernster, intelligenter Horrorfilm, der sich zu Recht auf ein cleveres, twistreiches Script und hervorragende Darsteller stützt; auf Effekthascherei gänzlich verzichtet. “Mit einer düsteren Geschichte, die Stephen King mit dem Alten Testament mischt und Hitchcock mit den Klängen von HUSH, HUSH SWEET CHARLOTTE..." Filmecho/Filmwoche
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What a gifted director Paxton is! He and his team have made a complex film that grips us with its intensity and simplicity. We are with it every step of the way – and still hardly suspect where it might be leading us. Fenton is old enough to know the difference between what’s right and wrong. He is also aware that his dad brainwashed his brother. Sons and father are trapped in a household seemingly ruled by fanaticism, by self-righteous Christian fervour that will stop nothing – not even brutal murder...

“Perhaps only a first-time director, an actor who does not depend on directing for his next job, would have had the nerve to make this movie. It is uncompromised. It follows its logic right down into hell. We love movies that play and toy with the supernatural, but are we prepared for one that is an unblinking look at where the logic of the true believer can lead?” Chicago Sun-Times

“Electrifying. A tale of madness and elemental evil
which keeps you guessing until the very last shot.” James Cameron

“The most disturbing horror picture I’ve seen
since THE SHINING.” Sam Raimi

“It’s unique, though provoking, edge-of-the-seat
entertainment.” Stephen King
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Family tragedies don't come any more freaky than "Frailty," a superb Southern Gothic slice of horror that is easily the sickest movie to arrive in theaters in a very long time. And I mean that in the nicest way possible.
To call this movie disturbing doesn't begin to describe the terror that comes from watching a seemingly normal father pick up an ax and, in the name of God, whack people that he believes to be demons here on earth. What makes "Frailty" so good -- and so horrifying -- is that the movie focuses on the psychological drama of its story instead of the gore, all the while building to a haunting conclusion that is as surprising as it is effective.

That Bill Paxton plays the father isn't surprising, since "Frailty" is set in a small west Texas town, and Paxton, a Texan himself, has always displayed an unforced ease when playing morally conflicted men from the heartland. That Paxton directed this movie does rate as something of a shock, given that this is his first time behind the camera. This is an accomplished directorial debut, superb in every aspect, heralding the arrival of a filmmaking talent that bears watching.

Film buffs can easily identify the movies that influenced Paxton and first-time screenwriter Brett Hanley (another Texan making a sensational debut). "Frailty" mixes the eerie psychological dread of Charles Laughton's 1955 classic thriller "Night of the Hunter" and the twisted family dynamics of Hitchcock's "Shadow of a Doubt" with a little bit of the over-the-top, Southern loopiness (and ax-grinding) of "Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte." And anyone who knows his or her Old Testament will easily identify the Abraham and Isaac aspects of the story, too.

The movie establishes its intense mood from the outset and it never lets up. Inside the office of FBI agent Wesley Doyle (Powers Boothe), a man calling himself Fenton Meiks (Matthew McConaughey) claims to know the identity of the serial killer behind a series of murders known as the "God's Hand" killings. Intrigued, Agent Doyle asks how he comes to have such special knowledge. Meiks then delivers his story via flashback.

Years ago, Meiks says, he lived with his loving father (Paxton) and younger brother, Adam (Jeremy Sumpter). They had a peaceful, ideal life until one night Dad came into the boys' bedroom and explained how he had been visited by an angel who told him that "the end of the world is coming; it's near." The angel, Dad says, "called us God's hands. We're like superheroes. We can see the demons; others can't." Dad informs his boys that soon the angel will be sending magical weapons to combat the demons, who are, seemingly, normal folks living nearby.

Young Fenton (superbly played by Matt O'Leary), then 12 years old, understandably believes that his father isn't right in the head. What else can explain his dad's sudden change in behavior? Soon, Fenton comes to question not only his father, but also God and just about every other belief that he had previously held dear. The only thing he knows for certain is that he has to stop his father before it's too late.

"Frailty" seamlessly goes back and forth in time, as McConaughey's older Meiks tantalizes Agent Doyle with new bits of information. Their cat-and-mouse game is as utterly compelling as the flashback story, as Paxton keeps the movie firmly on course, slowly and subtly building the tension at every turn. That McConaughey and Paxton are both playing against type only adds to the spookiness of their performances.

Of course, this isn't a movie for the faint of heart, even with most of the violence occurring off-screen. But if you can't work up the courage to see it now, don't worry. "Frailty" belongs to the line of horror movies that deserve to be called classics; it's going to be around for a very long time." Daily News Los Angeles
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