“Only demons should fear me. You’re not a demon, are you?” Twenty years ago, these words were uttered by the religiously crazed Dad Meiks, portrayed by Bill Paxton in his directorial debut, Frailty. Paxton, known for his memorable roles in films like Twister, Near Dark, and Aliens, stood front and center, expertly delivering in a lead role written by screenwriter Brent Hanley.
Frailty’s story kicked off with a disturbing discussion between Fenton Mieks (Matthew McConaughey) and FBI Agent Wesley Doyle (Powers Boothe), where Mieks claims to be the brother of the famed “God’s Hand” serial killer, then proceeds to dive down the rabbit hole of his past, setting up the majority of the film. This was the first time I saw McConaughey in a weirdly subdued and creepy role, and to this day, I’m still convinced that Frailty was the reason he was cast in True Detective.
Powers Boothe was one of the most underrated villain-focused actors in Hollywood. Even from the start, seeing him in this role was strange, and my brain had a hard time choosing sides between the clearly dangerous character, where the actor typically played good guys, or the well-intentioned FBI agent, where the actor normally takes on the villain role.
When the film shifts to the ‘70s, we’re introduced to Bill Paxton’s role as Dad Mieks, an absolute maniac (or is he?) and probably the most impressive role of Paxton’s career. Mieks claims God sent an angel to him in his dreams, and now he must carry out God’s plan by dispatching demons disguised as your everyday Joe, using the tools he was directed to—an axe, gloves, and a pipe.
The dynamic between Dad Mieks and his two sons (played to perfection by Matt O’Leary and Jeremy Sumpter) was incredible. One son, Fenton, is conflicted by his only parent’s guidance, which felt wrong, and one son, Adam, claims the angel also visited him. It doesn’t get much more terrifying than a father who seems willing to kill his own son for what he believes in. The concepts in religious horror are some of the few in the horror sub-genres that legitimately creep me out. Not because I believe in the higher power, but because the thought that people will do literally anything horrible in the name of their beliefs scares me.
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The murders that take place throughout the film are brutal and feel hopeless, as we see everything through the eyes of young Fenton, powerless and scared to stand up against the only people he has, especially after the audience learns the boys’ mother was previously murdered by a serial killer. Watching someone you love do something horrible is such a difficult thing by itself, let alone when you lack any kind of physical capability or voice.
The beauty of Frailty didn’t just lie within a troubling story or the incredible acting. The direction and particularly the sting of the ending sits with you for years. Paxton (as director) hits the audience with not one, but two major twists in the end, revealing to the audience that the grown Mieks man is not Fenton, but Adam, who murdered Fenton because he grew up to become the God’s Hand killer, showing us that either Adam is lying, or Fenton’s childhood experiences were more damaging than we’d hoped or expected. The other twist shows us that Fenton had come for Agent Doyle because Doyle murdered his own mother, and the angel had shown Adam the way to the demon that must be slain.
We’re shown that Adam can see flashbacks of evil in people’s lives, much like his father supposedly could, but the film ends with Adam as a sheriff in a nearby town. We’re left wondering if he really did have those angelic visions or if he used his power as a policeman to track and murder Agent Doyle.
Paxton stuck the ending brilliantly, and Frailty keeps me wondering and deciphering, even two decades later.
