Well therein, lies the magic of the movie to me. Perhaps this is a personal feeling, but it seems like reliegon became very uncool in the late 80's(and remains so for the most part) especially Christianity. "Oh God, you still believe in the invisible man in the sky" is a frequent refrain I've heard from people(especially the George Carlin-heads) in dealing with reliegon. Apathy and Aethism are rampant, at least outwardly, and certainly few films have endorsed faith in recent years. And the movie merely puts out the idea that God is visiting their Father and has chosen he and the boys to rid the world of demons. The movie makes no judgements beyond that. We take our baggage of living in the U.S.A in the 21st century into the movie and automatically assume this guy is a whacko. At least I did. And that's why I think a lot of the folks who say they predicted the movie within 15 minutes are full of it. The logical progression I saw was some sort of Insanity plot, I sure as hell didn't expect it to be a true prophecy or whatever you may call it.

That's the question to ask yourself. I agree about it unfolding about a reality based thriller, but that reality is part and parcel of the son thinking the dad is crazy, and reality today doesn't leave much leeway to consider another answer to the question. '

I don't think you're necessary unreasonable for not gaining some sort of logical closure at the conclusion. The answer to nearly every loose end is that "God's Will" protected Fenton. That can be considered shoddy screenwriting and an "out" where there wasn't one. But, I think given the construct of the movie, and that faith is called into question, once we understand faith is part of the Fraitly universe, it's not so unreasonable for me to accept it. I'm sure made easier by the fact that I"m a Catholic myself, and I"ve spent more than moment questioning my faith. That's why I was suprised to read that an aethist earlier up this post enjoyed the film so much, and I"m actually happy to hear it, because I know it's more than movie that personally appeals, and one that is strong enough on it's own merits to speak it in it's own way to non-Christians or even non-reliegous folks.

freudguy,

You should show your co-worker the bible quotes I listed earlier and see what her response is. If she finds it disturbing to watch a movie about God commanding killings then what in the world will she do to find it in her own bible?

Indy,

Easy, Doctor. You're taking this religion thing too hard

From what I see, Frailty spares something for us to think. It is provoking, but it is not judging. It may vary depends on what we believe. That's why also I understand why the co-worker of freudguy got upset about this movie. It can change everything you once believe in. .

If you don't agree with my opinion about demons in the movie, that's perfectly fine for me. Never said I didn't believe in demons, have I?

Thanks for your online quotes. Any idea where I can look it up in the Bible? I want to compare it someday.

(Oh, the Ten Commandments are written in the Old Testament as well. God's command for not to kill is on number .. er .. seven (?) .. on the list. And Moses was there )

That's actually a translational issue. Most earlier bibles do not have 'Thou shall not kill.' The original translation is 'Thou shall not murder' which is something I think everyone can agree has a different meaning. Kill didn't show up until about 100 years ago. If I'm not mistaken, the original Hebrew word used is one that has a definition closer to murder than kill. Don't quote me on the last part though.

Depending upon what linguical version your Bible is, it still might list 'murder' or a different word than 'kill.'

Joel,

Don't worry, I don't stay up at night worrying about this stuff. I just like to point out hypocrisy within modern day christianity. Cafeteria Christianity has been reinvented and repackaged so much over the years most people don't know how violent the bible is/was. Today all that is preached is how loving and caring God is. He allows babies and children to be tortured, murdered, and inflicted with horrible diseases but...he loves you, he really really loves you.

Here is the site I got the quotes from.

http://www.humanismbyjoe.com/Violence_and_God.htm

Indy,
Whooaaa .. that's a lot to read. Thanks. Now, I have to find my Bible first.

renaldow,
Maybe you're right about the translational issue. In my language, "thou shalt not kill" or "thou shalt not murder" is translated as "jangan membunuh" . And my mistake, it is listed on number six .. not seven (I think I should give another round of viewing The Ten Commandments).

As for Frailty, one viewing on this film is enough for me. It's just too creepy with its blur line between sanity and insanity .. it scared me. A lot.

Fenton never had any faith to lose remember? He did not want to sing the religious song that his brother Adam was singing on the way home from the school bus stop! He was more interested in discussing the nasty story of how a girl in Adam's class had thrown up and the principal had slipped in it...he was showing his true colors already. He wasn't driven to insanity, he was a demon who did not want to kill other demons. I believe the Angel wanted their father to reveal their new purpose in life to expose Fenton, a demon whom God ordered destroyed by his father. Adam had no problem witnessing the killing of demons because he had faith, he could see their evil.

...a thread dug up from the dead!

Too bad Hanley never continued with a writing career in Hollywood. Frailty is a fucking masterpiece.

It’s too bad Bill Paxton only directed one other movie after this. He did a great job with Frailty. I would have liked to see him take on another suspense thriller.