YMMV / Frailty

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• Alternate Character Interpretation:
  • Although the ending strongly suggests that Adam and his father really are killing demons in the name of God, given the clear insanity of the dad and Adam being shown to be a liar, whether it is true or not is still up in the air. Not helping matters is that many of the supernatural elements in the film can be easily explained away like faulty machinery. Even Agent Hull being unable to recognize Adam due to his posture, state of dress and mannerisms at the end is something not that unheard in real life.
  • Was Agent Wesley's reaction to The Reveal an attempt to keep up his innocent facade, or was he legitimately disturbed by the scale of Adam and Fenton's killing spree? Note that Wesley only killed his mother out of some kind of personal rage, so he could have just as easily thought killing random people who'd never offended Adam was going too far.
  • Similarly, was Agent Wesley's defensiveness over his dead mother's picture just him trying to keep up appearances as the grieving son? Or did he legitimately have some guilt over what he did?
  • If Fenton really was a demon, was it the angels' and God's plan for him to kill his father, for revealing his own and Adam's roles as God's instruments to an outsider (Fenton himself)? Was Dad not told that Fenton was a demon until later for this reason?
• Cult Classic: An under-the-radar thriller with a dedicated fanbase who recognize it as a spot-on directorial debut from Bill Paxton filled with plenty of creepy and cool twists and turns.
• Hilarious in Hindsight: Bill Paxton is a villain from the very beginning, while Powers Boothe is presented as good but is actually Evil All Along. Flash forward a decade, and both actors appear (though in separate seasons) in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., but with the roles reversed: Powers Boothe plays a villain from the start and Paxton plays a good guy who's actually Evil All Along.
• Magnificent Bastard: Adam Meiks is a calculating murderer who kills horrible people as a personal mission assigned to him by God Himself. Raised by a father blessed with a similar quest, Adam stayed loyal to his dad even as his brother, Fenton, strayed from the path and eventually killed their father. Inheriting his father's abilities and mission, Adam became a successful Serial Killer for decades, targeting child molesters and other vile individuals for the "demons" they are, all while keeping up appearances as a likeable town sheriff. Eventually tracking down and killing his evil brother Fenton, Adam masquerades as Fenton long enough to lure another of his targets to their doom, then skillfully evades FBI investigation through his own intelligence and God's assistance, ending the film free to continue his spree.
• Playing Against Type: Matthew McConaughey is unshaved and disheveled, and looks like he could use a good night's sleep. A far cry from the kind of role he's more famous for. Bill Paxton stated in the director's commentary that he admired McConaughey because, unlike a lot of handsome leading man types in Hollywood, McConaughey doesn't insist on looking like a handsome leading man in every role he takes.
• The Woobie: Those poor, poor kids.

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