Frailty (2002)

Pretty damn creepy, I must say. Bill Paxton's performance is some sort of weird genius. It's problematic, though, and obviously the product of a first-time writer. There's an overreliance on voiceover narration, even when it's not needed, and there are some glaring holes -- especially involving the triple-twist ending. The first twist I saw coming from a mile off (blame it on the casting department -- and that's all I'm gonna say about that). As for the second twist (which is two-tiered), I can't say I expected it, but I'm not sure I wanted to: unless you read into it more than I do, it pretty much shoots the film's carefully constructed ambiguity all to Hell and proves needlessly self-justifying besides. Really, if you think about it, it actually perverts and reverses everything the film's been saying up to that point. And the superfluous third twist is effective but kinda silly. Still, it's extremely well-directed, especially for a first-timer -- Paxton seems to have absorbed a couple lessons from the people he's worked with. And when all is said and done, it's still pretty freakin' creepy and thus worth seeing if you're a fan of scary movies. I gain more respect for Matthew "Naked Bongos at Midnight" McConaughey with each passing year.

Grade: B