By Drew Dietsch
| Published
Only a few scant months ago, we decided to cover Frailty on my weekly movie club podcast, GenreVision. It had always been a favorite and we wanted it to close out our Bill Paxton theme month. During that episode (which you can listen to below!), we prayed that a 4K restoration would be on the way so more folks could discover this hidden gem.
Well, just days after that episode hit the airwaves, Lionsgate announced a 4K remaster and limited edition of Frailty. Maybe the power of prayer doesn’t work for natural disasters or saving humans from fascist tyrants, but it sure seems to work when it comes to getting amazing re-releases of movies.
Because the Frailty 4K limited edition is a true miracle.
The Movie
If you want my full, uncensored thoughts on Frailty, your best bet is to listen to the GenreVision episode above. Suffice to say, I love this movie. The story is a serial killer mystery told from the flashback perspective of a boy whose father believed he was killing demons in service to God.
Frailty was the feature directing debut of Bill Paxton who also stars as the murderous Dad. Paxton only directed one other film, The Greatest Game Ever Played, and it’s a crime we didn’t get more directorial efforts from him. Frailty is a controlled, measured, tight piece of filmmaking and storytelling. Paxton isn’t looking down his nose at the material or the movie. In a better world, people would recognize that Paxton made the best Stephen King movie that has nothing to do with Stephen King.
I don’t want to give away any of the goods in case someone is discovering Frailty for the first time. I will say that this movie has a stellar cast of seasoned professionals like Powers Boothe and Matthew McConaughey, but young Matt O’Leary and Jeremy Sumpter have to carry the movie and they do a shockingly mature job. That’s another nod to Paxton’s expert direction of actors, especially since he has to also play their father and keep that believability in play at all times.
Again, check out the GenreVision episode for my full review of the movie. However, I recommend you should go into Frailty as blind as possible because you will be rewarded with one of the most challenging, disturbing, and shocking horror gems you’ve ever seen.
The New Restoration And Release
What I want to take this time to praise is the limited edition 4K release. This has beautiful artwork by Justin Erickson as well as one of my favorite pieces of bonus material ever: a copy of the shooting script for Frailty that has all of Paxton’s handwritten notes on it. For those of us who love to see how the sausage is made, this is an invaluable tool for getting a peek behind the curtain.
Not to mention the loads of special features ported over from the old DVD. The two-disc set includes a 4K UHD disc as well as a Blu-ray of the movie. These have audio commentaries by Bill Paxton and screenwriter Brent Hanley as well as a “Making Of” featurette, both staples of my film education during the DVD boom of the 2000s. It’s great to see these make their way to this version along with more
And finally, the 4K restoration for Frailty means the movie looks better than ever. There has never been a better time to be introduced to this movie because its sharper and darker visuals are now even more powerful and affecting.
There is no question that the Frailty 4K limited edition is going to be one of my top physical media releases of the year. This is exactly what physical media does best: preserve and reintroduce a movie for new generations. You can purchase the 4K limited edition here. I can’t recommend it highly enough.
FRAILTY 4K LIMITED EDITION SCORE
