I think anytime anyone says a movie is pro anything as some sort of negative thing they are overthinking it. Even if the director means for it to be pro anything it is still a work of fiction and the viewer gets out of it what they want. I get entertainment out of Fraility even if Bill Paxton told me this was a pro releigious fanaticism film. I am also an atheist but love the film and the ending. I also find the Exorcist to be a great film despite being an atheist.

I don't think this is a movie you can overthink, it's meant to provoke. But I took a completley different meaning from it.

The key, I think, is that the point of audience identification is not Paxton but the kid who turns out to be a devil. We see Paxton through his eyes. We're made to feel the kid is our surrogate, right? The kid is a decent person who's empathic for others, who's concerned with right and wrong. Paxton's character say he's tormented by the same issues, but it doesn't stop him - cuz, word o' God waddayagonna do? In other words, we're the kid. He's the hero. The next person revealed as a devil could be me or you.

If some nutcase comes up to you and says, "sorry, gotta kill ya, God says so", are you going to stand there and let him? because God said so?

Basically, God turns out to be the ultimate monster, a psychopath who has his chosen ones do his killing. I don't think that's the messge - that the movie is anti-God. I do think the movie is a challenge to not allow your faith - any faith, whatever your's happens to be - don't allow your faith to do your thinking for you. Don't let it subsitute for having a conscience of your own. If your church is teaching you something that doesn't sit right with you, listen to your conscience.

Bruce Willis is dead at the end of it.

You might be right, but that's not the way I interpret it.
You're basing/concluding the entire film's plot on the ending, per se.
I realize the ending connects with the rest of the film, possibly ringing it all true.
But imo, the fact that he figured out the detective at the end was just a lucky guess.

think I may rewatch this one tonight.

I don't think it's meant to be that deep. It opted for a supernatural twist as opposed to a realistic one.

There are plenty of horror movies taking the piss out of religion with a lot of religious peeps still enjoying them (Exorcist, Carrie, Mist etc).

At face value I thought it was a pretty cool flick.

As others have mentioned, you're over thinking it. I'm an atheist brought up in an atheist household but I love many a horror film that has Christian themes. I guess that's from growing up in a predominantly Christian western society where the ideas of it seep in from a very early age. It makes for good horror that's for sure. I don't take it that seriously.

I mean, what better badass than the Devil himself?

I thought I already responded to this thread. Was it a similar thread on the IMDB board?? Well, whatever.

I am against censorship as a matter of principle, but I think you have a really good point here. This movie could easily be the straw the breaks the camel's back, for some schizo out there, and convinces him that he really does see demons all over the place, and that he is right to kill them even when everyone else is telling him "no, that's a human being, not a demon."

I know a lot of people here firmly believe that there is no place at all for censorship, ever, and I respect that. But it would amaze me if this movie has not already led to a few homicides, and as civilization continues to crumble all around us, I bet it will lead to many more. I understand that the people who are so psychotic that a movie like Frailty pushes them over the edge probably would have killed a few people no matter what. But, I think the writers, director, and actors in Frailty should probably feel at least a little responsible for helping push those killers over the edge.

I'm a Christian who loves horror. I heard about this one from a friend, and was told to watch it. I think they thought it had some kind of deep meaning to it. I just thought it was one of the most boring movies I've ever seen.