INT: Brent Hanley

Last Updated on July 28, 2021

The Arrow
interviews Brent Hanley

It’s no
secret that “Frailty” is my favorite movie of 2002 so far. Its morbid sensibilities, its
touchy religious subject
matter, its fearlessness in exploring the dark corners and its
bang-on performances had me by the collar and then some. Arrow had
the chance to share a few words with Brent Hanley, the screenwriter
of the film, and here’s what he had to say.

1- What’s your
favorite horror movie?

There are a few. “Psycho”, “Rosemary’s
Baby”, and “The Shining”. There are more but those are the
tops.

2- What inspired
you to write the twisted tale that is “Frailty”?

My partial southern Baptist
upbringing as well as the novels of Stephen King and Peter Straub,
the film Night of The Hunter, and the films of Hitchcock, Shadow of
a Doubt in particular.

3–
Do you
have a specific ritual when you write?

Not really. I simply close my
office door and write. Sometimes I listen to music that’s relevant
to whatever I’m working on to get me in the mood. I also try, every
single time, to become so engrossed and obsessed with the story and
the characters that I actually dream about them when I go to sleep. Frailty
caused more than a few horrific nightmares for me, some of which
ended up in the script.

4- What
kind of musical ambiance did you set while writing Frailty, if any?

I listened to Leonard Cohen’s The
Story of Isaac again and again to get into the mood.

5– How did
the script eventually wind up in Mr. Paxton’s hands?

The producers, David Kirschner and
Corey Sienega, sent him the script for him to consider playing Dad.

6– Were you
involved during the entire production or were you sidelined once
shooting began?

I can proudly say that I was
involved in nearly every aspect of pre-pro, production, and post. Unlike most directors and producers, Paxton and
Kirschner kept me completely in the loop, and gave me an invaluable
education in film.

7–
Were there a lot of re-writes as the shoot went forward? If so, did
anything considerable change?

I did a few cuts here and there
with Paxton, and added and dropped some lines with the actors in
pre-pro, but nothing huge. Mostly it was fitting lines to the
actors’ mouths and getting rid of the ones that they could get
across with a simple look or action. The most considerable change
was the demon imagery. I rewrote those images again and again up
until the day we shot them.

8–
The ending of the film has often become a subject of conversation for
me and my friends. Is the one in the movie your originally
planned ending or did it change through the drafts?

There were really only two drafts
of Frailty. The ending was pretty much the same in the first draft,
only not as clear. Plus in the first, it was revealed that Doyle had
killed his own daughter, not his mother.

8- Do you feel
that Frailty, the movie, lives up to Frailty, your script?

Yes, I do. There are differences,
but the heart of the script was captured perfectly.

9–
The DVD is
coming out soon and you have a writer’s commentary on it. Was it
rewarding for you to go through the film and give your points on it?
Was it frustrating at times?

It was absolutely rewarding and not
in the least bit frustrating. I love to talk and there is nothing
like a captive audience.

10- Your next
script “Holes” will be directed by Andrew Davis (“The
Fugitive”). What
can we expect from that one?

“Holes” is based on Louis Sachar’s
novel of the same name. It will be released sometime this
December. Expect a magical kid’s story for all ages, unlike Frailty
in every way.

I’d like to thank Brent for his times and for writing the genre gem
that is “Frailty”. It had been a while since a film had me engrossed
on such a dramatic, horror level. If you haven’t seen Frailty, I order
you to seek it out and watch it NOW! Watch it or get the axe! Are you
a demon?