Yesterday I was watching "The Town That Dreaded Sundown" and I couldn't believe the actors involved in that production. Tonight I got to see "Mercy" and again it came as a big surprise the amount of known actors that participated in the movie. I hope that this is not a retire plan for good actors, but more of a transition, a different path, a way of completing their journey, cause let's face it, not a lot of people get involved with horrors nowadays.
Mercy is good, it starts slow, it even acts cheap or maybe dumb at times, but it is to fool you. To make you lower your expectations, caught you off guard and then strike! Not a masterpiece by all means, but if you are into horrors, you should see this. A lot more complex than your usual, far from a low budget film and a very believable acting. I think it could go hand in hand with The Dark (2005) because it is better than most, it shows a lot of potential, a darker path, a better film. One of the things I loved the most is that Mercy has only 1 hour and 18 minutes, they didn't bother to stretch it more than needed, it was a simple plan, a fast and well done execution and that's that. Finally, people who realized that it is best to show quality and not quantity!
Mercy won't spook you, scare you, but will build suspense around you and will deliver on other chapters. You just need to be a horror fan looking for different kind of work here. I for one enjoyed it.
Cheers!
Plot summary
A single mom and her two boys help take care of their grandmother with mystical powers.
Uploaded by: FREEMAN
Director
Top cast
Tech specs
720p.WEB 1080p.WEBMovie Reviews
Better. Could have been a lot tho!
Not THAT bad - actually quite watchable
If I had read the reviews on IMDb before watching the film, I probably would have expected much worse than what I got. It is not good enough for main screen release or for any Top 100 lists, but contrary to most of the reviews I have seen here, I actually did find the movie quite watchable - I have seen MUCH WORSE with much better ratings. The story runs at a steady pace and I never found myself distracted or watching the clock. I probably would not have been happy if I had to pay at a cinema to watch this, but as an online release, I was more than satisfied with the film's 1970's feel and subtle dramatic undertones. I can't really say that I ever felt scared as such, but though the film does play out like a horror version of a Hallmark Movie, it definitely did have a sinister creepy quality. In all, the production value was worthy of a straight to internet release. I did not expect more. I think a lot of bad reviews can be attributed that people expect much more and then feel disappointed that they did not get it. When such a short piece if prose gets adapted for screen, we can hardly expect The Shining. Maybe it helped that I did not read the short story before seeing the film. Maybe I just sometimes enjoy to watch something uncomplicated by weaves of b and c story lines. Be it what it may I found this far more enjoyable than many other horror flicks that has made it into mainstream release.
A bit muddled, but overall eerie and effective
Single mother Rebecca (a fine performance by Frances O'Connor),her sweet son George (well played by Chandler Riggs),and George's jerky older brother Buddy (a sound turn by Joel Courtney) go to a remote country house to take care of their ailing grandmother (an excellent portrayal by Shirley Knight). However, things get grim and dangerous after it's discovered that dear old granny made some kind of sinister pact with some maleficent evil supernatural forces.
Director Peter Cornwell, working from a compact (if somewhat incoherent) script by Matt Greenberg, keeps the absorbing premise moving along at a steady pace, expertly crafts both a strong rural atmosphere and a spooky gloom-doom mood, grounds the fantastic premise in a believable everyday reality, and pulls out the creepy and stirring stops for the wild climax. Moreover, the solid acting by the capable cast holds this picture together: Riggs makes for a sympathetic protagonist, Knight cuts a deeply unsettling figure as one nasty old bat, and there are sturdy supporting contributions from Dylan McDermott as the happy-go-lucky Jim Swann, Mark Duplass as the bitter Uncle Lanning, and Eddie Jones as the loyal Pastor Gregory Lake. Both Byron Shah's crisp widescreen cinematography and Reza Safinia's shivery score are up to par. However, this film is slightly undermined by a few annoying cheap scares and an occasionally murky narrative. But overall it's a pretty good little fright flick.