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.
29 Reviews
Better. Could have been a lot tho!
Patient44421 October 2014
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!
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!
Master Hastur
nogodnomasters16 April 2018
Warning: Spoilers
The film opens with a Mr. Ree answer: Frank with an axe in the Living Room...West Virginia 1967. The film moves to the present and we quickly know what happened in the opening scene. Grandma Mercy (Shirley Knight) has taken a shine to her grandson George (Chandler Riggs). We discover grandma had triplets and is somehow connected to old world paganism while something supernatural is going on. We get sparse hints until about 40 minutes into the film when we get the long version of the tale.
Grandma is suffering from Alzheimer, although she responds best to George who has an invisible friend...and how long was that drawn circle in the basement there before anyone noticed...and were the candles always lit? We do get to see the whatever late in the film and I thought the over priced black velvet painting was better.
Guide: No swearing, sex, or nudity. On a side note, there were no opening FBI copyright warnings. The film starts off playing on its own like a cheap pirate DVD.
Grandma is suffering from Alzheimer, although she responds best to George who has an invisible friend...and how long was that drawn circle in the basement there before anyone noticed...and were the candles always lit? We do get to see the whatever late in the film and I thought the over priced black velvet painting was better.
Guide: No swearing, sex, or nudity. On a side note, there were no opening FBI copyright warnings. The film starts off playing on its own like a cheap pirate DVD.
Standard King Adaptation
glennfreyheat8 September 2019
Left alone with his ailing grandmother when Mom takes brother Buddy to the hospital, George discovers that granny made a deal with a demon, and his soul is part of her bargain. That's not a summary for "Mercy." That's a summary for the Stephen King short story "Gramma," upon which "Mercy" is based. It's only one sentence because the tale is so straightforward that Harlan Ellison adapted it into a quick 21-minute episode of "The Twilight Zone" in 1986 starring just two visible actors.
In expanding the work into a feature length film, "Mercy" understandably needed to embellish the details beyond merely one boy and his grandmother. So "Mercy" added a grandfather who dies of a self-inflicted wound, a triplet birth for grandma, an expanded role for brother Buddy, an aunt in the loony bin, an uncle in the bottle, an imaginary friend for George, a love interest for mom, a "devil worshipping" artist wife for the love interest, a concerned local reverend, and some occult mythology about death wolves and weeping books.
In expanding the work into a feature length film, "Mercy" understandably needed to embellish the details beyond merely one boy and his grandmother. So "Mercy" added a grandfather who dies of a self-inflicted wound, a triplet birth for grandma, an expanded role for brother Buddy, an aunt in the loony bin, an uncle in the bottle, an imaginary friend for George, a love interest for mom, a "devil worshipping" artist wife for the love interest, a concerned local reverend, and some occult mythology about death wolves and weeping books.
Not bad (really!) for straight to VHS
ArchonCinemaReviews16 December 2014
Mercy is a horror story that plays on typical human fears with a twist, In quintessential Stephen King fashion.
Matt Greenberg adapts King's short story Gramma into the screenplay for the horror film Mercy.
George is the undeniable favorite grandson to his grandmother Mercy. His mother along with his brother must act as caretaker when Mercy unexpectedly is stricken ill and requires constant care. Inexplicably odd and mysterious occurrences seem to revolve around his grandmother and George rushes to save her.
As a horror fanatic, Stephen King represents the worst aspect of horror. I find his writings and stories to be horridly cliché exasperated by the fact that King so desperately tries to twist and surprise his readers when the ending can be seen a mile away.
Interestingly, Mercy is a well paced suspenseful horror in which few stereotypical scares are used until the final reveal. The horror lies in the unveiling of truth through ominous and foreboding layers and well utilized complementary music. Shirley Knight is incredibly creepy as Mercy, the potentially possessed grandmother. The children and characters themselves are smarter than most adults in horror movies.
Chandler Riggs is the main character George, and significantly younger in this film than he is on the Walking Dead. This leads me to assume that the film sat shelves for some time before being made available. Mercy doesn't really add anything new to the genre which is probably the explanation but all in all, it is not a terrible horror movie.
For more FULL reviews of all the RECENT releases, please check out our WEBSITE.
Matt Greenberg adapts King's short story Gramma into the screenplay for the horror film Mercy.
George is the undeniable favorite grandson to his grandmother Mercy. His mother along with his brother must act as caretaker when Mercy unexpectedly is stricken ill and requires constant care. Inexplicably odd and mysterious occurrences seem to revolve around his grandmother and George rushes to save her.
As a horror fanatic, Stephen King represents the worst aspect of horror. I find his writings and stories to be horridly cliché exasperated by the fact that King so desperately tries to twist and surprise his readers when the ending can be seen a mile away.
Interestingly, Mercy is a well paced suspenseful horror in which few stereotypical scares are used until the final reveal. The horror lies in the unveiling of truth through ominous and foreboding layers and well utilized complementary music. Shirley Knight is incredibly creepy as Mercy, the potentially possessed grandmother. The children and characters themselves are smarter than most adults in horror movies.
Chandler Riggs is the main character George, and significantly younger in this film than he is on the Walking Dead. This leads me to assume that the film sat shelves for some time before being made available. Mercy doesn't really add anything new to the genre which is probably the explanation but all in all, it is not a terrible horror movie.
For more FULL reviews of all the RECENT releases, please check out our WEBSITE.
More of the Same
view_and_review1 January 2016
An elderly woman named Mercy (Shirley Knight) is slipping away at her advanced age. She was a single mother of three as her husband killed himself while her children were young. Now, in her old age, she's become more violent and like a person in need of an exorcism. While everyone wants to get clear away from her, George (Chandler Riggs), her favorite grandchild, wants to help her.
This movie was O.K. They didn't do anything real inventive or creative. It seemed low budget from the special effects which doesn't necessarily kill a movie but it can hinder it severely if not done correctly. The movie hinged upon Chandler Riggs as he was the main protagonist but I don't think he delivered that well. He wasn't awful, he just wasn't good. I think he's better suited for helping his father kill zombies (for you Walking Dead fans out there). In the end the movie was just an average or even slightly below average horror film.
This movie was O.K. They didn't do anything real inventive or creative. It seemed low budget from the special effects which doesn't necessarily kill a movie but it can hinder it severely if not done correctly. The movie hinged upon Chandler Riggs as he was the main protagonist but I don't think he delivered that well. He wasn't awful, he just wasn't good. I think he's better suited for helping his father kill zombies (for you Walking Dead fans out there). In the end the movie was just an average or even slightly below average horror film.
A bit muddled, but overall eerie and effective
Woodyanders4 September 2018
Warning: Spoilers
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.
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.
Average, It's Really All I Can Say!
SoumikBanerjee199618 June 2017
Whenever any horror or thriller or mystery movie comes out, I urge to see the movie as soon as possible as these are my utmost favorite genres out there!
These genres create much hype for me, so do my expectations from them! Few times I got what I wanted, sometimes unfortunately not!
This time it's the latter part!
The film starts with a good premise and setting with creepy background score, Even the characters were interesting enough but soon after sometimes! The film kinda fall down! With unnecessary scenes, not enough and well explained background stories of the characters and a kinda dull climax in the end!
In BRIEF :
* Performances were not so bad nor so good, Just OK enough!
* Soundtrack, Ahhh yeah it was good, fits well with the theme.
* Plot could have made a big impact but failed to do so!
* Slowed down and became boring in bits and pieces in between!
* Ending is not convincing enough and seems incomplete or lacks the impact I would preferably say!
If you are searching for a Short, One time watch horror film go for it but if you are someone who loves tension building, and interesting one!
Skip it!
These genres create much hype for me, so do my expectations from them! Few times I got what I wanted, sometimes unfortunately not!
This time it's the latter part!
The film starts with a good premise and setting with creepy background score, Even the characters were interesting enough but soon after sometimes! The film kinda fall down! With unnecessary scenes, not enough and well explained background stories of the characters and a kinda dull climax in the end!
In BRIEF :
* Performances were not so bad nor so good, Just OK enough!
* Soundtrack, Ahhh yeah it was good, fits well with the theme.
* Plot could have made a big impact but failed to do so!
* Slowed down and became boring in bits and pieces in between!
* Ending is not convincing enough and seems incomplete or lacks the impact I would preferably say!
If you are searching for a Short, One time watch horror film go for it but if you are someone who loves tension building, and interesting one!
Skip it!
Have Mercy
scythertitus27 November 2016
Despite its slow pace there is a solid film here with some decent performances. There are some confused plot points and it feels at time like a very complex and rich script is trying to force its way through a simplified movie, but it is certainly not without its charm.
The film reads like a classic ghost story that was shackled by attempts to make it a contemporary horror film that doesn't know who its audience actually is. There are elements of comedy mixed in which don't gel well with the general tone and jump scares that don't really fit either.
Overall it is worth watching due to its potential, but don't expect to be overwhelmed as somewhere along the lines most of this was squandered by the film overall throwing things against a wall and seeing what sticks.
The film reads like a classic ghost story that was shackled by attempts to make it a contemporary horror film that doesn't know who its audience actually is. There are elements of comedy mixed in which don't gel well with the general tone and jump scares that don't really fit either.
Overall it is worth watching due to its potential, but don't expect to be overwhelmed as somewhere along the lines most of this was squandered by the film overall throwing things against a wall and seeing what sticks.
A Complete Mess
claudio_carvalho4 April 2015
I usually write a synopsis in the beginning of any review to give a glimpse of the plot to the readers. Unfortunately I will not write the summary of this movie simply because I did not understand it, what is frustrating for an horror movie.
The screenplay is a mess and hard to understand the plot. The atmosphere is creepy, but after spending 79 minutes running time, I did not understand what happened. In the end, is grandma good or evil? Who is Hastur? Is Jim Swann George's father? Why did he threaten the boy with a gun? Sorry but this movie is a creepy garbage. Chandler Riggs should have stayed in "The Walking Dead" only. My vote is one (awfull).
Title (Brazil): "Mercy"
The screenplay is a mess and hard to understand the plot. The atmosphere is creepy, but after spending 79 minutes running time, I did not understand what happened. In the end, is grandma good or evil? Who is Hastur? Is Jim Swann George's father? Why did he threaten the boy with a gun? Sorry but this movie is a creepy garbage. Chandler Riggs should have stayed in "The Walking Dead" only. My vote is one (awfull).
Title (Brazil): "Mercy"
Spooky, yet folksy with a hint of Lovecraft
Rabh1712 June 2015
I only know that this was from a Steven King story from reading the other reviews...and frankly, had I known it was a King derivation, I would have left it alone. If I've seen one King movie, I've seen them all.
In this case, this story was ADAPTED from whatever King short it came from...and the Director then added some Non-StevenKing ingredients. I smell a touch of Lovecraftian flavor in the atmospherics and the casual, southern hills spookiness of the family and their struggle to deal with what seems to be just a dark Grandma suffering with dementia.
And again...that could be boiler-plate horror that's been done again and again. But this one isn't following the straight-up Hollywood Backwoods Horror formula. And more to the point, it's giving the viewer a cast of characters that aren't the usual studio cardboard cut-outs. And in this story, the telling is from the POV of the kid Brothers as they deal with Family History and secrets. Not the WILD things...but actually just like the stories we'd would hear about our own forebears..if we were old enough to be told and knew how to keep Family Business 'In the Family'.
With GOOD Horror, you care about how the character will deal with the Unknowable. The EFX is just icing on the cake.
And when Horror has a Lovecraftian bent, how the characters deal with the outcome is even more Key...because unlike normal Hollywood Movies...there are NO Good Endings in the Lovecraft Universe.
It's about How the Protagonist goes Down.
Watch this one around Midnight. And it's best with the lights turned down. But you have to be patient...
In this case, this story was ADAPTED from whatever King short it came from...and the Director then added some Non-StevenKing ingredients. I smell a touch of Lovecraftian flavor in the atmospherics and the casual, southern hills spookiness of the family and their struggle to deal with what seems to be just a dark Grandma suffering with dementia.
And again...that could be boiler-plate horror that's been done again and again. But this one isn't following the straight-up Hollywood Backwoods Horror formula. And more to the point, it's giving the viewer a cast of characters that aren't the usual studio cardboard cut-outs. And in this story, the telling is from the POV of the kid Brothers as they deal with Family History and secrets. Not the WILD things...but actually just like the stories we'd would hear about our own forebears..if we were old enough to be told and knew how to keep Family Business 'In the Family'.
With GOOD Horror, you care about how the character will deal with the Unknowable. The EFX is just icing on the cake.
And when Horror has a Lovecraftian bent, how the characters deal with the outcome is even more Key...because unlike normal Hollywood Movies...there are NO Good Endings in the Lovecraft Universe.
It's about How the Protagonist goes Down.
Watch this one around Midnight. And it's best with the lights turned down. But you have to be patient...
Yet another weak adaptation
sforrester-311 November 2014
I went into this with a great deal of trepidation, as I do every Stephen King adaptation, only to find it wasn't one of the better ones. I was actually quite excited when I found out the short story "Gramma" was being made into a film as it is one of my favourites and genuinely creepy. I now think it should have been left well alone. The acting was okay in the main but I think it fell down when it was stretched into movie length. It definitely, for me, lacked the suspense and atmosphere of the original story. Even watching as someone who had never read the story, I wouldn't have found it scary or tense at all. As I said, the acting was okay, but the kid from The Walking Dead (sorry, his name escapes me) seemed a bit flat considering all that was happening and I was very disappointed in Dylan McDermott, who seemed to be there to get through filming and pick up his paycheck. There is a certain character who appears at the end who is quite honestly laughable (I think you'll know who I mean if you get there). Now for the positives..ehm...there was a cute dog and...the basic concept was a bit different. I hate leaving this review as I am a huge fan of King's books and there have been some great adaptations like Christine, Carrie, Shawshank, Cujo, The Green Mile and The Mist etc. Unfortunately, this is more along the lines of The Tommyknockers or Needful Things. I really think King should just hand his work over to Frank Darabont and step back so we can enjoy watching his wonderful characters come truly to life on the big screen.
King and Lovecraft
KikyNez13 June 2016
Warning: Spoilers
I have read almost all Stephen King's and loved it I have read almost all H.P Lovecraft and was creepy and awesome Well, I wasn't surprise that Hastur appears as 'the one who can calm the evil down' (that's why aunt Flo told George to name him in the first place) in "Gramma", put I always remember that Hastur was actually a benign god for shepherds according to Ambrose Bierce's short story (from which Lovecraft took the character for his Chtulu's Mythos, where we never know if it is an entity or a place). So, here I am reading "Gramma" and loved it because it was creepy and scary as hell: George's brother broke a leg, mom get him to hospital and George spend the night alone with her 'Gramma' who dies in the course of the night after a series of wicked events. With an unpredictable end. The story was an episode in The Twilight Zone (one of my favorite series) and I was happy to see that it was made a feature film! Wrong: we have a girl ghost that wasn't in the story, added "A la Victor Pascow", Aunt Flo turns to be aunt Jenny (why changed the name??)... and others stuff and elements that make the story go away from the source material. At the end of the movie, the wolf of the mountain was the real demon, who all what he want is that... take your own assumptions of the matter. I have take mines and that not save the movie to my eyes. The acting was good and loved Chandler Riggs did it good as George. Shirley Knight is awesome as always. Joel Courtney was great too. Cinematography was fine, and some effects are effective. But no. The script was not good, and maybe have the primary elements that "Gramma" have, but doesn't develop the same atmosphere. 6/10 and is because of the good actors did a good job with what they have. Watch it at your own risk.
It's the typical old house, creepy book, and scary looking grandma movie.
rsiderov15 December 2014
I must start with this: I love horror movies! I prefer horror movies with demons, ghost, paranormal activities (and not talking to "Paranormal activity" – very bad movie) and etc. This is one of the reasons to watch "Mercy".
The trailer of the movie lies. Yes, like most trailers those days, they show the most interesting 2 minutes of the movie.
The story is very unoriginal and the movie looks very cheap. It's the typical old house, creepy book, and scary looking grandma movie. Nothing memorable, I would never recommend this film to anyone.
Also, the 90% of the movie is so dark, that you can actually imagine your own storyline. Maybe it will be better than original.
The other reason for choosing this movie is actually Dylan McDermott. I know him from American Horror Story and I really like him, but in this movie he acts like he doesn't really care about it. Maybe he doesn't really like the movie too.
The worst thing in the whole movie is maybe the acting of Chandler Riggs, who plays George. I know him from Walking dead and he is very bad actor. I don't even know why this kid is an actor!? His acting in the movie is very falsely. He saw several dead bodies and never screams. He was acting like everything is okay, but hello there are dead people in front of you! He must learn to distinguish The Walking Dead comedy from serious movies.
So the only thing that I really liked in the movie was the cute dog.
The trailer of the movie lies. Yes, like most trailers those days, they show the most interesting 2 minutes of the movie.
The story is very unoriginal and the movie looks very cheap. It's the typical old house, creepy book, and scary looking grandma movie. Nothing memorable, I would never recommend this film to anyone.
Also, the 90% of the movie is so dark, that you can actually imagine your own storyline. Maybe it will be better than original.
The other reason for choosing this movie is actually Dylan McDermott. I know him from American Horror Story and I really like him, but in this movie he acts like he doesn't really care about it. Maybe he doesn't really like the movie too.
The worst thing in the whole movie is maybe the acting of Chandler Riggs, who plays George. I know him from Walking dead and he is very bad actor. I don't even know why this kid is an actor!? His acting in the movie is very falsely. He saw several dead bodies and never screams. He was acting like everything is okay, but hello there are dead people in front of you! He must learn to distinguish The Walking Dead comedy from serious movies.
So the only thing that I really liked in the movie was the cute dog.
This movie gets dark...but in a way that makes it hard to see, not in a disturbing way.
RevRonster3 November 2014
Warning: Spoilers
I'm not going to say that I sought this film out because I like the source material it was adapted from or because I'm a horror nut—I watched it because Carl Grimes was the lead and I wanted to see how Chandler Riggs handled being in a scary movie and wanted to see him in a product where people don't beat the heck out of the dead horse that is "Get in the house, Carl" jokes. And I have to say, he was good in it...too bad I didn't care for the film as a whole.
The story in "Mercy" is decent and works for an average horror outing. The film also does a great job by not wasting any of its time with pointless or weak scare moments like having Riggs walking slowly towards a sound only to find a cat jump out of nowhere. Nope, instead, the film just unleashes hell during the final act and it works. The film also sets a good pace with unfolding and never drags itself down with needless exposition and back-story. Everything you need to know is informed when it feels right and moves along at a good pace. Even the acting is really good in the film and all the players did their roles perfectly.
The only thing I didn't care for—and it ended up hurting the film a lot—was the fact the film gets too dark at points. I don't mean the film is too intense or hard to endure, I mean the film is too dark in the fact I couldn't see what was going on a lot of the time. When the movie hits its wild, supernatural-smothered climax and the demon is loose and doing its dark magic and threatening Chandler Rigg's character with death and torture, the movie has so much darkness and shadow to it that it was hard to see what was happening. Entire sequences would play out where I couldn't tell what Rigg's character was doing and it ended up hurting the end of the film bad—and the sad part is the ending was shaping up so nicely.
"Mercy" isn't terrible or hard to watch (well, it's hard to watch in the fact I couldn't see anything at parts) but awful lighting made the most exciting part of the film confusing and more distracting than anything. Everything about this film seems to be working but having your climax play out in mostly darkness and being almost impossible to see really ended up hurting the potential this film had.
Hi! My name is Rev. Ron and if you would like to read more of my rants, ramblings, geek references, bad jokes, and other movie reviews (like a more in-depth look at "Mercy" and other movies that involve demons, grandmothers, and Carl Grimes) you can visit my blog at revronmovies.blogspot.com. If you don't want to do that because I said the "Get in the house, Carl" jokes are old and that makes you mad at me, you don't need to visit but understand that I still love the Coral Memes with Rick telling Carl bad jokes.
The story in "Mercy" is decent and works for an average horror outing. The film also does a great job by not wasting any of its time with pointless or weak scare moments like having Riggs walking slowly towards a sound only to find a cat jump out of nowhere. Nope, instead, the film just unleashes hell during the final act and it works. The film also sets a good pace with unfolding and never drags itself down with needless exposition and back-story. Everything you need to know is informed when it feels right and moves along at a good pace. Even the acting is really good in the film and all the players did their roles perfectly.
The only thing I didn't care for—and it ended up hurting the film a lot—was the fact the film gets too dark at points. I don't mean the film is too intense or hard to endure, I mean the film is too dark in the fact I couldn't see what was going on a lot of the time. When the movie hits its wild, supernatural-smothered climax and the demon is loose and doing its dark magic and threatening Chandler Rigg's character with death and torture, the movie has so much darkness and shadow to it that it was hard to see what was happening. Entire sequences would play out where I couldn't tell what Rigg's character was doing and it ended up hurting the end of the film bad—and the sad part is the ending was shaping up so nicely.
"Mercy" isn't terrible or hard to watch (well, it's hard to watch in the fact I couldn't see anything at parts) but awful lighting made the most exciting part of the film confusing and more distracting than anything. Everything about this film seems to be working but having your climax play out in mostly darkness and being almost impossible to see really ended up hurting the potential this film had.
Hi! My name is Rev. Ron and if you would like to read more of my rants, ramblings, geek references, bad jokes, and other movie reviews (like a more in-depth look at "Mercy" and other movies that involve demons, grandmothers, and Carl Grimes) you can visit my blog at revronmovies.blogspot.com. If you don't want to do that because I said the "Get in the house, Carl" jokes are old and that makes you mad at me, you don't need to visit but understand that I still love the Coral Memes with Rick telling Carl bad jokes.
Sad to see
TheManInOil16 September 2017
There are some really talented actors in this movie. It's a shame to see them waste their time (although there's no sign of any effort) on this. It's not that it had no potential. Based on a Stephen King story, it shares a lot of basic elements with The Shining. Gifted boy with imaginary friend from a family that are sensitive to other-worldly/paranormal things in peril. Senility replaces alcoholism as the boogey-man in the subtext, but there are a lot of thematic and plot similarities.
The trouble is that this movie was so poorly done. The writing wasn't great, the direction/editing is awful. Quite often it seems more like people doing a blocking rehearsal than an actual take. It's impossible to feel involved in what's going on. Some of the dialogue is so bad that it's easy to understand why everyone seems non-committal - there is no way to deliver those lines well.
The kid playing the lead makes an honest effort, and this film shouldn't be held against him, but it's a black mark on the filmography of everyone else involved.
The trouble is that this movie was so poorly done. The writing wasn't great, the direction/editing is awful. Quite often it seems more like people doing a blocking rehearsal than an actual take. It's impossible to feel involved in what's going on. Some of the dialogue is so bad that it's easy to understand why everyone seems non-committal - there is no way to deliver those lines well.
The kid playing the lead makes an honest effort, and this film shouldn't be held against him, but it's a black mark on the filmography of everyone else involved.
Uhm, this was sort of all over the place...
paul_haakonsen13 December 2021
I had vaguely heard about this 2014 horror thriller titled "Mercy", given the fact that the movie had Chandler Riggs in it, and I have been following "The Walking Dead" since the very beginning. However, I just never had the chance to sit down and watch "Mercy" before now in 2021.
And I must say that the fact that "Mercy" from writer Matt Greenberg was based on a Stephen King short story titled "Gramma" certainly was something that had my expectations up for this 2014 movie. However, now that I have seen "Mercy", I can honestly say that I hadn't been missing out on a great cinematic experience, nor was this a gem in the horror thriller genre.
The storyline was sort of bland, though there were aspects to the storyline that had potential. But said potential just never came to fruition in any satisfying manner. And "Mercy" would have been much more impactful if the writer actually had delved into the Lovecraftian lore of the deity Hastur. Sure, when the name Hastur was mentioned for the first time in "Mercy", I have to admit that my expectations went up quite some notches. However, director Peter Cornwell just didn't hit a homerun.
The acting performances in the movie were okay. Now, I am not a fan of Chandler Riggs in any way, but I knew he was in this movie. He did fare well enough though, I will say that, standing next to the likes of Dylan McDermott, Shirley Knight and Frances O'Connor.
Visually then "Mercy" was adequate. It wasn't a movie that was rich in over-the-top special effects, but whatever effects were there happened to be fair enough.
Ultimately, then "Mercy" felt bland, and this is by no means a movie that I would recommend a horror thriller fan to rush out to watch. Director Peter Cornwell seemed to aim for something Lovecraftian but just didn't deliver.
My rating of "Mercy" lands on a generous four out of ten stars.
And I must say that the fact that "Mercy" from writer Matt Greenberg was based on a Stephen King short story titled "Gramma" certainly was something that had my expectations up for this 2014 movie. However, now that I have seen "Mercy", I can honestly say that I hadn't been missing out on a great cinematic experience, nor was this a gem in the horror thriller genre.
The storyline was sort of bland, though there were aspects to the storyline that had potential. But said potential just never came to fruition in any satisfying manner. And "Mercy" would have been much more impactful if the writer actually had delved into the Lovecraftian lore of the deity Hastur. Sure, when the name Hastur was mentioned for the first time in "Mercy", I have to admit that my expectations went up quite some notches. However, director Peter Cornwell just didn't hit a homerun.
The acting performances in the movie were okay. Now, I am not a fan of Chandler Riggs in any way, but I knew he was in this movie. He did fare well enough though, I will say that, standing next to the likes of Dylan McDermott, Shirley Knight and Frances O'Connor.
Visually then "Mercy" was adequate. It wasn't a movie that was rich in over-the-top special effects, but whatever effects were there happened to be fair enough.
Ultimately, then "Mercy" felt bland, and this is by no means a movie that I would recommend a horror thriller fan to rush out to watch. Director Peter Cornwell seemed to aim for something Lovecraftian but just didn't deliver.
My rating of "Mercy" lands on a generous four out of ten stars.
Average
Red_Identity19 October 2014
The acting from this is decent. The kid from The Walking Dead fares pretty well, definitely better than in The Walking Dead (although how much I hate him there is really only because of his horrible character and less because of his acting). I just think the film is really, really unoriginal. Well I guess making it a grandma gives it some originality points, but hey. The score is way too loud at times, and the climax sort of weak. Still, it's never boring (although at no point does it ever really achieve entertainment to a very high level). This is maybe recommended to some, maybe not to others. Overall, nothing too memorable.
King Classic Horror Thriller
sazdosanjh26 April 2021
Based on a Stephen King novel, the story ticks all the supernatural boxes. Multi-generational soul stealing, satanic mythology and a little small town intrigue. It's a short film at 78 minutes, and it's about right because there are few surprises for the seasoned horror buff. It is worth a watch, very well executed and an acceptable level of acting for a tv film.
Unbelievable
twelve-house-books28 May 2022
I have seen scarier blank TV screens than this amalgamation of garbage. So, what's the story trying to be told here? I have not a clue. Okay, so we have Cthulhu mythos thrown in with Appalachian witchcraft, characters who don't have Southern accents, actors with no chemistry with one another, and a general mess of a story line like no Horror movie I've ever seen before. All in all, this thing is laughable, and should be steered clear of by anybody wanting a good story. Horrific for all the wrong reasons.
Making a full length movie based on a (really) short story is usually not a great idea
Seth_Rogue_One1 August 2015
And this is no exception
I haven't actually read the short story of which it's based but I imagine it is pretty darn short considering the lack of substance in this movie
There was a Twilight Zone episode called 'Gramma' that did the same short story by Stephen King in 40 minutes
Now I haven't seen that so I can't say that that is better but I imagine this story would fit that format better than in a full length movie
And if they were gonna do a full length movie why not flesh it out a little bit?
It just get's boring really quick and remains so through the duration of the movie, which is quite a task considering it's not that much longer over an hour
The acting isn't bad but it's very "typical" to these kinds of movies and no one goes above to do much more than what's expected of there characters either
But I guess no one can blame them since they read the script and probably though 'that's it?'
Chandler Briggs who plays the boy in WALKING DEAD is looking awfully young for it being a 2014 movie so I'm guessing it was shelved for quite a bit because nobody wanted to release it, but with Chandler Briggs WALKING DEAD fame it opened an opportunity to do so I suppose
Now that is just mere speculation so I can't say that that is the case but I'd say it's more than likely
Not all negatives though, it looks fine visually and the music is fine as well, if all very typical for the genre, yeah nothing really stands out with this movie and it's the type of movie you forgot you saw 1 month after you saw it
I haven't actually read the short story of which it's based but I imagine it is pretty darn short considering the lack of substance in this movie
There was a Twilight Zone episode called 'Gramma' that did the same short story by Stephen King in 40 minutes
Now I haven't seen that so I can't say that that is better but I imagine this story would fit that format better than in a full length movie
And if they were gonna do a full length movie why not flesh it out a little bit?
It just get's boring really quick and remains so through the duration of the movie, which is quite a task considering it's not that much longer over an hour
The acting isn't bad but it's very "typical" to these kinds of movies and no one goes above to do much more than what's expected of there characters either
But I guess no one can blame them since they read the script and probably though 'that's it?'
Chandler Briggs who plays the boy in WALKING DEAD is looking awfully young for it being a 2014 movie so I'm guessing it was shelved for quite a bit because nobody wanted to release it, but with Chandler Briggs WALKING DEAD fame it opened an opportunity to do so I suppose
Now that is just mere speculation so I can't say that that is the case but I'd say it's more than likely
Not all negatives though, it looks fine visually and the music is fine as well, if all very typical for the genre, yeah nothing really stands out with this movie and it's the type of movie you forgot you saw 1 month after you saw it
good
hotmail2720029 November 2014
I don't know, I liked it. It was better than some of the garbage that gets into the theater. it has known actors and its Stephen King. I watched it twice. It looks like something I would have watched in the movie theater at least it got put on netflix. which is where I watched it. I will probably watch it again before it goes off netflix to. It will most likely be on the 5.00 shelf at wally world since it did not go in the theater, I will buy it. I love Stephen Kings stuff!! there are many more movies out there that have been made and not released because someone did not think they would make enough money off of them. at least if they were released the people watching them could decide if it were worth while or not.
Average
Foutainoflife17 July 2018
What did Hastur want?
jGce-202-6278922 January 2015
Warning: Spoilers
The title gave me second thoughts about coughing up matinée prices, but I had nothing else planned for the holidays. So I put the poison away, put the gun down, placed the noose back into the garage, turned the car off and went to the movies. The movie starts out slow with character development of George, with his brother the budding chef, and mom(three little pigs or the three bears, you pick). The clan goes to Grandmas house like little red riding hood. There's a big bad wolf and Goldilocks aka Grandma circa 1929. Plenty of inferred gore left me with a big "headache." The woodcutter appears to deliver the final blow, but Hastur gets his way. I think. Sadly, the Big bad Wolf retreats. Dylan McDermott leaves the movie in a Monty Pythonesque way, I chuckled. Wanted to like this movie, but I didn't. I ended up crying, but not into a blank book.
Somebody, please, put grandma out of her misery!
Coventry6 March 2018
Admittedly I didn't have high hopes for liking "Mercy", and this was based on a couple of indicators. The plot is adapted from a largely unknown short story by Stephen King (= the author is overrated and most of his short stories are unimpressive) and the lead character is a 10-year-old kid whose first line in the film is: "my grandmother has always been my best friend." But it turned out to be better than I expected, particularly thanks to a series of weird and inexplicable story aspects and a surprisingly sinister atmosphere throughout. Single mom Rebecca (beautiful Frances O'Conner of "The Missing") is forced to move back to her remote parental house, along with her two teenage sons, because her mother requires constant care during her recovery of a stroke. There always circulated strange and morbid stories about grandma Mercy. When she was a beautiful 20-year-old woman, she couldn't get children and this nearly drove her insane. Suddenly one day, after mysteriously having vanished over the hills, she's expecting triplets! Shortly after the babies were born her husband died, supposedly in a freak accident where he split his own head in two with an axe (!) and two of her three children are mentally unstable. Now, at the end of her life, grandma Mercy still seems to be possessed with an evil entity. Is this "Hastur", who she keeps driveling about, the demon who impregnated her and what impact does the bloodline have on her grandson George? It's safe to state that "Mercy" is better and more effective in raising eerie topics than at answering vital plot questions and ensuring continuity. The entire climax is a mess and I, for one, didn't really understood what was going on. Some things are spooky but don't make the slightest bit of sense, like George talking to a cute but dead girl from his neighborhood or Dylan McDermott patiently waiting for something to happen. Shirley Knight, as grandma Mercy, is more dead than alive for most of the film's running time, so it would have been so much easier if the family opted for euthanasia.
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