Mercy Draws You in with Its Mystery: A Film Review

*there are spoilers here (see the film first).

Director/writer: Chris Sparling.

Cast: James Wolk, Caitlin FitzGerald, Tom Lipinski.

Mercy is a horror and thriller from Chris Sparling. Notable for writing 2010's Buried, Sparling has created a very intriguing film, here. The film appears as a letting-go of a family member. But, it proves to be more complex, especially when a group of masked characters are introduced. Two groups of characters are motivated by two very different reasons; neither motivation is very honourable, however. Playing out like a mystery initially, events take a darker turn, at the film's mid-point. It is here where a point-of-view is changed, as well. Grace's (Constance Barron) relationship with a cult-like religious sect, also creates some of the film's mystery. Finally, murderers conflict with these money-counters; everyone loses. However, viewers of Mercy will win with this latest Netflix outing.

The film's story plays out straight-forwardly, at first. Act I involves one family coming together, over the death of their mother or wife. Grace is completely housebound. The brothers, two from a previous marriage, argue over an inheritance, while forgoing any feelings for the death or the suffering of their mother. A second husband, to Grace, is also uninterested in bringing the family together. This family is only interested in Grace's financial holdings. Characters conflict here and there. But, once a second, more murderous group is introduced, events really take a bloody turn.

It is time to unmask these killers.

A group of masked men bring events to a head. They infiltrate the home and quickly dispatch two characters, one by accident. The masked characters speak very little to each other as they go about their murderous work. They are there for Grace, too, but for a very different reason. The differing motivations of the brothers (greed) and the masked characters (salvation?) cause a lot of the trouble, leaving few characters untouched. There are no happy endings here as these mysterious cultists move about a remote country farm and home.

Chris Sparling's Mercy will offer tips on how to create one's own mystery. If character's identities are hidden, it is difficult to understand how they will act. One ringleader appears in an early scene. His identity is only revealed much later, in Act III. His final reveal and subsequent speech finally offers some denouement. As well, if one keep's a masked group's dialogue minimized, motivations become next to impossible to discern. Why are these characters disguised at all? There are very few clues, outside of a videotape recording, to chip away at this question. Also, much of the film is shot at night, which further hides characters' body language in a dark cloak. Nuance in facial expression is consistently kept ambiguous. Viewers will have to be patient, if they are interested in a plot explanation.

There are a few explanations available, if one looks closely. The initial conflict is a simple brother versus brother storyline. The four brothers are broken up into twos. One set comes from an earlier marriage, while the second group is related to the surviving second husband. Both groups are positioning themselves for an impending windfall. One group of brothers is obviously favoured over the other, by Grace's current husband. Everyone in the family is motivated by greed and little else. The cultists are less motivated by greed. And while their costume identifies them as villains, they could be seen as rescuers, if it was not for their murderous methods. As well, Mercy does not come through death, but through an experimental cure. She can be saved. And, Grace is also the founding member of the Grace New Life Church. The masked men are her parishioners as revealed late in the picture. These parishioners have saved Grace from a former husband and from this one, too. Everything in the film begins to make sense, especially after a second viewing.

The film's morality is a bit convoluted. The family is obviously motivated by greed and vice. They are completely uninterested in saving their mother, despite a cure being available, nearby. Each family member is evil, to varying degrees. Their degree of evil is only discerned by their level of greed. Yet, the cultists are even more immoral. Their intentions are noble, in rescuing Grace. But, their methods are murderous. Is it moral to kill six people, to save an old woman? In a word - no! They are even more evil, when compared to the family. The film offers a message, which is anti-greed. But, its solution - to kill the family, muddies the underlining message.

Mercy is a complex film and worth your time. Sparling has pieced together a couple of very different perspectives, with Mercy. The point-of-view will change at the film's fourty minute mark. This switch fills in some of the film's plot and message. Also, a puzzle piece is symbolic of how part of the story is kept hidden, through much of the film's runtime. Mercy will keep most viewers interested as one mysterious group faces the family. Conflict ridden, the film's final message is a bit ambiguous. Still, there is a lot of plot to chew on and viewer's will have to pay attention, to understand characters' motivations. It is worth the effort to figure out what is actually happening in this mysterious thriller.

Overall: 8 out of 10.

*Grace is also likely the founder of the Church, based on the cult's name: Grace New Life Church. This is also the reason why she has inherited so much money from this religious sect.

A trailer for the film: A Mercy Trailer on 28DLA


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Posted in: 2016,chris sparling,independent,indie,movie,movie review,mystery,review,thriller,thriller movie review