I recently saw Mercy and was quite impressed. I get pretty tired of seeing stupid horror flicks that are gratuitous just for the sake of the genre and to cover up the lack of content in the film. Mercy, however, was a nice change of pace. It is more of an art/horror film, and is very smartly done. The pacing can be slow at times, but it only supports the main themes of the film- the life of John Mercy, the story's protagonist, is slow and monotonous. Some of the shots in the film are beautifully composed and the score seems to creep into the subconscious of the audience. Oh yeah, there is some gore and it is pretty awesome. If you can appreciate good stories or the horror genre, check this flick out!
4 Reviews
Very Impressive Achievement
mclaff925 December 2006
Patrick Roddy has crafted a very impressive film as his directorial debut. The look and feel are awesome. The acting, particularly of the lead, is exceptional. The pacing - slow at first, then building - is effective in giving the viewer an initial feeling of monotony, followed by increasing anxiety. The plot developments were not broadcast, but made sense as they evolved. Some of the acting may come across as somewhat theatrical, but it works in that it fits in the style of earlier movies that Mercy reflects. A couple of the minor characters were notable standouts in their quirkiness - the bartender and the parole officer. Roddy has created a excellent film noir achievement.
An intriguing attempt at an art-horror film.
Hey_Sweden10 October 2020
Patrick Roddy wrote, shot, and directed this indie horror film, in which he goes about melding atmosphere, gore, and surrealism into a fairly potent whole. Gary Shannon plays John Mercy, a tight-lipped loner who's spent over 20 years in prison for some crime. Now being released, he's eager to slip into a "normal" routine, including trips to a local bar for orders of club soda. Soon, he has accepted the overtures of friendship from Eve (Shelley Farrell), a barfly / aspiring actress. But he worries that she will awaken whatever pathologies lie within him.
Roddy deliberately creates a story that threatens to become boring for a while with its repetitiveness, but it slowly works its way under your skin. It becomes more interesting as it goes along, as Roddy illustrates the deterioration of Mercy's world and mind. He creates some not-bad macabre imagery; periodically, Mercy will lose a body part, and the addled ex-con gets more and more unhinged. People could easily accuse Roddy of some pretentiousness, but this viewer did warm up to his approach after a while. The filmmakers created a stark, black & white world where lots of things feel very off-kilter, including a bartender (Bryan Trahan) who sometimes just stands around creepily when he's not serving drinks.
The performances are obviously not as slick as what you would get from more mainstream actors, but the people do here do a decent job. Mercy comes off as a cipher without much personality at first, but the character comes to life more and more as the film progresses. Contributing memorable turns are Julie Ann Fay as a ghost, Carol Anne Gayle as an old woman, and especially Charles McNeely III as the sardonic, judgmental parole officer.
No, Roddy is not in the same league as David Lynch, but what he's done here is a respectable effort at playing in the same sort of sandbox.
Seven out of 10.
Roddy deliberately creates a story that threatens to become boring for a while with its repetitiveness, but it slowly works its way under your skin. It becomes more interesting as it goes along, as Roddy illustrates the deterioration of Mercy's world and mind. He creates some not-bad macabre imagery; periodically, Mercy will lose a body part, and the addled ex-con gets more and more unhinged. People could easily accuse Roddy of some pretentiousness, but this viewer did warm up to his approach after a while. The filmmakers created a stark, black & white world where lots of things feel very off-kilter, including a bartender (Bryan Trahan) who sometimes just stands around creepily when he's not serving drinks.
The performances are obviously not as slick as what you would get from more mainstream actors, but the people do here do a decent job. Mercy comes off as a cipher without much personality at first, but the character comes to life more and more as the film progresses. Contributing memorable turns are Julie Ann Fay as a ghost, Carol Anne Gayle as an old woman, and especially Charles McNeely III as the sardonic, judgmental parole officer.
No, Roddy is not in the same league as David Lynch, but what he's done here is a respectable effort at playing in the same sort of sandbox.
Seven out of 10.
Pretentious and contrived
glyptoteque27 October 2015
Somebody clearly wants to emulate Lynch, this giant sleeping-pill of a film literally shoves it in your face. Too bad then that this utterly pretentious and contrived piece of junk is a billion light-years away of achieving that magnificent and creepy surrealism Lynch is known for. What did this hack of a director think? That making a movie in black & white, setting the pace to snail-mode, making it as killingly minimalist as possible, and last but not least, having a Laura Dern-lookalike as the female lead, somehow would turn it all into a masterpiece of Lynchian dimensions? Most likely.
Everything about this movie feels forced and unnatural and I was bored to tears watching it, it's essentially nothing pretending to be something. If you have any sense at all, don't listen to the rave reviews this has got, instead go and watch Eraserhead again. Now that is truly surreal and existential dread for you!
Everything about this movie feels forced and unnatural and I was bored to tears watching it, it's essentially nothing pretending to be something. If you have any sense at all, don't listen to the rave reviews this has got, instead go and watch Eraserhead again. Now that is truly surreal and existential dread for you!
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