Mercy

I.. I really don't know what to say. The movie was okay, but just okay and a tad on the more negative side. I would've probably given 6/10 if the movie hadn't been so freaking dark and the actors didn't look so alike, especially in the dark. The plot was actually really surprising. I wish there was more of a back story, but you can do just so much in 87 minutes. I cannot say I feel like I wasted my time, the movie was watchable but I cannot give a better grade.

Mercy wasn't necessarily a bad film, indeed the opening twenty minutes or so were rather intriguing, a nice build up, good motives for family feud, but once it started unravelling it transformed into nonsense. At times I was reminded of You're Next, but at no stage did it reach those levels of gripping excitement.

It wasn't difficult to follow, but the realisation of who was behind the home invasion was dealt with in a way that you can only describe as heavy handed, the reveal three quarters of the way through was very silly, I couldn't take it seriously. Too many unanswered questions at the end, were all brothers aware of what was going on? Never fully answered.

Quite well acted, with decent production values, the masks were very effective, but with those, as with the rest of the film, there's nothing new here. A little flat, 5/10

I am told that American Netflix has a far better selection of movies; good movies, i.e. ones with a coherent plot, good acting and a sense of dramatic timing. However I have seen enough of Canadian Netflix to assert that many movies on the service are simply filler that must have been made by wealthy "wanna-be" film producers or charming con artists who managed to cajole wealthy friends to part with their money and finance a film. All the imagination and timing went into the making of the trailer for this. Do not be fooled. You have been warned. I'll give a nod to Mercy's maker for the first 20 minutes or so: he did a capable, if pedestrian, job of setting up the dramatic contours for a conflict of some kind that does not end well. Had the remainder of the movie followed this arc (without resorting to a clumsy back-in-time approach to explain what just happened which left me confused at various points) then I would have rated this a 6 (for mildly diverting, at times intense, but I am glad I didn't drop $12 to see this at a theatre).

The ambiance builds up nicely until the night falls, then a mess begins. The concept is very interesting and with a great potential but for some reason it falls flat halfway. Good acting from the disillusioned father whom you hate almost straightaway; the brothers leave you dancing in circles as to their allegiance; then the three-line role for Melissa, a general disappointment. The story twists are not twisted, I would've expected the contrary.

If you have absolutely nothing to do, watch it. If however you feel the urge to pull your fingernails out with a pair of pliers then I suggest you will have more satisfaction with the latter. Wasted a Sunday afternoon with this movie. Good on ya Netflix. It could always be worse though. I might have taken my lady to the cinema and spent money for the two of us to be disappointed beyond belief. 90 percent of the movie was filmed in dark conditions and it was very hard to follow the story as the characters were unrecognizable most of the time and you didn't know if the masked guys were getting on top or the brothers actually got a win. Sad to see that in our day and age with all the technology available that someone can get a movie so wrong with camera work alone. Then there was the acting. At least everything about the movie was consistent.

Disappointed Disappointed Disappointed. If you read my review and still go ahead and watch this rubbish then you cant say you haven't been warned. Hey look.... golf is on channel 2. At least it will be better than what I've just put myself through.