ChikPapa Very disappointed :(

Executscan Expected more

Taha Avalos The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

Scotty Burke It is interesting even when nothing much happens, which is for most of its 3-hour running time. Read full review

verethyl This is really not a review of the movie as I haven't seen it yet, but I soon will. This is in regards to someones review of Chandler Riggs' acting. How many young actors do you think are perfect from the get go? A lot of times actors have to do what the producer wants. I have watched The Walking Dead over and over, I'm now on my tenth go around. I think Chandler did a very good job of portraying a perfect brat. Are we to say we don't like his acting because we didn't like the way he behaved ? NO, for making the audience hate an actor is actually very good acting. I don't know what your problem is ,but that's your opinion and you're entitled.

Jacques Du Rand 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.

Peter Pluymers "Mercy" is based on a short story by Stephen King (original titled "Gramma"). In the past they made a series of movies out of Stephen Kings stories, with varying success. "Christine", "Carrie", "Misery" and "Pet Sematary" are all gems and timeless classics. And of course "The Shawshank Redemption" is a masterpiece. I wasn't so thrilled about "Cujo" and "Firestarter", both in book form as the eponymous film. And I'm waiting for "Cell" impatiently (even though John Cusack plays a leading role). After I've read that "Mercy" was based on a story by King, I had to check if it was any good. And once again it shows that a short story is never a good basis for a feature film. The reason why it resulted in a short story, is just because there isn't enough material to turn it into a long story. The result is a miserable slow film with not much to see in it. And to be honest, I didn't understand in the end what it actually was about anyway.Judging from the opening scene, I expected a rather good film. The brutal, "in-your-face" beginning, with an ax striking devastatingly, left little to the imagination. Bloody images aren't directly shown. You'll only see a play of shadows. This was already an indication that you'll be spared from gore, gruesome images. This doesn't mean this is really necessary for such movies, because (for me) the best horror is where you also need to use your imagination a bit. This is also the strength of the literary work of Stephen King. The imagination and the underlying anxiety. Unfortunately, I needed a lot of imagination to make a horror out of it and there was hardly a sign of subcutaneous anxiety or tension. It was obvious that it's a sort of Machiavellian tale with someone selling her soul to a demonic entity to achieve certain goals. Only the demon wasn't convincingly elaborated.For once I liked the extraordinary performances. And that for a horror story. Shirley Knight plays an excellent part as the creepy grandmother Mercy and equals effortlessly the scary Annie Wilkes in "Misery." Chandler Riggs plays the loner, who had a special bond with his grandmother, in a convincing way. Even Dylan McDermott as the handsome neighbor (or acquaintance) wasn't so bad (contrary to what he did in "Freezer"). The only letdown was the appearance of the demonic entity Hastur with his "led lamp"-like eyes. This looked so pitifully bad. Even a haunted house at the fair has more frightening things.Despite the onset being full of suspense, the end result is still abysmal. "Mercy" won't frighten you or give you nightmares. In addition most scenes are much too dark, making it difficult to follow. And understanding the story alone is a problem anyway. I'm still wondering what Hastur was! As a short story it's probably a successful concept (and it's from King ultimately), but as a film it failed in all areas.More reviews here : http://bit.ly/1KIdQMT

Rabh17 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...