Almost Mercy (2015)

Running Time: 85 minutes

Release Date: May 26, 2015

Review by: Stacey

 

Bullying in schools has been going on forever, but now it's a major issue and taken more seriously (thankfully), especially after the rise in school shootings.  Everyone knows that school can be rough, but when you add in a shitty childhood life at home- it's like a powder keg waiting to blow.  2015's Almost Mercy took a darkly humorous look at two friends growing up together who've been shit on their whole lives.

Almost Mercy follows Emily (Danielle Guldin) and Jackson (Jesse Dufault), who bond as kids over their outsider label and not-so-happy home lives.  As they grow into teenagers, they grow apart for a time and Emily turns to drugs and partying while Jackson spends some time in an institution.  When he's released they get back together, and it's not before long that one of them snaps.

 

The shining star in the film was definitely Guldin as Emily, who also narrates the story throughout.  Her humor is dry, sarcastic, and dark which helps take the edge off of the heavy content in the film.  Dufault as Jackson played a great counterpoint to Emily and really helped us sympathize with the character, especially in scenes of his home life with his gross, shitty (literally) father played by Eric Nyenhuis.  The flashback black & white scenes when they're telling the legend of Mercy Brown (also played by Guldin), a suspected vampire, added a nice backstory to the motivations of the two friends.

When the movie takes that turn to the even-darker side, you will not be let down by the amount of violence and gore that is laid out against the evil characters in the story.  The blood is aplenty and totally gratuitous which makes it that much more fun and somewhat less horrifying for the viewer.  Not to mention, the film boasts a pretty damn good soundtrack.

 

As you can see from the poster, Bill Mosely and Kane Hodder received top billing, which didn't make much sense to me because while they did play key roles, they weren't the main players in the film.  Then again, for an indie film with little-known actors, I can see why they'd use the two names to draw viewers in.  So take it as a forewarning, if you think you're going in to see a movie starring these two, you won't be getting that.  That being said, it was awesome to see them playing unsavory characters, as usual!

 

Almost Mercy isn't without it's minor flaws, especially in terms of some of the dialogue and acting.  Director/co-writer Tom DeNucci took a limited budget and made a really fun indie revenge flick that still had a serious message without getting overbearingly heavy.

4/5 see, this is why teenagers are stupid

 

Check out the trailer below!