The Horror Show
Mercy
by Peter Cornwell
To some people family is important. Some people will do anything to have a family and keep it close for as long as you possibly can. This is pretty much the base story of Mercy.
Based on the short story “Gramma” by Stephen King, Mercy is about George and his relationship with his Gramma, Mercy. She teaches him the violin and how to charm snakes. She teaches him how to stand up to bullies and that a violin case full of rocks used as a weapon will shut a bully down fast. Unfortunately, Gramma has a bad stroke and is put in a home for a while. That is until the home calls and says she's too violent and she is no longer welcome there. It's now on George, his mother, and his brother, Buddy, to go live with Gramma and tend to her until she dies because Uncle Lan is an alcoholic and Aunt Jinny is in the crazy house. This is when George starts discovering that his sweet Gramma has a very dark past involving dark magic and the supernatural. Her bad spells, as they call them, were just that. Bad spells.
Like I said before, Mercy is based on the Stephen King short, “Gramma.” You can find it in the anthology Skeleton Crew which has some of my favorite stories King has ever written, so I was really excited to see how it would translate to the screen. It was nothing like the story. I'm not saying that in a bad way. The story is very cut and dry. I'm surprised they were able to even fill the seventy-nine minute run time. “Gramma” is just George and his Gramma, alone. She's bed ridden and he's terrified of her and what she truly is: a witch! Mercy on the other hand, had interesting characters and some great subplots that they added. The core story is still there, it's just got some extra pizzazz added. I also enjoyed the nods to Richard Bachman and Randall Flag.
I really enjoyed this movie. It was filled with actors who are good at what they do. I'm not going to lie, Dylan McDermott's southern accent was kinda bad, and I couldn't help but yell CORAL at the screen when Chandler Riggs is first seen, but those are just some of my own quirks. The effects are impeccable. They're practical and very gross but not very gory. It's got a few cheap jump scares, usually involving Mark Duplass for some reason, but the rest of the movie has a nice eerie vibe to it.
Mercy is a good example of a Stephen King adaptation done well. It's hard to flesh out King's short stories sometimes. They're often open ended and a little on the bizarre side. I'm surprised when his more out-there concepts get made and they work. I'm too used to them flopping. I'm looking at you Lawnmower Man.
Mercy is on Netflix right now. It's a fun little witchy romp that can give you the shivers. Do yourself a favor and watch it. Then go find a copy of Skeleton Crew and give “Gramma” a read.
Robin Thompson, HMS
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