Almost Mercy was the very definition of a pleasant surprise. Or rather - an unpleasant surprise. It's a pretty nasty (but sometimes darkly humorous) film that kind of glorifies school shootings in a way, so I guess "pleasant" wouldn't be a very apt adjective. I wasn't expecting much, but I'd go so far to say that I was close to loving this film.
The film undoubtedly has a good sense of energy about it. It reminded me in a weird way of the wave of Tarantino knock-offs we got in the mid-to-late 90's - kind of hyperkinetic/hyper-violent and having an overly articulate narrator (which is not anything I necessarily think of when I think "Tarantino," but a lot of the knock-offs had that in common for whatever reason). So while that vibe may turn some people off, I feel like it's been long enough since that style has been en vogue that I'm open to seeing films in that style again. Plus, if it's good it's good.
And while Almost Mercy certainly isn't a Tarantino-esque caper, take away the explicit gore (and the horror-bait cast) and I'm not even sure if this is a horror film. Dark character drama, perhaps? But it ends up being one of those movies that just nestles into the horror genre - because what else could it possibly be?
Anyways, it's about two highschoolers who are troubled to say the least. Emily is narrating the whole thing after the fact, clearly making reference to some tragedy that she and her good friend Jackson were a part of. But we get to see their lives before the tragedy - how they met as kids, how they were each tormented in school, their very different but terrible home lives, and their descent into drugs (Emily) and guns (Jackson). Eventually, this leads to Jackson very clearly planning a school shooting... but Emily either doesn't notice or doesn't really care.
I'll leave it at that. The story isn't so much the cool thing about Almost Mercy - it just sets the table for the pitch black humor, intriguing performances, and surprising violence. I really liked Emily as a character. Danielle Guldin is great in the role, and plays it with just the right amount of restraint and then energy when the film calls for it. Her character arc isn't all that interesting or believable, but she gets some some fantastic ultra-disaffected/sarcastic youth dialogue. (As a former disaffected youth I could easily sympathize.) She's an interesting character to spend time with and a good voice for the film.
It was a little harder to get behind Jackson - his character seems to focus his anger inward, with the occasional outbursts of rage. But actor Jesse Dufault chooses to play the role with a distant, blank look in his eyes. It's jarring at first, but after a while he kind of finds a groove. And honestly, looking back on it, his blank stare is one of the more memorable things in the film. Jackson and Emily don't truly seem like they would be buddies - I wasn't sold on that aspect of the film. But in a strange way, it isn't really all that important.
What I'm trying to say is that Almost Mercy, while not a "turn off your brain" movie, just isn't really interested in character arcs/motivations/believability. It's more about presenting a specific, unsubtle worldview and being brazen, funny, gory, and ultimately engrossing. Bearing in mind that I think you probably have to have pretty fucked up sensibilities to enjoy it in the first place. It's one of those films that is over-the-top enough that it flirts with being satirical but never commits to it.
It actually reminded me a bit of Running Scared (the Paul Walker one, not the Gregory Hines one) in that it's got a relentless energy to it, and also how some of the villainous characters are portrayed. They do some vile and truly demented things, but the disaffected tone of the film doesn't revel in the nastiness - it just presents them as your standard pieces of shit that deserve to die. It's an even film in that way - there's a baseline of "extremeness" to it that never really strays from, and you actually get kind of emotionally numb. Which I guess helps when you are effectively cheering on a murderer.
You also get a couple of genre favorites in supporting roles, as Bill Moseley and Kane Hodder show up. Hodder is pretty solid as Emily's gym teacher and impressed me more here than just about anything I've seen him in. Oh, and Tommy Dreamer is in it too. He doesn't really do anything, but still - interesting to see him. (And he doesn't talk, which seems to play into any acting wrestler's strengths.)
I guess I should give director/co-writer Tom DeNucci props. If you're talking about how good a movie is, you should probably mention the main creative force, right? The film looks really good, is well-structured, and I think really achieves what it sets out to do. Well done all around. I'm clicks away from buying his previous film Army of the Damned (which seems to be a reality show/zombie thing judging from the cover), despite the fact that it has Joey Fatone and a member of Godsmack in it. That's how much I liked Almost Mercy.
So yeah, I realize I'm rambling a bit here, but I tend to do that when I really like a film but have a hard time defining why. Almost Mercy didn't blow me away with it's tight plotting or twists and turns or anything like that. But it does have an engaging (if messed-up) vibe, and it's an audacious film that I think is worth seeing.
I would recommend this film.
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