Mercy Falls

Anyone remember the BBC "Merlin" series with Colin Morgan? Well, this is really just like an updated version of one of his adventures, only without the costumes, charm or dragons! We start with some lovely drone footage of the treetops before being introduced to "Rhona" (Lauren Lyle) who has assembled four of her friends to hike twenty-odd miles into the wilderness to find a remote cabin that she has inherited from her long-time estranged father. They haven't a clue, but luckily "Carla" (Nicolette McKeown - who reminded me a lot of Rebecca Ferguson) is on hand and she offers to guide them on their quest. It turns out, though, that "Carla" has quite a psychologically malevolent streak and that "Rhona" and her mates are all rather fickle, shallow types - except, perhaps, "Scott" (James Watterson). What now ensues gets gradually more silly as we discover there is precious little that's likeable about any of these people before a denouement that says very little about the standard of high-end British military training. The audio work is effective, but the rest of this is unremarkable fayre that will keep until it's on the television around Halloween.

There is not much positive to say about this film except it's location. The story, lacking. The reasoning is nonexistent. Terrible acting by everyone involved. The script is bad. I'm not sure why this has high ratings and listed as horror on Tubi because this is not horror. At most it is a contrived blah of an attempt at a thriller. I've liked most of the Tubi originals but this one just didn't do it for me. It's boring, honestly. I could not wait for it to end. It just wasn't a good movie, overall. I'm sure many will disagree. But, if you have time to kill and want something that will barely keep your attention, this is the film for you. A 3 is generous, honestly.

Normally, this wouldn't be the type of film genre I would be interested in seeing and yet in spite of the familiar tropes often found in these horror/suspense movies (including this one), I found Mercy Falls surprisingly engaging. Though I found much of the dialogue to feel very "written", with those certain brands of cadences that you only find in movies such as this and not reflective in how people talk in real life. I also felt that the swearing came across as forced and unnatural at times and as often found in these types of low-budget affairs, I could have done without the obligatory pointless sex scenes. In spite of all this, I found the general premise of escaping from a killer and overcoming said obstacles to be fairly engaging. I also found the establishing shots to be surprisingly well put together for a low-budget film of this calibre. There were times were it felt like to movie was trying put across moments of symbolism, without really giving much thought into what the filmmakers intended, Though most of the performances of the principal cast were at best serviceable, I found the best performance came from Nicolette McKeown, who provided some great moments of drive and intensity in the role of Carla. I hope to see more of McKeown's work in future screen roles to come. So overall, if this is the sort of genre that would interest you and in spite of its budgetary, story and character limitations, I would recommend checking out Mercy Falls. Mostly on the strength of Nicolette McKeown's performance as the antagonist and some well produced establishing shots and moments of atmosphere. Otherwise, I would say either rent this or wait until comes out on a streaming service.

Okay here we go.... We have all watched a movie that had us questioning the characters decisions. Like "Don't go in the basement" or grab the kitchen knife before you go investigate the strange noise. These characters make some of the stupidest decisions before they are picked off. Never split up always arm up. Also when being chased / slaughtered by a psychopath never never never stop to have sex... I mean really what were you thinking? The story and stupidity of the characters make this waste of time ridiculous. The actors do what they can. The scenery and locations are nice and that drone shot over an endless sea of forest fantastic ( though used in every movie since The Shining). If you want to sit with friends and riff on a movie this would qualify.

Tubi Originals can be hit or miss, and while this really isn't a big hit, neither is it a stinker. The scenery in the Scottish Highlands and other camera work is actually quite good. At the beginning of the movie, as they are driving to the Inn, a woman is hitchhiking, and they pass her by, saying one can never be sure. In an evening get together at the Inn, one of the characters acts like a jerk, so one watches to see if he will be the first killed. Rhona's father left her a cabin in the woods, and they set out on a hike, and along comes Carla. But no emergency plan, as they didn't think one was important. It is clear the group are not hikers, but Carla seems to know the area, so she leads. So off they go, but how many will survive? In flashbacks, Carla is former soldier, likely in Afghanistan, and she has a 'unique' way of handling people who are in pain or suffering. Turns out she is psychotic and also a deserter. What is her motive for killing is not explained, but who will survive? It becomes a tense cat-and-mouse game. Rhona was there as a child, but that was a long time ago, so she isn't sure about the area. There are a couple of disconnects. For a short hike, Carla has a length of climbing rope and climbing gear. And the cabin once reached, seems out of place for how far it is from everything. It is not a simple back country shack. But the group of young people seems believable even if one wonders how they got together with so many conflicts present. The story progresses without a lot of side trips. It is a decent movie redeemed by the scenery.