Almost Mercy, Mass Murder and Twisted Teens

Sometimes we succeed at making our family and friends believe we are normal.  Then we goof!  Something we just can't help.  I myself fall into this trap, often.  We describe a movie we just watched.  As we get animated and inspired by a work of art from the horror genre, our companions are aghast.  They shake their heads and let us know how sick and twisted we are. Be warned, "Almost Mercy" from 2015, is a movie that will earn you that sick and twisted label.  For those of you who like dark, gory, horrific to the bone screamfests, "Almost Mercy" will satisfy your yearning for something repulsive, though it will not win you any friends.

The dread and evil which will prevail in this film permeate the viewing experience from the first minute.  Emily (Danielle Guldin) and Jackson (Jesse Dufault) are doomed outcasts in a Rhode Island town.  They don't fit in, and are considered bottom feeders by their classmates and teachers.  Always bullied and teased, the two become friends.  Rejected by upstanding society, Emily and Jackson have also been victimized by that society.  Both our anti-heroes will be raped, beat up, and humiliated. When one of the bullies is killed in a murder-suicide, Emily remarks, "...one less a**hole in the world."  We sense where these two are headed, but if we are honest with ourselves.....we are on their side (perhaps that is what makes this story most horrifying).

We meet the scum who torment our duo.  Kane Hodder plays the high school gym teacher who has always desired to get into Emily's pants.  Sanity will not rule the day, and Jackson begins to act on his very taboo plan.  No spoilers here, but everything in this Tom DeNucci directed film is designed to make you uncomfortable, including the affection you will develop for Emily and Jackson. Uh oh....Jackson has amassed enough firearms to supply a third world nation.  We know Jackson's plan before he relates it to Emily, and it is on a grand scale....think Columbine.  The final 30 minutes of this film will be even more difficult to watch than the first hour.  Gore and vengeance (...disguised as revenge) will rule the day.  No good guys here, but you will take sides.

Whatever horror spurts onto the screen, the fact that Emily says and thinks a lot of stuff that we ourselves thought (...but never dared to say) when we were children, might be the real horror. Hard core horror fans, not looking for the feel-good film of the millennium, will love "Almost Mercy." Others....well, let's us just say that Tom DeNucci ("Self Storage") didn't mind crossing the line (...which is why we love his work).  Available on Netflix.