Mercy Christmas

"Mercy Christmas" (2017, Ryan Nelson, No Mercy Pictures, Other Paw Films) is a festive holiday cannibal film.

Santa brought me this film for Christmas this year. Thanks, Santa.

Michael Briskett (Steven Hubbell) receives an invite to Christmas dinner from the office cutie, Cindy (Casey O'Keefe), and thinks he's won a watch. But after arriving at her family home, he discovers that he might not like what's on the menu...

The DVD box is littered with positive reviews and comments about the gore level of the film. While the film is a purposefully cheesy, low budget piece and does not deliver quite the level of gore I was hoping for, it is pretty funny and hosts some performances which were far superior than I went in expecting as well as a few recognisable faces. The sense of humour keeps the film going despite the cat being out of the bag fairly early in the plot, but the 83 minute run time also does not outstay its welcome.

Our family of religious, social climbing cannibals are both caricaturistic and delightfully reprehensible and, once the chaos ensues, we are treated to some funny fight scenes and physical humour with a definite festive slant. I never knew that fairy lights could be so practical. Our small band of victims/heroes aren't developed very much given the run time but definitely keep the audience on side and deliver a few good comedy moments also.

While it's nothing groundbreaking, "Mercy Christmas" provides that lighthearted black humour someone like me tends to enjoy around this time of year and will most likely enter my annual viewing rotation.

[Image: Other Paw Productions, et al]

Hani

Would You Rather

"Would You Rather" (2012, David Guy Levy, Lambrick Foundation, LLC, Periscope Entertainment, Social Construct Films, Dreamher Productions, IFC Films) is a film about how far a group of desperate people can be pushed if they think it will end all of their problems.


Iris (Brittany Snow) looks after her sick younger brother (Logan Miller) but cannot pay for his expensive treatment. Her brother's doctor introduces her to a philanthropist called Shepard Lambrick (Jeffrey Combs) who offers to make Iris a deal; if she wins a game at his dinner party, he will pay for the treatment. After thinking about it, Iris agrees to attend the party.


Once at the party which takes place at Lambrick's manor home, Iris is introduced to the other guests; Lambrick's petulant son, Julian (Robin Lord Taylor), and fellow contestants; Travis (Charlie Hofheimer), Lucas (Enver Gjokaj), Linda (June Squibb), Peter (Robb Wells), Cal (Eddie Steeples), Amy (Sasha Grey) and Conway (John Heard). Before the game officially begins, Lambrick begins offering large sums of money to his guests to perform simple tasks that make them uncomfortable; a vegetarian eating a steak, a recovering alcoholic drinking scotch... Although the guests are outraged, the thought of all that money makes them stay and they decline to leave before the lockdown and the official game begins. Assuredly, the real game has higher prizes and even higher stakes...


I was pleasantly surprised by this film after I eventually gave in to Netflix's incessant advertising of it to me by seemingly adding it into every possible category on my homepage. It's silly, fun, fairly ridiculous, contains several familiar cast members including, of course, the wonderful Jeffrey Combs; a man who can chew scenery in the most entertaining way, and it actually boasts a fair few grim scenes.
The parlour game is equal parts cheesiness and darkness with just enough tongue-in-cheek dialogue to keep it from being bleak. While it's hardly a classic by any means and suffers from some pacing issues, I found it to be entertaining and not to spend too much time pondering over whether its core message or taking itself too seriously.

[Image: IFC Films, et al]

Hani

The Invitation

"The Invitation" (2015, Karyn Kusama, Gamechanger Films, Lege Artis, XYZ Films, Drafthouse Films).

Will (Logan Marshall-Green) and his girlfriend, Kira (Emayatzy Corinealdi), are on their way to Will's ex-wife, Eden (Tammy Blanchard)'s house for a dinner party with some old friends and Eden's new husband, David (Michiel Huisman). On the way there they accidentally run over a coyote and Will is forced to put the creature out of its misery.

Will and Eden split up after their son tragically died and Eden met David through her grief support group. Amongst other strange things at this dinner party, the old gang are joined by some of Eden and David's friends and David shows everyone a video from their grief support group where a young woman dies on screen....

Throughout the night Will begins to fear that there is something more sinister going on than just a strange dinner party, but is this fear founded in reality, or is he just feeling emotional seeing friends and Eden again and entering his old home since the death of his son...?

A slow, slow, slow burner that seems to relish in showing very little up until the end. I've seen a lot of positive things said about this film, but I don't fully share the enthusiasm. While others have remarked at an excellent build of tension, I found the plot slow and meandering. The acting is really good and the setting in the Hollywood hills is nice, too, but the film just felt too slow for me. Will's nagging feeling that something is wrong is plausible and real doubt in his instinct is well crafted by flashbacks and nice camera angles. The film is also very well shot. I just didn't feel that the quick, brutal payoff really made up for the pace of the build up.

I do appreciate the lack of usual horror tropes used in the film, however, which was a breath of freshness over some other recent horror efforts which have resulted in a lot of same-old, same-old.

[Image: Gamechanger films, et al]

Hani