Religious horror movies always tend to go for the jugular vein of the possession theme. The Welcome to Mercy movie follows Madeline, who’s going home to Latvia after losing her father. Not only is her hometown, home, and surroundings creepy, but she’s also got a kid with her. After that, the Holy Stigmata begins alongside terrifying visions. The best place for her is a remote island convent because nuns always know what to do. But are these lovely sisters helping her or trying to kill her?
Religious Horror Movies
Welcome to Mercy’s original title was Beatus. According to the dictionary, it translates to mean ‘blessed.’
The film begins with Madaline traveling with her young daughter and eventually arriving at a house in the middle of nowhere. Madaline has come to visit her father and we soon see that her relationship with her mother is somewhat strained. The house itself is made of wooden boards and creaky floors and for most of the scenes in the house, there is darkness both within it and created from the darkness of the night.
Whispers can often be heard and the feeling is there that Madaline can hear these voices loud and clear. On her first night in the house, she follows something calling to her. This entity drags her into a well and her mother finds her the next morning in the snow. The whole experience is put down to sleepwalking. It’s from here we begin to discover the deep-set religiousness embedded into characterisation of the family. And are also given some clues about Madaline and her mother’s relationship.
When everything is played out with enough information to explain what’s going on, it throws one more tiny curveball. This information will either confuse or satisfy those who love a narrative that’s not kept within the confines of its usual template.
Madeline’s Character is Played by the Writer of Welcome to Mercy
In Welcome to Mercy, I was surprised to learn the lead is played by the film’s writer Kristen Ruhlin. You know the intention of what happens on screen is what the story is intended to look like. She gives a strong performance that holds everything together combined with the ethereal cavernous landscapes and fog-filled horizons of cinematographer Igor Korpotov. Welcome to Mercy’s director is Tommy Bertelsen whose previous film Feed (2017) was his debut feature-length film.
It’s the type of film that once it’s over you think you have it all worked out. It’s only as you sit and think you suddenly realize another piece of the puzzle drops and changes your view of it. The timeline looks cut-and-dry but the more I think about it, it seems not as straight as I originally thought.
Overall Welcome to Mercy is nevertheless an eerie, well-put-together film. It doesn’t rely on jump-scares and instead concentrates on the peril of the players within its construct. Many will be left scratching their heads just a little though and it will be this that will divide its audience. Is it a straightforward possession film or something more? When the credits first rolled on my initial viewing, I was slightly confused. I do like a movie that sits with you and changes in its core value and this one does just that. There are some novel approaches to possession here, and I really liked Welcome To Mercy and the film’s ending.
Welcome to Mercy is rated
3.5 there are no jump scares here out of 5
Welcome to Mercy, A Religious Horror Movie
- Opened in theatres and digitally on November 2nd, 2018 | Alternative title is Beatus.
- For more horror with religions watch Revealer or Glorious next. A movie similar to “Welcome to Mercy” is It Lives Inside, you could watch that next too.
- Director: Tommy Bertelsen.
- Writer: Kirsten Ruhlin.
- The cast of Welcome to Mercy: Lily Newmark, Eva Ariel Binder, Kristen Ruhlin.
- Distributor: IFC Midnight.
Welcome to Mercy Trailer
