Readers who have followed my career as a writer knows how invested I am in Stephen King. As a dollar baby filmmaker, I am always on the lookout for new Stephen King properties, especially when they are based on his short stories. The latest film to head into production is Mercy, based on his short story from Skeleton Crew titled Gramma.
The story features two young boys who move with their mother into their grandmother’s house to care for her as she lies dying. The youngest boy begins to discover that his grandmother may have made a deal with very dark forces and now they are coming back to collect. It is a very disturbing story that focuses on a level with how young children deal with watching their elder loved ones die.
The movie looks to follow the same general plot line, with more added in to make it feature length. The film also seems to be in good hands with Blumhouse Productions leading the way. This is the production house that made Paranormal Activity, Insidious and Sinister, three movies that made a lot of money and got some serious critical acclaim, especially from horror aficionados.
The movie also has two great kids cast in the roles of the brothers in the movie. Chandler Riggs, who plays Carl in The Walking Dead, plays the youngest boy, who was the focus of the short story. Joel Courtney, who starred in Super 8, plays his older brother. Also starring in the cast is Dylan McDermott (American Horror Story), Frances O’Connor, Shirley Knight and Chris Browning. Peter Cornwell (The Haunting in Connecticut) directs the film.
Based on a short story by Stephen King, Mercy tells the tale of two young boys (The Walking Dead’s Chandler Riggs and Super 8’s Joel Courtney) who move with their mother to take care of their dying grandmother at her decrepit farmhouse. When they suspect that the elderly woman they love has encountered a dark spirit, they fear she might not be the only one who won’t make it through the summer alive.
Once George (Riggs) and Buddy McCoy (Courtney) arrive at their Gramma Mercy’s (Shirley Knight), what they find inside her 150-year-old home is nothing short of terrifying. As the brothers experience deeply disturbing phenomena they believe to be the work of an ancient witch, they must fight for their lives and overcome the evil forces threatening their family.
