Welcome to Knockout Horror. Today we will be reviewing Tubi Original Scottish horror, Thriller, Mercy Falls; a slow burning thriller that suddenly transforms into something of a revenge horror. This movie is part of our Low Budget Horror on Tubi feature. If you arrived here looking for an Ending Explained article for Mercy Falls then you are in the right place. Click right here to check out our Mercy Falls Ending Explained article. Keep in mind, though, unlike this review the Ending Explained article does contain spoilers.

Set in the gorgeous Scottish highlands. Mercy Falls follows a group of friends searching for a cabin passed down to one of them by their late father. On the way they meet a mysterious woman with a hidden past. Agreeing to allow the woman to come along as their hiking guide. It isn’t long before a terrible accident occurs which stretches the dynamics of the group beyond breaking point.

Lacking in Tension

We love a good, tense, thriller here in the UK; be it TV shows or movies, they are fairly common. Take the fantastic Calibre for example and Calibre is the movie that first comes to mind when watching Mercy Falls. Not just because both movies feature characters with strong Scottish accents and not at all because both movies are set in the highlands of Scotland. But because of their very similar themes of paranoia, deception and interpersonal tension. The only difference? Calibre is an absolutely fantastic movie and Mercy Falls is about as average as they come.

Let’s not beat around the bush, here, this is a story with a whole bunch of problems. I go into it in far more detail in my ending explained article so I won’t spoil anything here. But this movie has so many continuity issues that the very backbone of the story itself is brought into question. The whole how, why, where is a complete mess and the motivations of the main character make no sense. The fact that Rhona is even looking for this cabin feels a bit silly and the constant driving force behind her very particular type of personality is ludicrous to say the least.

It wouldn’t be so bad if the thriller aspect works but it just doesn’t. The kills are completely predictable thanks to characters going out of their ways to set them up. Once again, I don’t want to spoil anything, but some of the moments here are eye rolling beyond belief. With characters doing the dumbest possible thing just to guarantee that they will be completely alone and primed for the killing. It’s desperately silly stuff and robs the movie of any tension at all.

Dumb and Dumber

It doesn’t help that these are some of the dumbest characters I have seen in a movie for awhile. It’s always fun to watch old horror movies and laugh at the stupidity of the characters. You know they are going to walk right into the killer, it’s obvious that they will trip while running away. You know that they will leave the only weapon they have in a stupid place only for it to be picked up by said killer and introduced, intimately, into the character’s body holes. It’s obvious and it is part of the charm of old horror.

But here we are in 2023 still watching movies that have these traits. The characters here are so utterly stupid. They repeatedly do the exact wrong thing over and over again to a point where it is just beyond ridiculous. “Shall we split up? Yeah let’s do that, I’ll head down “gutted like a fish” valley while you take “hung from your own genitals” woods. Great plan! If we make it out alive let’s meet up in “Anally impaled on a meat hook” farm.”. Is it really that difficult to set up kills in a movie?

Do we really have to dumb ourselves down to enjoy films like this? I am sorry, but I find it hard to believe that a character would rather go for an extended walk alone in the spooky woods. While being stalked by a maniacal killer, I might add. Rather than taking a piss in front of her female best friend. Things like this happen repeatedly, as well. It’s classic “white people in horror movies” fodder and, given the theme, feels enormously out of place.

A Few Moments of Hope

There are a few things that elevate Mercy Falls slightly above similar movies. The premise of a strong woman fighting back is always welcome. Though it was done in a much better way in Hunted, a movie which Mercy Falls definitely owes a few thanks to as it lampoons its plot heavily in parts. That’s really not the thing that stands out about Mercy Falls, however, and actually serves to aid its downfall. What this movie has to elevate it is its interesting and well acted villain Carla. Sure, the dramatic presentation of PTSD as a result of military service and trauma deserves a huge amount of scorn. But Carla is fascinating and makes for a brilliant bad guy.

Unfortunately, Carla is pushed to the background to elevate the dull “incapable person finds their strength” narrative that the movie so desperately wants to push. These types of movies play out in a similar way to some of the middle age male fantasy movies like John Wick and The Equalizer. Only instead of aging men killing dozens of younger dudes, these films tend to feature middle aged women viciously fighting back against a much better armed and much better trained group of killers. If that is your type of thing then, as the kids say, Slay! As it stands, however, its dull and very uninteresting.

Generally Poorly Acted

For much of the movie, I couldn’t decide what I thought of Lauren Lyle’s performance as Rhona. She starts off fairly strongly before seeming to run out of energy as the movie roles on. Her more effective dramatic moments, during the early parts of the story, stand in stark contrast to her lackadaisical delivery later on. She only seemed really enthusiastic during romance scenes, jumping into them with a “this is my time to shine” type of enthusiasm for some noisy kissing that proves to be a misophonia sufferer’s worst nightmare. She, unfortunately, seems stiff during action scenes which really robs them of some of their drama.

Side characters are all equally lacking with barely anyone deserving any specific mention. Layla Kirk’s character, Heather, will probably annoy people but I thought Kirk did a good job and had a very natural delivery. Managing to seem like she was actually hanging out with a group of friends. It looked like she had a lot of fun. Everyone else is dishwater dull, playing their characters as generically as they can and bringing nothing of note to the film.

On the complete opposite end of the spectrum was Nicolette McKeown who was absolutely fantastic throughout. She emotes well, seemed to be having an absolute blast, was extremely capable in the physical parts and adds a ton to the movie purely through facial expressions. I loved her performance and would love to see her in more horror in the future.

Should You Watch Mercy Falls?

Mercy Falls is simply a very average thriller that you should only watch if you are desperate for something new. A stupid plot, terrible backstory, incredibly dumb characters, an unlikable cast and a protagonist that is difficult to believe in are far too much for the fantastic performance of Nicolette McKeown, the decent cinematography, and fairly interesting premise to overcome. It’s always cool to see strong women in horror movies but Rhona is not an easy character to buy into. She is unlikable and incredibly dull. The movie also deserves a fair amount of criticism for its portrayal of war veterans suffering from PTSD. This is a trope that needs to die a death. Not cool at all!