Mercy Black

Mercy Black is a 2019 American horror film written and directed by Owen Egerton. It stars Daniella Pineda as a woman who is released from a psychiatric hospital 15 years after stabbing a classmate because of an urban legend about a ghost known as Mercy Black. After her nephew Bryce (Miles Emmons) becomes obsessed with the same ghost, she comes to believe the ghost may be real. Austin Amelio and Janeane Garofalo appear in supporting roles. The film was released to Netflix on March 31, 2019, with no prior announcement.

Plot
As a teenager, Marina stabbed a classmate because she believed a ghost called Mercy Black would give her a better life. Fifteen years later, Marina is released from a psychiatric hospital to the care of her sister, Alice. To Marina's dismay, urban legends about Mercy Black have spread virally through the internet. Alice's son, Bryce, soon becomes obsessed with Mercy Black. While facing her past to help Bryce avoid the same fate, Marina questions whether Mercy Black is merely a delusion of her own creation.

Cast

 * Daniella Pineda as Marina Hess
 * Jamy Lentz as young Marina
 * Austin Amelio as Will Nylund
 * Elle LaMont as Alice Hess
 * Lee Eddy as Lily Bellows
 * Elke Boucher-Depew as young Lily
 * Miles Emmons as Bryce
 * Janeane Garofalo as Dr. Ward
 * Dylan Gage as Sam
 * Rochelle Robinson as Mrs. Cline
 * Jessie Tilton as Rebecca Cline
 * Sophiánna Smith as young Rebecca

Production
Writer-director Egerton said he began researching childhood crimes after the Slender Man stabbing. One of the inspirations for the story was Mary Bell, who had murdered two toddlers when she was a child. Bell had been granted a new identity after being released from jail, but tabloid reporters discovered her new identity. Producers wanted the protagonist to be innocent, but Egerton told them that the story depended on facing one's past.

Release
Mercy Black was released on Netflix with no advance notice on March 31, 2019.

Reception
Rotten Tomatoes, a review aggregator, reports that 33% of nine surveyed critics gave the film a positive review; the average rating is 4.6/10. Based on four reviews, Metacritic rated it 48/100, which it labels "mixed or average reviews". Noel Murray of the Los Angeles Times compared it favorably to Slender Man, calling it "nerve-wracking throughout". Matthew Monagle of The Austin Chronicle rated it 2/5 stars and criticized the film for exploiting mental illness as a plot device instead of making intelligent observations. William Bibbiani of IGN rated it 5.5/10 and wrote that the film fails to live up to its disturbing premise because of the poor writing and direction.