Okay, I'm going to get straight to the worst part of the movie. The story.

Writer and director Owen Egerton does a splendid job of telling the tale of Mercy Black... until he wrecks it all at the end. There are two reasons for this.

One: He overcooks the story. The main storyline needed to be a thriller or a monster movie; not both. After choosing one of these, he could've threaded in elements of the other. Done correctly, it would help to ease the atrocious ending.

Two: The death and murder of Lily. This is the thriller element. From the start of the story, we are told Lily is dead. Our heroine Marina and her friend Rebecca murdered her. There's a scene between Will and Marina where Will brings up the murder. He also states there's been a copycat. Next, we see newspaper headlines and internet postings about the murder. Even Marina's sister, Alice, mentions it in an argument. However, at the end of the film, not only are we told Lily is alive and who she is but that Marina's psychiatrist knew about her all along. This is Bullsh## bad writing.

I was enjoying the film and the story until this point. I came close to turning the film off. You can forgive certain things like the unoriginal story - you can discern similarities with Candyman (which is being rebooted) and the Slenderman urban myth and reality. However, completely ignoring your own story's universe for a cheap "red herring" twist is lazy and unforgivable.

There's an easy fix: Change the murder charge and headlines to attempted murder. Marina would still be schizophrenic. All Egerton would then need to do is instil "the murder belief" into her delusions. Alter some of the characters' lines to align with these beliefs. Then use her delusions to add interest, confusion, and disbelief. Building the mystery and thriller sections of the movie and an adding eerie atmosphere.

Nonetheless, the story up to this letdown is interesting. Egerton is good at character creation. I loved Marina and her nephew Bryce. Their relationship and trust comes easily and feels natural. He also produces one of the best slimeballs of recent times, with Will Nylund. Though he comes across as friendly and helpful, this guy cares nothing for nobody but himself. Then you have Rebecca's mom. It's clear she's on the verge of a full mental breakdown.

Luckily for the audience, the cast is perfect in their portrayals. I have to give respect to Rochelle Robinson, who strikes the ideal balance between sane and insane. You can literally see the changes in emotion in Mrs Cline's face. The hope in her eyes when she believes Marina may help her daughter. This is replaced with love and reminiscence when she tells Marina that they will always be children in her eyes. This is an impressive performance. Robinson could have easily toppled off the fence and come across as hammy and silly. However, she adds a nice depth to Mrs Cline. I empathised with this woman and her predicament.

The audience is also fortunate that Egerton is better behind the camera. He works well with shadow and light. Using it to create a tense and spooky atmosphere. They show this early on. On her first night, Marina's awoken by a noise. She gets out of bed to find the source of the sound. Egerton shoots up the staircase, centring it, and shrouding it in night shadows. Then he goes one better by giving the viewers a shot down the stairs to reveal two puddles of light in the hallway. The extended silence after Marina shouts, "Is anybody there?" adds to the unease you experience. This scene is atmospheric and well-constructed. And there are similar throughout the movie.

If you don't care too much for story continuity and lazy writing this film will be worth your viewing pleasure. However, if you're like me, then the writing F.U.B.A.R. will leave you unhappy. With that in mind, it's your choice. The film is entertaining; the cast is great, and the direction is above par, but I won't be watching this again.

Ratings: Story 0.75 : Direction 1.5 : Pace 1.25 : Acting 1.25 : Enjoyment 1 : Total 5.75 / 10

Swim across to my Absolute Horror and Killer Thriller Chiller lists to see where this lackadaisical story landed.

Marina Hess (Daniella Pineda ) is let out of the mental institute after 15 years. She was involved in some mischief as a child and blamed it all on Mercy Black, and imaginary figure. Mercy Black has gone viral with copycat killings designed to make Mercy a person again. Marina lives with her sister Alice (Elle LaMont ) and her young nephew Bryce (Miles Emmons). Bryce starts seeing Mercy Black and Marina must figure out, as does the audience if Mercy is real or not.

This is similar to the Slender Man story. I wished Mercy Black had some sort of background story, but didn't. I liked the slow build-up and the ending. The production could have used a few more scenes and slowed things up a bit at the end.

Guide: No swearing, sex, or nudity.

Someone is watching weird Lifetime Network movies ... or maybe I have a very different take on them. Yes in this horror movie there is darkness and drama hidden, but I would never compare it to what that network is doing. And I would never tell you what to think of them ... unless I am reviewing them of course. But that is not the case here.

Enough of that and as always everyone is entitled to his or her view. No matter how they perceive something, it is their thing - so is my opinion. There is no right or wrong - even if I'm always right of course ... I'm kidding (maybe). Seriously though: this is not a fun movie, but rather a recapping and reliving the past ... having to go through something again, that really tainted ones childhood is not fun at all. I can still make jokes reviewing of course ... unless you do not approve - but if that is the case you've already quit me.

Hopefully you won't quit the movie, because it is quite neat and well told. Good performances and a story that can hold the tension from start to finish. Yes there are cliches and you may or may not like the ending (hey, it had to happen one way or another, right?),but you can't deny that this is very well done! Not something all horror movies (especially low budget ones) can say ... and the acting is also good.