Mercy Road is an insanely intense 86 minutes that had me googling synonyms for the word “intense.” It is an extreme, unique and ever-escalating wild ride.

 

Almost the entire bare-bones film takes place inside a car - or a work truck, to be more precise. The lead character, Tom, is almost the only person we see for the whole movie. The story is completely carried by actor Luke Bracey’s performance, which is gripping, grueling and, yes, intense. 

 

Mercy Road is a fast-paced psychological thriller during which we race with Tom through a dark night of the soul. He’s trying to save his daughter’s life while battling all manner of mental and emotional obstacles in the form of calls and video calls from people he knows, some he doesn’t – and one who is a straight-up cold-blooded psychopath.

 

But is Tom a psychopath, too? We’re not sure. You see, he commits a terrible crime just off-screen at the very start of the movie, but we don’t see it and we have to learn about it during his phone calls with other characters. 

 

The crime wasn’t easy for Tom, that much we know – he’s bloodied and bruised himself. Plus, he’s clearly tortured emotionally from the very first frame and it only gets worse as the film goes on. I thought Bracey’s performance was spectacular and expect to see his acting career skyrocket from this point.

 

Mercy Road’s filmmakers did an incredible job building tension, anxiety, terror and unease for the viewer using only the lead actor’s performance, terrific sound work, great lighting and a few diabolical tricks. 

 

Without giving too much away, I’ll just tell you that if you are an arachnophobe, you may want to sit this film out. There’s a spider scene that I may never shake off as long as I live.

 

Some may argue that the spider scene was a cheap trick to amp up the spooky, eerie and unsettling feeling of the film – my answer to that is “Well, it worked, didn’t it?” Because it surely does.

 

The ending is not as conclusive as I personally like – it’s one of those ambiguous endings that some thrillers employ to keep you guessing all the way out of the theatre and into the next day. Still, it’s a rock solid hour and a half of intensity.

 

Watch Mercy Road on the big screen, where you’ll be fully immersed in the terror and tension. Or watch it home on the biggest screen you have and crank up the sound to truly feel the pressure and psychodrama. But whatever you do, just be sure not to miss this truly unique thriller.