Mercy (2006, Patrick Roddy)

"Mercy" is a nicely bleak, somewhat "art-film" about a guy who is released from prison after a 20-year sentence. We don't know exactly what he did (though we get a good idea later on), but it's suggested to have been a rather savage crime. As he is forced to re-enter society - he must adhere to his parole by living in a tiny hotel room/halfway house, working a shitty factory job, no drugs/booze and he has to report to a bureaucratic bald asshole for regular 'check-ins'. Standard shit, until he meets a chick in a bar and strikes up a little romantic relationship with her. From there, some bizarre things begin to happen. He starts seeing a sort of apparition of a blood drooling girl with her throat slashed up and, eventually, he starts waking up with parts of his body either missing or fucked up (pinky finger, eye, etc.)... The rest you just need to see for yourself.

Don't expect an action-packed rollercoaster ride out of "Mercy". It's a slow, subdued, "noir-ish" film, though it's well shot, relatively engaging and suitably acted, with a good deal of David Lynch influence. Nothing that's going to absolutely knock your socks off, I'm sure, but I'd definitely say that "Mercy" deserves a bit more recognition than I'm sure it's gotten.