MERCY-FUL FATE FOR FILMMAKER PATRICK RODDY
By Patrick Green
A nice, blood-soaked pat on the back for those who recognized the above reference to a relatively obscure eighties satanic metal band. “Mercy” is a nightmarish little gem from filmmaker Patrick Roddy, a UCLA grad by way of Idaho .
Here at “The Book”, as we the staff like to call it, we get a lot of what could be called “fringe” stuff, the kind of thing that the other sites don’t spend much time on because, well, because the other other sites don’t spend much time on them. “Mercy”, is a noirish nightmare that totally ignores many narrative rules, and yet –surprise!- is completely enthralling.
The plot deals with a freshly released con named John Mercy, who takes residence at a halfway house in a dying industrial town. There he meets a quirky would-be actress who awakens old desires, not all of which are healthy. Mercy’s nightmares lead him to the street corner drug dealer, whose wares in turn amplify his nightmares.
As played by Gary Shannon, “Protagonist” John Mercy is no pretty boy from the WB, but a brooding, weathered man with sad features, as if he is constantly reflecting on his troubled past.
“Very few horror films seem like nightmares to me, so I began pursuing a storyline with dream logic and dream like qualities. I also had decided to direct, produce and shoot myself on a shoestring budget. I let my film school fanatasies go. I never gave a thought to distribution or what people would think of the film. I just made a film I would like to see,” Roddy explains.
Before “Mercy”, Roddy toiled in a series of low budget features including the horror hybrids “Parasite” and “The Phantom Rider”, the latter of which included “Phantasm”’s Angus Scrimm. “Parasite”, which is included in Pendulum Pictures’ Fatal Femmes DVD 6-pack, thrust Roddy into the position of writer, producer and director straight out of film school.
As for “The Phantom Rider”: “It’s the largest film I have produced. It was great making a horror western, the stunts, guns, and effects. Angus was great. We were thrilled when he signed on. Very nice man, extremely pleasant to talk to. That film had a great cast all around. Jerry Whitworth our casting director deserves a lot of credit.”
Roddy brings a decent pedigree. While still in grad school, Roddy worked with Debra Hill and Roger Corman, learning the production and distribution ends of the biz.
Creatively, Roddy places the works of David Lynch high on his list of influences, particularly “Blue Velvet”. But “Mercy”, with its stark and moody black and white cinematography, is more evocative of “Eraserhead” or “The Elephant Man.”
In any case, fans of surreal cinema can’t go wrong with “Mercy”. Roddy’s upcoming projects include a pair of horror flicks and a spaghetti Western. Too few of those, these days, if you ask me.
www.patrickroddy.com
Read more from Patrick Green in The Dark Arts
