Beatus (2018)

Beatus: Directed by Tommy Bertelsen. With Marta Kessler, Lily Newmark, Eileen Davies, Kristen Ruhlin. When a single mother begins to experience symptoms of the stigmata, she seeks the help of a local priest and nun to help her understand what is seen and unseen.

“Was really intrigued by the concept, one of the most promising concepts for any film seen recently. Likewise with the attention grabbing title. The cover was creepy. Although the rating is as of now low, decided not to take it to mean it was going to be bad despite a lot of films seen recently with low ratings actually being that bad. Due to that there are low-rated films that to me were decent.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eSeeing u0026#39;Welcome to Mercyu0026#39;, it may not be a great film and could have done much more with its potential. u0026#39;Welcome to Mercyu0026#39; doesnu0026#39;t completely squander this potential though and there are good, the best very good, assets to the film, so itu0026#39;s far from a bad watch and a long way from a must avoid. Instead one of those watchable if uneven film worth a view once but not one of those films that will hold up to repeat viewings. Personal opinion of course.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eLets start off with the good things. u0026#39;Welcome to Mercyu0026#39; looks surprisingly good, would go as far to call it great. It is very slick and stylish, with photography that does not look amateurish despite not being made on a big budget, and very atmospherically lit, a creepy moodiness is effectively evoked. The sound has an eeriness and doesnu0026#39;t come over as over-bearing or obvious.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAtmosphere-wise, u0026#39;Welcome to Mercyu0026#39; is quite effective quite a lot of the time. There is an unsettling vibe, tension and jolting creepiness that keeps one glued, the build ups not too foreseeable and parts did make me bite my nails and my palms sweat. The third act is where the film is strongest, with great atmosphere and kept me engaged and glued to the seat, capped off by an unexpected ending. The acting is better than average and even most cases quite good.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eHowever, the pacing is rather dull to begin with, parts could have been tightened and less stretched and not everything felt necessary, and some of the middle act could have done with more clarity in explanations, not everything makes as much sense as ought.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eDespite not having a problem with the acting, the characters are thinly sketched with vague motivations and there are decisions that donu0026#39;t always ring true. The script tends to be pretty weak in momentum and flow (needed to be tighter and more natural) and didnu0026#39;t seem complete.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eOverall, watchable and not a film to avoid but could have been much more. 5/10 Bethany Cox”