Karthik Subbaraj has had fun with the undead in Pizza, and the unlovely in Jigarthanda, but this one is a much-too stretched out misguided mess, masquerading as a parable.

Because Mercury finds context, and not just gimmickry, in its treatment of sound. It remains scary precisely because the actual ghosts are never seen, but only ever heard about. Just like real life.

There’s something very pompous about the basic pitch of this movie that slowly chews away at its core..

Prabhudheva as the entity is scary at first. But there are times when his piercing cries get a little too much and are rendered ineffective. The way how the filmmaker has tried to tie-up corporate disasters to the film’s story is commendable, but he also tries a lot to simplify the story which gets in the way of the scary parts considering the film only runs for 108 minutes. However, as thrillers go, this is one of the better ones that we have seen this year.

Four lads and a girl are at a school reunion and are happily partying when they accidentally run over someone. They find themselves trapped in an old abandoned factory at the mercy of a madman. The terror is doubled because the protagonists are speech and hearing impaired. It’s an interesting experiment but the loud background music fails many, many times. As does the overacting.

Overall, to appreciate any good piece of art, one needs to ruminate to find a meaning in its composition. Despite not breaking any barriers, Mercury offers a lot to ruminate about, not in an organic manner but a forced one.

At just over 100 minutes, Mercury is quite slick, and there aren’t any dull moments until the final act ruins everything and leaves a bad aftertaste. That’s just such a pity.

Give it a watch if you want to experience something fresh because Mercury is worth a watch.