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.

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

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.