“Know Mercy” (2025) follows an amnesiac, six-hundred-year old immortal named Hanokh (Xavier Avila). In the present day, he lives in Los Angeles, and only Father Thomas (Juhahn Jones) knows his secret. When Victor (Donald Fullilove), a terminally ill man with a plethora of resources and few qualms, discovers Hanokh’s secret, he decides to trap Hanokh by using his only weaknesses, his friend, Arnold (Paul L. Davis) and crush, Alicia (Aniyah Williams). Will Hanokh recover his memory before it is too late?

If you are willing to judge movies based on a curve, then stick around otherwise move on. “Know Mercy” feels more like the pilot to a broadcast television series than a standalone movie, and the end suggests room for a sequel. Also, it screams Christian drama television but without too much proselytizing or being obsessed with avoiding inappropriate content such as violence, affairs and extramarital sex. Christianity is the backdrop of the story’s mythology surrounding Hanokh’s origin story, and anyone with a passing familiarity with the Bible will immediately figure it out, but the story is also not so wedded to the source material that it is afraid to diverge. While it tends to get a little convoluted once the revelation happens, overall, it works and is the perfect content for nerd teenagers, especially blerds, who love sci-fi action and live with Christians who believe that it is a sin to have fun if it is not remotely related to the Bible in some way regardless of how tenuous the connection. If the family only has one television, this movie could pass the test.

Christian content is not known for rolling in money and high production values, which is another common trait shared with “Know Mercy.” Nothing is seamless: the acting, the special effects, the story, but it is good enough to do the job. With more money and practice, everyone could get to the next level like a CW series, but it would take patience and time. “Star Trek,” “Xena: Warrior Princess” and “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” were not always critically acclaimed, but they had a devoted audience interested in the story, and this movie has that potential.

With a runtime of eighty-three minutes, “Know Mercy” is very archetypical. The good guys go to church, and the bad guys are unethical scientists. Considering how far men of the cloth have fallen, it will be interesting to see how long their actual reputation takes to catch up in media. “The Night of the Hunter” (1955) was so long ago. The woman is a damsel in distress who needs to be rescued. The only gray character is Arnold, and if his character was cut, it may have been a more cohesive story because he drew focus from the sharper elements of the story and stalled the momentum of the film. Hanokh only needs one friend, and Thomas, who seemed comparatively interesting, serves that function. Alicia satisfies the requirement of a person who does not know his secret, and Thomas felt redundant. His moral dilemma was not compelling and felt like a distraction from the main story. It is a story pet peeve when a friend feels hurt and makes false equivalence of wrongs after discovering the hero’s secret and acts like a jerk. No, it is not the same. Let’s throw out that trope in 2025. Also, Alicia came around a skosh too quickly, but that is preferred to the alternative.

Victor is a decent villain, but “Know Mercy” could have provided more backstory regarding what he did in the past or foreshadowed some eleventh-hour revelations about his character. If a viewer does not read his character description, they may just conclude that he is an evil affluent man, not specifically a professional man, i.e. a mad scientist. Also in the future, the henchmen should be less interchangeable because a good henchman can become a big bad in the future.

If you are concerned that “Know Mercy” is a time travel movie, do not be although it does answer the question why Black people would not volunteer for time travel in the opening. If racism is annoying for mortals, imagine literally being physically superior and having to tolerate that mess. The supernatural elements stack up as it gets closer to the end, and because Hanokh does not know himself, it is forgivable that it is unclear how his powers work or what they are, which would be a great thread to develop along with the rest of the mythology. Even though Hanokh is a godly man, he clearly enjoys whooping ass, and overtime, it is an area that would be fun to build upon. The action is very 1970s fisticuffs so do not expect parkour or martial arts, but the accessible fighting style makes sense if he is a normal guy with a mysterious, unknown past.

“Know Mercy” needs to work on its women characters, which is surprising since two of three of the writers are woman. Alicia is underdeveloped and is only important because she resembles Hanokh’s past love. She is the usual damsel in distress and is not a three-dimensional character. The women characters are either nags like Alicia’s boss, Stacy (Lina Green), or Hannah (Shanequa Reed), Arnold’s wife, or comic relief like chef Janet (Sayrie, who is also a cowriter). Also, it seemed like a stretch that Alicia’s coworkers would not be more concerned about Alicia’s safety than a random man. Ella Thomas, who is another cowriter, appears as a teaser character who may be important in the future and seems to be more formidable. If Thomas looks familiar, she stood out in “Nightbitch” (2024) as the protagonist’s college friend and fellow artist.

Director and cowriter Perdell Richardson does not do anything outstanding, but he does his job which is more than some unwatchable Prime Video streaming movies do with more resources and bigger names. He is a solid conventional director who does not make a tenebrous mess in the nighttime scenes, which is more than “Game of Thrones” did in many episodes. Also, the interiors are unique, picturesque spaces which he shoots well and brings out the maximum amount of vibrant color. “Captain America: Brave New World” (2025) had more glaring visual errors with more resources so while the MCU movie on average has superior visuals, the fact that it is flawed, and Richardson’s modest film is not deserves noting. Richardson may not be Julius Onah on his best day, but he also is not Onah at his worst moment. Consistency and reliability are important qualities in media especially at the intersection of art and business. He has room to grow and hopefully will garner the right kind of attention.

“Know Mercy” is an entertaining movie that feels as if the collaboration between Richardson, Sayrie and Thomas is just beginning. Hopefully some television studio gives them a shot to expand the story. With experience and resources, it would smooth out the rough edges and could be the next “Supernatural.”