The official synopses for a couple of upcoming Universal Pictures films have been released.  Director Peter Cornwell’s (The Haunting in Connecticut) supernatural thriller Mercy is based on the short story of the same name by Stephen King and stars Chandler Riggs (The Walking Dead) and Joel Courtney (Super 8) as two young boys who, after moving with their mother to take care of their dying grandmother at a decrepit farmhouse, encounter a dark spirit.  Shirley Knight, Frances O’Connor, Mark Duplass, and Dylan McDermott also star in this Jason Blum-produced (Paranormal Activity) thriller.

Additionally, we’ve got an official synopsis for the action-comedy Ride Along.  Directed by Tim Story (Fantastic Four), the film stars Kevin Hart as a fast-talking aspiring police officer who must team up with his girlfriend’s brother, a hot-tempered cop (Ice Cube), to prove that he’s worthy of being her husband.  The film also stars John Leguizamo, Jay Pharoah, and Laurence Fishbourne and opens on January 17, 2014.  Hit the jump to read the full synopses.

Here’s the synopsis for Mercy:

Based on a short story by Stephen King, Mercy tells the tale of two young boys (The Walking Dead’s Chandler Riggs and Super 8’s Joel Courtney) who move with their mother to take care of their dying grandmother at her decrepit farmhouse. When they suspect that the elderly woman they love has encountered a dark spirit, they fear she might not be the only one who won’t make it through the summer alive. Once George (Riggs) and Buddy McCoy (Courtney) arrive at their Gramma Mercy’s (Shirley Knight), what they find inside her 150-year-old home is nothing short of terrifying. As the brothers experience deeply disturbing phenomena they believe to be the work of an ancient witch, they must fight for their lives and overcome the evil forces threatening their family. Directed by Peter Cornwell (The Haunting in Connecticut), Mercy is produced by Jason Blum of Blumhouse (Paranormal Activity, Insidious, Sinister), McG (Terminator Salvation, Charlie’s Angels) and Mary Viola (Brooklyn’s Finest, We Are Marshall) of Wonderland Sound and Vision.

Here’s the synopsis for Ride Along:

Kevin Hart and Ice Cube lead the lineup in Ride Along, the new film from the director and the producer of the blockbuster comedy Think Like a Man. When a fast-talking guy joins his girlfriend’s brother—a hot-tempered cop—to patrol the streets of Atlanta, he gets entangled in the officer’s latest case. Now, in order to prove that he deserves his future bride, he must survive the most insane 24 hours of his life. For the past two years, high-school security guard Ben (Hart) has been trying to show decorated APD detective James (Cube) that he’s more than just a video-game junkie who’s unworthy of James’ sister, Angela (Tika Sumpter). When Ben finally gets accepted into the academy, he thinks he’s earned the seasoned policeman’s respect and asks for his blessing to marry Angela. Knowing that a ride along will demonstrate if Ben has what it takes to take care of his sister, James invites him on a shift designed to scare the hell out of the trainee. But when the wild night leads them to the most notorious criminal in the city, James will find that his new partner’s rapid-fire mouth is just as dangerous as the bullets speeding at it. John Leguizamo and Laurence Fishburne join the cast of the action-comedy directed by Tim Story. Ride Along is produced by Will Packer (Think Like a Man), alongside Ice Cube, Matt Alvarez (Barbershop) and Larry Brezner (Good Morning, Vietnam).