⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2 out of ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Intensity: 🩸🩸🩸
A tense, character-driven survival flick played against a background of feuding paramilitary groups and an epidemic of zombie infection.
Co-Written/Directed by Steven Pierce
With the — dare I say? — over-saturation of the zombie genre it’s refreshing when a story uses our shambling undead friends for something other than the entirety of its plot. Arguably (and despite outliving its own coolness), the grandfather of this shift would be TV’s The Walking Dead (2010 – 2022). Since then, the zombies-as-landscaping idea has taken on a healthy un-life of its own. Want your story to take place where even the environment can kill? Just sprinkle some zombies into the mix and suddenly rural middle-America becomes a deadly, unforgiving landscape. In Herd, co-writers Steven Pierce and James Allerdyce have done just that.
Our heroes, Jamie Miller [Ellen Adair; TV’s The Sinner (2018)] and Alex Kanai [Mitzi Akaha; Netflix’s Archive 81 (2022)], are a couple in crisis. In a last ditch effort to save their marriage, the women embark on a multi-day camping/kayaking trip hoping to shore up the cracks in their failing relationship. One heated argument and a tantrum-fueled boating accident later, the troubled duo are now facing a severely fractured leg bone and the loss of all of their equipment. As they limp back to civilization, they discover the world has changed dramatically in the days they’ve been off-grid.
Tension and suspicion run thick in Herd. As the women eventually get “rescued” by some passing survivalists, Jamie’s well-earned paranoia infects the viewer almost immediately. Having grown up in the gun-toting, narrow-minded world of her drunken father (excellently played by Corbin Bernsen), she knows from experience the deep-seated hatred/fear of “the other”. Add in the counterpoint of her partner Alex’s trusting nature and you could eat the anxiety-filled atmosphere with a fork.
In addition to our main characters’ tension, Herd piles on the conflict by pitting Big John Gruber [Jeremy Holm; Brooklyn 45 (2023)] — leader of the militia group sheltering the two women — against the leader of another local group competing for resources in the small rural town. And, of course, while Big John and “Sterling” [Timothy V. Murphy; Tragedy Girls (2017)] duke it out to be top dog of their dusty little burg, the ever-present zombie infection threatens to sweep through at any given moment.
Not that there are a lot of zombies. Usually just a few here and there or in small groups, but they all look great. Given the nature of the production’s budget, special effects makeup wiz Caitlyn Young did a remarkable job sculpting each infected zombie to be uniquely grotesque. It’s a pustule party!
As mentioned, Herd is mainly a character drama that’s played on the run while its characters dodge bullets and zombies. Pacing flies along during the action bits and the pressure cooker tension keeps the film alive during the more dramatic parts. The story itself is engaging and manages to squeeze in some sociopolitical themes: gun crazies, homophobia, and conspiracy nut-ism featuring prominently. However, its desire to make a point becomes its main failing as the movie seems to throw out its own rules — specifically regarding the zombie infection — late in the third act. Not a showstopper, but a jarring enough inconsistency to be noted.
With stellar performances by Corbin Bernsen, Ellen Adair, and Jeremy Holm, Herd offers itself up as another great example of the “new breed” of zombie fare. Herd recently enjoyed a SOLD OUT World Premiere at this year’s FrightFest UK and is currently taking the festival circuit by storm.
Review by Robert Zilbauer.