Movie Review: HERD

Herd does the unthinkable and actually does a few new things in the zombie genre but they are subtle and I found myself appreciating them all the more for that.

The basic premise of the film is that lesbian couple Jamie and Alex are on the verge of splitting up. Alex recently lost their child to a miscarriage or during labor (not 100% clear on the circumstance) but this loss has strained the couple’s relationship to the breaking point as Jamie’s pent up past and various regrets are simmering below the surface ready to boil over. Alex, unfortunately, seems to know very little of what Jamie is holding in or has suffered in her life. In order to save their relationship Alex has demanded they go on a camping retreat to work on themselves. Just as everything comes to a head Alex gets injured in an accident and there is a “zombie” virus outbreak!

The girls end up right in the middle of Jamie’s old home, a very religious and Southern fried community which Jamie never wished to return to given her ostracisation and abuse by her father over her sexuality. This makes Jamie suspicious and guarded throughout their fight for survival amongst the rednecks while Alex shines as a positive light, willing to give them a chance.

Its a great perspective from both characters, demonstrating some elements of nature vs nurture vs culture. In turns both are proven right and wrong and honestly this was refreshing because let’s face it, people and society are quite complicated. Jamie learns that most rednecks aren’t knuckle dragging thugs. Alex learns that even nice people can be driven to extreme action. Paradigms are shifted, Alex’s hated father is seen as a saint to the survivors as he was able to quickly organise the populace and save them.

This film is an excellent lesson in how to subvert a number of expectations and does so well. It’s not anti-gay, anti-redneck or Christian. You don’t get beat over the head with a message but you get the point in an entertaining and thought provoking way. This is the way things used to be done in Hollywood and how glad I was to see it handled so skilfully here. Even conventions of the zombie genre have their tropes subverted. While we do see the expected stuff, zombies being violent, humans turning on one another, media and government ideas about how to deal with the problem vs the folks on the ground, Herd masterfully manages to bring clever elements in that I had not seen before and I’ve been watching horror movies for five decades, so bravo!

The film has excellent acting, drama, and character arcs. The makeup effects are pretty good and give us a new look for a “zombie”. The direction is tight and well paced and Jamie’s point of view is the focus of the film and is shot well. There is no fat on this film, it us low budget that doesn’t look low budget, you can tell by the production values given its limited resources and they are used to maximum effect. I can highly recommend this film.

Overall;
5 Stars

Directed by: Steven Pierce
Written by: James Allerdyce & Steven Pierce
Produced by: James Allerdyce, Matt Mundy, Steven Pierce, Lori Kay, & Bret Carr
Country of Origin: United States
Language: English
Genre: Horror, Action, Independent
Distributor: Dark Sky Films
Run Time: 97 minutes
Cast: Ellen Adair (The Sinner, Homeland), Mitzi Akaha (Modern Love Tokyo), Jeremy Holm (House of Cards, Mr. Robot), Amanda Fuller (Starry Eyes, Last Man Standing), Dana Snyder (Aqua Teen Hunger Force), Brandon James Ellis (Iron Fist), Jeremy Lawson (TV’s Walker, TV’s The Real O’Neals), Corbin Bernsen (L.A. Law, Major League, The Dentist) and Timothy V. Murphy (Sons of Anarchy, Criminal Minds)