Shepherd

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2:02

Shepherd

R

Released May 6, 2022

1h 44m

Horror

Mystery & Thriller

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

70%

Tomatometer

37 Reviews

52%

Popcornmeter

Fewer than 50 Ratings

Haunted by the recent death of his wife, widower Eric Black seeks solitude as a shepherd on a remote Scottish island. As the bleak desolation of the foreboding landscape and terrifying visions begin to overwhelm him, Eric is pushed to the brink of madness. SHEPHERD is a masterful, stylish, supernatural horror thriller starring Tom Hughes ("Victoria", Cemetery Junction) and Emmy winner Greta Scacci.

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Critics Consensus

Shepherd stumbles in spots, but chilling atmosphere and a steadily building sense of dread make this a low-key treat for horror fans.

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Katie Rife

Polygon

For Shepherd to truly transcend its rickety bits and its story clichés, it would need to come up with more resonant and creative images than Owen is able to produce here.

May 6, 2022

Full Review

Noel Murray

Los Angeles Times

While the plot here is thin (and slow-paced, and oppressively grim), Owen has a remarkable facility for generating atmosphere.

May 6, 2022

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Jeannette Catsoulis

New York Times

Callum Donaldson’s marvelously icy soundscape might be doing much of the heavy lifting, but it’s Owen’s slow and steady directing style — favoring patient reveals over swift scares — that keeps this ominous horror tale firmly on track.

May 5, 2022

Full Review

William Stottor

Loud and Clear Reviews

Shepherd is an occasionally scary story of grief and isolation, but it ultimately never does anything particularly out of the ordinary or memorable.

Rated: 3/5

Jul 18, 2024

Full Review

Jessica Scott

We Who Walk Here

Though the narrative sometimes fails to coalesce, particularly regarding its psychological elements, it’s an effectively chilling tale that excels at establishing an eerie, mysterious mood.

Dec 17, 2022

Full Review

Dallas King

Flick Feast

A well crafted tale of terror. The cinematography is stunning and the sound design and score help to create an ever-increasing sense of isolation, disorientation and dread.

Rated: 3/5

Nov 12, 2022

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Brian M

The real star of the show is the cinematographer, as a good portion of the movie consists of gorgeous but grim shots of the sublime Scottish landscape accompanied by dark ambient soundscapes. Other than that, not much happens—the pacing, as is the case with many contemporary horrors, is deliberate at best, not really propelled by character motivation or any real conflict so much as a series of vague clues suggesting mysterious and supposedly sinister presence being on the island with the protagonist—a rather flat character who serves little purpose other than giving the camera an excuse for investigating the scenery. Sure, the conflict is supposedly his attempt to deal with his wife’s death, but dialogue—a key formal element a lot of contemporary horror films seem to neglect—or really any kind of characterization (other than just moping around from task to task) would push this to the forefront more than the occasional creepy dream sequence. Much of the “shocks” derive from gimmicky use of flashbacks and dreams.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

10/04/24

Full Review

Jack S

An eerily atmospheric and bleakly lonely location makes for an effective purgatory for actor Hughes (quite good here), but unfortunately not a very satisfactory or original reflection on his character’s guilt-induced madness. Very slow moving and often more confusing than scary, note also that this one is definitely not for animal lovers!

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

06/03/24

Full Review

Paulina S

I watched it thinking I was gonna be scared or at least a little bit nervous. The movie is bad, really bad, it has not a good plot, it's boring. One of the worst movies I've watched in a long time.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

02/15/24

Full Review

Jeffrey P

Slow and uneventful with a stupid ending,

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

11/11/23

Full Review

Aslam P

Really atmospheric and beautifully made. Much better than most British horror films in recent years.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

04/01/23

Full Review

brad p

Shepherd‘s atmospherics remind of the brooding cinema of Robert Eggers. But while Russell Owen's sophomore effort is a step up for the director, it's held back by some thin character development.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

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Russell Owen

Director

Tom Hughes

Eric Black

Greta Scacchi

Glenys Black

Kate Dickie

Fisher

Gaia Weiss

Rachel Black

Jamie Marie Leary

DI Carol Thomas

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Shepherd: Trailer 1

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Synopsis

Haunted by the recent death of his wife, widower Eric Black seeks solitude as a shepherd on a remote Scottish island. As the bleak desolation of the foreboding landscape and terrifying visions begin to overwhelm him, Eric is pushed to the brink of madness. SHEPHERD is a masterful, stylish, supernatural horror thriller starring Tom Hughes ("Victoria", Cemetery Junction) and Emmy winner Greta Scacci.

Director: Russell Owen
Producer: Russell Owen, Aslam Pervaiz, Karim Prince Tshibangu
Screenwriter: Russell Owen
Distributor: Saban Films
Production Co: Golden Crab Film Production, Kindred Media Group
Rating: R (Some Disturbing/Bloody Images|Language)
Genre: Horror, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: British English
Release Date (Theaters): May 6, 2022, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): May 10, 2022
Runtime: 1h 44m
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

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