‘Shepherd’ is a horror mystery that follows Eric Black, a widower who tries to run from his past to a remote island and takes on a job as a shepherd. Mr. Black soon finds himself trapped on the island, haunted by visions of his wife’s tragic demise slowly encroaching on the man’s sanity, as he tries to keep a grip on reality.
The film opens with the funeral for Mrs. Black, with Eric seeing an ominous figure in the distance. We soon find him scrambling to make ends meet as he notes the shepherd job on a remote,wind-swept island. Before heading out to the isolated and weather-beaten island, Eric visits with his mother, only to stir up long held resentment they have for each other – the mother shaming Eric for seemingly abandoning her, and Eric unable to forgive her for dismissing his life choices.
On a boat to the island, the fisherman leading Eric to the destination appears weary of the island. Taking little notice, Eric tries to make a home for himself in the dilapidated cottage that awaits him there. On his first night, Eric feels uneasy, as even his dog seems to sense a presence there. As Eric carries out his daily duties, the sense of a dark and ominous being grows stronger until he is inexplicably greeted by his mother one morning. It is soon revealed that it is not actually her, and Eric grows increasingly more paranoid as he is haunted by the being and the guilt he feels for his wife's death.
The film crescendos as Eric is mercilessly haunted and coaxed into confessing to letting his wife die in a car accident, after which he seemingly escapes the island. Later, as Eric speaks to a DI he confirms what he has been through, only to receive a phone call from the ominous fisher who relays that she has murdered his mother, framed him for it and is coming for him. Eric proceeds to try to escape the interrogation room, only for him to open the door and find himself back on the island.
‘Shepherd’ is a horror film that follows Eric as he tries to move past the tragic death of his wife. The film doesn’t seem too concerned with trying to mask the fact that Eric had some part in the passing of his spouse, as a few visual cues indicate his sorrow, with his guilt rearing its head as tries to end his life. Moreover, the move seems to actively avoid any attempt at subtlety as Eric is haunted by visions of his wife in his dreams and is confronted by a specter taking the form of his mother. As the film progresses it seemingly wants to go a step beyond a parable about guilt, shame and penance as Eric is driven to insanity as the spirit haunting him wants him to admit his guilt and to atone for his sins. However, the feature moves from exploring the main characters guilt to punishing him, and after Eric seemingly kills the presence on the island the ominous fisher kills his mother and is now apparently gunning for him, causing confusion as to who is the main antagonist or why they are pursuing Eric.
Tom Hughes portrays Eric, and seems to do as much as he can with what he has been given by the creator, director and writer of the script, Russel Owen. Hughes does well in showcasing the sorrow and guilt that sits with the character, however, along the course of the film, the actor hasn’t been given a lot of room to expand on that, resulting in a somewhat dreary and monotonous performance, hitting a few high notes in moments of tension, but ultimately falling flat in the grand scheme of things.
Another stand-out in the film is Katie Dickie who portrays the fisher, delivering an ominous and intriguing performance initially, yet somehow faltering towards the end, as her character moves from being someone shrouded in mystery to later being revealed as some sort of lackey to the being haunting Eric on the island, thereby further convoluting and unnecessarily complicating that which should have been a straight forward metaphor for purgatory.
Thinking back on the film after it has finished, there seems to be an unmistakable impression that the feature is a sort of Frankenstein’s monster of other features, a pastiche of before seen visual and narrative cues that have been taken from other films, yet does not manage to create a lasting impact. ‘Shepherd’ may have started out as a single individuals journey to redemption, with the film showcasing magnificent scenery, but somehow got muddled part way through, as the film continuously incorporates more and more cliched horror tropes, and unfortunately loses focus on the story at hand.
Score: 0/4
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