Shepherd review: Rarified atmosphere, common horror-movie problem

A new Scottish horror-drama Shepherd suffers from a classic case of Dead Wife Syndrome, a storytelling ailment where a protagonist’s longing for/guilt over their deceased spouse dictates the plot in a reductive, predictable way. This common condition is characterised by a flashback in which the deceased wife stares at her camera while the sun shines through her hair. This is the most common symptom of this disease. ShepherdThe flashback occurs when the wife, dressed in a tartan skirt with leather jacket on a cold Scottish shore, is blissfully unaware of what lies beyond.

That isn’t the only box on the DWS checklist that Shepherd ticks, either. The photo also contains a prominently placed ultrasound picture that indicates she was actually pregnant at the time she died. She also had frequent panic attacks about her funeral. There are unspoken and unspoken details about her death. All of the signs are there: Shepherd’s diagnosis is indisputable.

It’s possible for a film to overcome Dead Wife Syndrome — take The ChangelingThe 1980 classic haunted house horror film, “The Ghost of George C. Scott” begins with Scott fleeing to his isolated mansion in order to grieve the loss of his wife and child. But Shepherd isn’t unique enough to beat the condition.The Discovery of Witches’ Tom Hughes stars as Eric Black, the grieving husband, who takes a job as a solitary caretaker for a flock of sheep on a remote island off Scotland’s western coast. When the movie begins, Eric’s wife and unborn child are already dead, so he can’t be driven to murder them. There are other things. parallels to Stephen King’s ShiningBegin immediately by introducing Kate Dickie (British character actor) as a milky-eyed captain. The Witch It was recently seen in The Green Knight The Northman.

It’s never entirely clear whether Dickie’s character is a real, flesh-and-blood person, or the cruel manifestation of Eric’s suffering conscience. Either way, after serving as the Charon on Eric’s personal boat to Hades, she tortures him with taunting phone calls that speed up his Shining-style rapid descent into isolated madness. (The entire film, from Eric’s arrival on the island to the story’s resolution, unfolds over the course of about a week.) Aside from Dickie’s threatening voice, Eric’s only companion for the majority of the film is his dog Baxter, whose arc earns this film a trigger warning for the kind of animal-lovers who haunt DoesTheDogDie.com. And then there’s the lighthouse, which clanks like a junk-store robot and comes stuffed with ominous taxidermy.

There’s a fair amount of upsetting imagery in ShepherdNot all of this involves animals. Eric engages in self-harm and the ghost of death follows him everywhere throughout the movie. These are the actual events. ShepherdThey are mostly magical in their nature. Eric discovers the rugged island and has nightmares about Rachel (Gaia Wiss). He also jumps at shadows at night. That’s about it, except for the scene where he finds a dusty journal and opens to a page reading, “She’s a witch! She’s here!” (That thread gets lost almost immediately, but it does set an eerie tone.)

Image: Saban Films

Russell Owen, writer-director of the nautical haunted house movie, is an appealing idea. He has a talent for creating a eerie atmosphere. This pairs nicely with cinematographer Richard Stoddard’s appreciation for the film’s desolate, windswept locations, which he captures in a more dynamic range of colors than one might expect from heavy clouds, wet rocks, and dry grass. There’s some eye-catching color work going on in this film in general, combined with settings that look lived-in enough that it’s hard to tell whether they were pre-existing locations or sets created for the film. They’re striking either way.

Some of these elements are responsible for the movie’s low-budget limitations, like a crude rear-projection shot and off-the-rack makeup effects. But 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. The symbolism of this movie is dark and despairing, yet it also comes from an familiar, well-expected place. Combined with the influences bobbing right on the surface of the script — The Lighthouse is another big one — ShepherdThis is more of an arthouse horror film about grief that a true example.

Shepherd Premieres will take place in theatres May 6, and the film will also be available digitally for rental or purchase May 10.