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Stars: Ellen Adair, Mitzi Akaha, Jeremy Holm, Timothy V. Murphy, Corbin Bernsen | Written by Steven Pierce, James Allerdyce, Matt Mundy | Directed by Steven Pierce

Director Steven Pierce, whose resume – until now – consisted of short films and Concert features, turns his hand to his first full-length scripted film with Herd – the latest in a very long line of zombie movies. And also the latest in a long line of zombie movies that aren’t Just about the impending end of civilisation at the hands of the shuffling undead. In fact, Herd has a Lot of levels to it. A lot.

On the surface it’s about a woman, Jamie (Ellen Adair), and her partner Alex trying to survive a just-begun zombie outbreak but scratch a little deeper and you get a story about a troubled relationship – not just the one between Jamie and Alex but also Jamie’s father, played by...

A troubled lesbian couple. Strangers in the backwoods. A warring militia. A rural zombie outbreak. My, that’s a lot to pack into a film, but first-time director Steven Pierce does his best in Herd, a zombie movie that feels all too familiar. In a recent interview, Pierce said he liked to think of Herd as an extended episode of The Last of Us. It certainly has that feel. Still, despite its lean script and low-budget feel, the film occasionally sizzles thanks to the actors, most of whom turn in memorable performances.

Herd revolves around one lesbian couple’s attempt to repair their strained marriage. Jamie (Ellen Adair) and her wife, Alex (Mitzi Akaha), embark on a canoe trip in rural Missouri. Tension mounts. Alex frets because Jamie is closed off. Jamie can’t shake past trauma. When Alex breaks her leg, Jamie drags her wife to find help. Some folks they meet seem friendly.

To celebrate the release of Steven Pierce’s Herd, available to own on DVD & Digital from 23rd October, we are giving away DVDs to 2 lucky winners!

Have you Herd…? There’s a brand-new action-packed zombie thriller from Steven Pierce coming to our screens, starring The Sinner’s Ellen Adair (Homeland, The Sinner) as a woman trying to outrun her past, but who accidentally runs headlong into a rampant zombie outbreak and a raging war between militia groups…

With her marriage on the rocks, Jamie (Adair) convinces her wife, Alex (Mitzi Akaha – Archive 81), to join her on a make-or-break canoe trip to her remote hometown in rural Missouri, where her father still lives. But when an accident leaves Alex with a broken leg, things quickly go from bad to worse to unimaginable…

When they finally reach the town, they discover it’s been overrun by Heps – virus-infected humans turned bloody-thirsty zombies...

Group think takes a gritty turn in director Steven Pierce’s action-driven horror film Herd, which recently wowed Fright Fest audiences before heading to theaters and digital release. The plot is rife with tension as individuals from vastly different walks of life intersect, forcing a desperate fight for survival.

The plot tracks Jamie (Ellen Adair of Bull) and her wife, Alex (Mitzi Akaha of Archive 81), at a major intersection in their lives. In an attempt to save their failing marriage, they embark on a canoe trip in rural Missouri, only to find themselves stranded after an accident. While making their way back to the nearest small town, they’re shocked to discover it has been taken over by a virus-infected, extreme right-wing militia, known as “Heps.” Suddenly, Jamie and Alex find themselves battling the Heps.

The film also stars Corbin Bernsen, Dana Snyder (Aqua Teen Hunger Force), Amanda Fuller (Last Man Standing), Jeremy Holm,...

The new film Herd by Steven Pierce is a messy zombie thriller that tries too hard to be too focused on the human elements in its storytelling. Written alongside James Allerdyce, Pierce has failed to give the film a consistent vision. At one point, the story revolves purely around the lesbian couple Jamie and Alex. The segment dragged on, and then suddenly the zombie plot resumed. There is also a pseudo-dystopian drama in the middle of it all, and there are moments between characters that seem too random to be appreciated, even though they may have been acted well. The story begins with Jamie and Alex going out canoeing with the motive of mending their broken relationship. Things go south, and the couple is forced to seek help from the locals, who have their own idea of dealing with the ‘Heps’.

Spoilers Ahead

Plot Synopsis: What Happens In The Film?...

Despite a fairly predictable story, first-time director Steven Pierce makes some interesting tweaks to the formula with a final act that confounds expectations

Like every zombie-themed movie ever, this low-budget American feature directed by debutant Steven Pierce (co-written by Pierce and James Allerdyce) has a subtext; this one so close to the surface it’s barely sub, about schisms that divide communities. Quite often, the factions in zombie stories cleave along class lines or ethnicity. But Herd mixes the formula up in a number of interesting ways; for starters, by casting as the heroines lesbian spouses Jamie (Ellen Adair) and Alex (Mitzi Akaha), city dwellers on a camping trip trying to heal marital wounds after the loss of a child.

Thus the women are already semi-outsiders in rural Missouri where they’re visiting, although it’s near where Jamie grew up. Not that this puts her more at ease, given...

"Sometimes we have to do... things we don't want." Dark Sky Films + Framework Prod. have revealed the official trailer for the indie horror film Herd, made by filmmaker Steven Pierce. We posted a trailer for this a few months ago before its world premiere at FrightFest earlier this year. When a woman trying to outrun her past ends up trapped between a zombie outbreak (spread by a virus called "Heps") and warring militia groups, she is caught in a world where some fight for survival but others fight for control. This stars Corbin Bernsen, Timothy V. Murphy, Ellen Adair, Mitzi Akaha, and Jeremy Holm. This looks like it gets super gnarly in the second half with all the people in town turning against each other, not to mention the zombies. The film has been receiving positive reviews. Dark Sky adds: "Steven Pierce has crafted a film that brilliantly ratchets up...

‘A portrait of a society at vicious odds with itself… primed to explode, as though the old west, with its territorial disputes and shootouts, had never ended. Yet in its central couple it offers an alternative model, and the possibility of healing, both personal and national’

Projected Figures

‘Proffers commentary on recent and current social issues including pandemic-related and political ones while delivering relationship drama and zombie suspense…. impressive… terrific performances’

Horror Fuel

‘A zombie movie in essence, but it’s the other concerns that make this far more interesting than the usual horde of cannibalistic apocalypse movies… With a doomy musical score and naturalistic cast, this emotional character piece that examines the political fragility of rural America during an extreme situation proves to be a real palate cleanser’

The Geek Show

Starring:

Ellen Adair, Jeremy Holm, Timothy V. Murphy, Corbin Bernsen and Mitzi Akaha (Archive 81).

Have you Herd…? There...

Following a successful world premiere at London’s FrightFest, Dark Sky Films today announced it has acquired North American distribution rights to Herd, an action-driven horror film and the directorial debut from Steven Pierce, co-written by Pierce and James Allerdyce. Herd stars Ellen Adair (Trick, Cryptid), Mitzi Akaha (Bashira), Jeremy Holm (The Ranger, Brooklyn 45, Black Mold), Amanda Fuller (Starry Eyes, All the Creatures Were Stirring) among others. The film, which premiered on IMAX at Cineworld to a sold-out crowd in Leicester Square, London, will be released in theaters and on VOD in October 2023.

The distribution arrangement was negotiated by Greg Newman, Executive Vice President of Dark Sky Films, and Bill Straus of Bridge Independent.

Herd tells the story of a woman trying to outrun a past complicated by an abusive father. When she and her wife end up trapped between a zombie outbreak and warring militia groups in her hometown,...

There are people out there who will shamble into line for every single zombie film that comes along. For others, it’s all getting a little tired. Most of them play out in exactly the same way. We know the rules. We know that there will be misery and sacrifice, with few, if any, survivors. It’s a little too much like real life. Every now and again, however, something different comes along.

It has been 38 years since anything has shaken up the genre quite like Herd.

One of the most eagerly anticipated films at Frightfest 2023, Steven Pierce’s film begins in a familiar way. A man – Robert – drives down a country road at a hectic pace, generating a cloud of dust. He rushes into his barn, and though he doesn’t notice it, viewers will immediately be fixated on the fact that he has left the door open. He picks up.

Have you Herd…? There’s a brand-new action-packed zombie thriller from Steven Pierce coming to our screens, starring The Sinner’s Ellen Adair (Homeland, The Sinner) as a woman trying to outrun her past, but who accidentally runs headlong into a rampant zombie outbreak and a raging war between militia groups…

High Fliers is thrilled to announce that following its highly anticipated World Premiere at FrightFest 2023 on Saturday 26th August 2023, you can join the Herd on digital and physical this October.

With her marriage on the rocks, Jamie (Adair) convinces her wife, Alex (Mitzi Akaha – Archive 81), to join her on a make-or-break canoe trip to her remote hometown in rural Missouri, where her father still lives. But when an accident leaves Alex with a broken leg, things quickly go from bad to worse to unimaginable…

When they finally reach the town, they discover it’s been overrun by Heps – virus-infected...

Framework Productions is thrilled to share the first trailer for action horror Herd. Officially Selected for this years FrightFest, the film will celebrate its World Premiere on 26th August 2023 at the iconic horror festival. Directed by Steven Pierce, the film stars Corbin Bernsen (Major League, Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang, LA Law), Timothy V. Murphy (Snowpiercer, National Treasure: Book of Secrets), Ellen Adair (Homeland, Bull, The Sinner) Mitzi Akaha (Archive 81) and Jeremy Holm (Mr. Robot, House of Cards). Herd follows Jamie Miller (Adair) and her wife, Alex (Akaha) trying to save their failing marriage by going on an isolated trip in rural Missouri. After an accident, the women find themselves trapped back in Jamie’s small hometown and where her father lives (Bernsen), which has become overrun by virus infected ‘Heps’. Big John Gruber (Holm) and his clan help Jamie and Alex by shuttling them to a local vet, who sets Alex’s leg.

"Some fight for survival. Others fight for control." Framework Prod. has revealed the teaser trailer for an indie horror thriller called Herd, made by filmmaker Steven Pierce. This is premiering pretty soon at the FrightFest Horror Festival in London this summer, hence the first trailer dropping now to build some buzz. When a woman trying to outrun her past ends up trapped between a zombie outbreak (from a virus called "Heps") and warring militia groups, she is caught in a world where some fight for survival but others fight for control. As usual in this kind of apocalyptic situations. The film stars Corbin Bernsen, Timothy V. Murphy, Ellen Adair, Mitzi Akaha, and Jeremy Holm. "I am beyond enthusiastic that Herd is making its World Premiere at FrightFest in London. Alan Jones and his team put on one of the most exciting genre events in the world and I am so proud to be a contributor,...

Officially selected for this year’s FrightFest, zombie movie Herd will have its World Premiere on August 26 at the festival, and Bloody Disgusting has the exclusive trailer for ya today.

Directed by Steven Pierce, the film from Framework Productions stars Corbin Bernsen, Timothy V. Murphy, Ellen Adair, Mitzi Akaha (Archive 81) and Jeremy Holm.

Herd follows Jamie Miller (Adair) and her wife, Alex (Akaha) trying to save their failing marriage by going on an isolated trip in rural Missouri. After an accident, the women find themselves trapped back in Jamie’s small hometown and where her father lives (Bernsen), which has become overrun by virus infected ‘Heps’.

Big John Gruber (Holm) and his clan help Jamie and Alex by shuttling them to a local vet, who sets Alex’s leg. A horde of heps descends on the vet’s office, forcing the group to flee to a warehouse the locals are using as a survival base.

The horror festival runs August 24-28 in London

Joe Stephenson’s Doctor Jekyll starring Eddie Izzard will have its world premiere at the UK’s horror and fantasy film festival FrightFest (August 24-28) as the full line-up is unveiled.

Izzard will play Nina Jekyll, the infamous scientist with a dark alter-ego, in a modern adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s book by placing a woman in the titular role.

Doctor Jekyll is one of 25 world premieres screening at the festival, which takes place at Cineworld Leicester Square in London.

Opening FrightFest will be the European premiere of Joe Lynch’s...

FrightFest, the UK’s biggest, best and most beloved community-driven horror & fantasy film festival, returns in a blaze of gory glory to the Cineworld Leicester Square, London, for its 24th edition, a press release announced this morning.

“Running from Thursday August 24 – Monday 28 August, Pigeon Shrine FrightFest is a joyful big screen celebration of genre cinema, offering a carnival of carnage, a smorgasbord of shock and a tableau of terror. This year, over five days, audiences can explore the magic of menace, mayhem and mischief with seventy films programmed across four screens. There are twenty-five world, twenty-three International / European and twelve UK premieres, with fourteen countries represented, spanning five continents.

The festival opens with the European premiere of Suitable Flesh, the latest shocker from FrightFest favourite Joe Lynch, who has created an outlandish love letter to the late, great Re-Animator director Stuart Gordon; a new body horror take on H.P Lovecraft...

FrightFest, the UK genre festival, has unveiled the lineup for its latest edition (August 24-28).

The event opens with the European premiere of Suitable Flesh, the latest pic from FrightFest regular Joe Lynch. The pic follows a psychiatrist who becomes obsessed with one of her young clients with multiple personalities. The film is co-produced and co-stars Barbara Crampton.

The Sacrifice Game, from director Jenn Wexler, receiving its European premiere, is the closing night film. The festival has described the film as a wild, thrilling ride and a tribute to the beauty and boldness of classic 1970s horror.

This year the festival will host seven world premieres, including Nick Psinakis’s Cheat, Matt Sampere’s Halloween slasher Creeping Death, Raymond Wood’s feminist revenge-fantasy Faceless After Dark, Steven Pierce’s zombie survivalist thriller Herd, and Michael J. Hurst’s wild science fiction shocker Transmission.

Announcing the lineup today, fest co-director Alan Jones...

Stars: Ellen Adair, Mitzi Akaha, Jeremy Holm, Timothy V. Murphy, Corbin Bernsen | Written by Steven Pierce, James Allerdyce, Matt Mundy | Directed by Steven Pierce

Director Steven Pierce, whose resume – until now – consisted of short films and Concert features, turns his hand to his first full-length scripted film with Herd – the latest in a very long line of zombie movies. And also the latest in a long line of zombie movies that aren’t Just about the impending end of civilisation at the hands of the shuffling undead. In fact, Herd has a Lot of levels to it. A lot.

On the surface it’s about a woman, Jamie (Ellen Adair), and her partner Alex trying to survive a just-begun zombie outbreak but scratch a little deeper and you get a story about a troubled relationship – not just the one between Jamie and Alex but also Jamie’s father, played by...

Bloody Disgusting has an exclusive look at the art for Herd, a new zombie horror film shooting this April under the direction of Steven Pierce. Ellen Adair is set to star in the upcoming horror indie co-written by Pierce and James Allerdyce. The film tells the story of a woman who ends […]

The post Ellen Adair Shambles to Zombie Horror ‘Herd’; Exclusive Poster Art appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Exclusive: Mather Zickel (Better Things) will star alongside Olivia Applegate, Clé Bennett, Zoé De Grand Maison, Nicholas Logan Sam Trammell and Jessica Frances Dukes in Michael Patrick Jann’s Western horror film Organ Trail for Paramount Pictures, which has wrapped production.

The film written by Meg Turner finds a young Abigale Archer friendless and alone in a brutal Montana winter during the 1870s—fighting for survival and to retrieve her one earthly possession, her family’s horse, from a gang of bloodthirsty bandits. Zickel is playing Pa Archer, a gaunt but imposing figurehead that has a commanding energy balanced by an instinctive compassion. In the throes of a brutal Montana winter, Pa’s steadfastness and sense of purpose—along with the skills he learned as a soldier in the Civil War—are the foundation on which his family’s survival rests. Jann is producing alongside David Codron.

Zickel will next...

Exclusive: Corbin Bernsen (Showtime’s City on a Hill), Timothy V. Murphy (TNT’s Snowpiercer) and Jeremy Holm (House of Cards) have signed on to star in the horror film Herd, from director Steven Pierce.

The indie co-written by Pierce and James Allerdyce tells the story of a woman who ends up trapped between a zombie outbreak and warring militias as she tries to outrun her past. Pierce is producing Herd as the inaugural feature under his newly-minted Fp banner, alongside Allerdyce, Lori Kay, Matt Mundy and Bret Carr. Production will commence in Missouri early next month.

Bernsen is a two-time Emmy and Golden Globe nominee perhaps best known for Arnie Becker on 20th Television’s LA Law, who recently signed on to reprise the role in an ABC revival. The actor can currently be seen on Showtime’s City on a Hill and will also soon be seen on...