The Bad Shepherd

Indie Thriller Short Take Review

The Bad Shepherd, directed by Geo Santini, begins with a wounded woman driving along a remote road in the woods with what appears to be a stolen bag of money. When a flat tire leaves her stranded, she begins walking. A pick-up truck driven by four hunting buddies comes along, and there’s a sudden thump. They pull over to check and find the woman dead, along with the bag of cash. After a short debate about what should be done, they wrap her up and load her into the back of the truck. A police officer happens by and pulls over to question the four. With a body in their pick-up and a bag of stolen money at stake, they lie to the alleged officer that their truck has broken down. Why the officer doesn’t ask about the car with a flat tire, about a possible missing driver, and why no other cars ever drive by are the first of many dubious plot points. Credibility aside, things go wrong, and men will soon have two bodies to deal with.

Back at their hunting lodge somewhere deep in the woods, they begin digging graves and dividing booty when a snarling stranger, played by the director himself, drives up to claim the money as his. He appears to know more than he should about these four. Confused and unsure what to do next, they tie him to a chair in the basement. I didn’t know hunting lodges had basements but I’m still along for the ride. He warns them: “In the end, I WILL get my money.” Rattled by their victim’s premonition, two of the men head to the woods in search of possible accomplices. With bodies to bury, loot to split, and a calm and calculating victim auguring disaster, debate among the four grows worse.

For a small independent movie, The Bad Shepherd is well shot, and the relatively unknown cast of appealing young actors is well cast. They dutifully represent a moral spectrum of right and wrong and sound judgment. A thriller like this is not driven by altruism and good sense. Tension relies on increasingly bad character choices motivated by greed and varying degrees of willingness to commit murder. Things inevitably go from bad to worse. You may find yourself yelling at the screen for the lack of plausibility. It is a safe assumption that the love of money will ultimately trump any moral quandary. As their predicament grows more horrific and increasingly far-fetched, a twist is thrown in that may explain everything. It is a shift that will elicit more groans and some head-scratching. Once more, you may find yourself yelling at the screen.

Streaming now on AppleTV, Amazon Prime, YouTube

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