Shepherd Captures the Cold Horror of Isolation

In this episode of Castle Talk, Jason chats with Russell Owen, writer, and director of Shepherd, in theaters on May 6th and on-demand and digital on May 10th.  In the film, a young Scottish man takes a job as a shepherd on a desolate island following the death of his wife, where he is haunted by loneliness, guilt, and increasingly nightmarish and haunting visions.  The film has been called “deeply profound” by Film Threat.

Shepherd is directed and written by Owen (Inmate Zero) and stars Tom Hughes (Infinite, “Victoria,” “A Discovery of Witches”), Kate Dickie (The Green Knight, Prometheus), Gaia Weiss (“Vikings”), and Greta Scacchi (“The Terror,” “War & Peace,” Rasputin).

Say the producers:

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.

The principal photography was shot on the Isle of Mull with the interior scenes shot at BBC Studios in Dumbarton. Additional photography (Second Unit) was shot in North Wales. Underwater scenes were shot at the Underwater Studio in Basildon, Essex.

The director discusses the process of conveying atmosphere, such as the cold and desolation of the island where the widower at the heart of the film is ensconced.

Listen here:

Check out the Trailer:

Jason Henderson hosts the Castle of Horror and Castle Talk Podcasts, the “Castle of Horror Anthology” series editor. The newest volume is Castle of Horror Anthology Volume 7: Love Gone Wrong. He is the author of The Serpent’s Nest: Young Captain Nemo from Macmillan Children’s Books. His most recent book is 18 Miles from Town: a Midlife Crisis Thriller.