The first feminist vegan horror film.
The Herd (2014) was first introduced to me at Celluloid Screams, Sheffield’s horror film festival, in October of last year. During this time I was working as part of the festival team and didn’t get a chance to see it. However, I did see the effect it had on people as they left the screening. Between the tears and the shock written on many people’s faces, I could tell it was a film with a strong message that was certainly delivered.
This short film tells the story of many kidnapped and trafficked women who find themselves imprisoned in a scary looking medical facility. They are condemned to a horrific life as they are treated unfairly and live in harsh conditions; all just for their milk. Women are used in place of cows to highlight the suffering inflicted on cows in the dairy industry.
The film’s writer, Ed Pope, stated in an interview with Horrorthon that this is a subject close to his heart. “Many people thought drinking plant-based milk was strange” he says, explaining further that most people don’t particuarly question why this is. “I wanted to frame the dairy issue in a manner that even the most disconnted people could empathise with.”
Director Melanie Light says The Herd is very blunt and deliberate but they had to make a point. The film is just under twenty minutes which is more than enough time to convey the emotional message to its audience. All the women want is a chance to escape and be free.
The film contains a particular gut-wretching scene which helps to emphasise the brutally of the conditions they are kept in. The women are forcefully inseminated by an icy nurse portrayed by Pollyanna McIntosh (The Woman) and then their children are born in the cages and taken away. “It’s a boy” is not a good thing to hear.
The use of female humans helps to make it more relatable, so people can truly understand the pain that cows have to endure everyday. Some people who were in the screening at Celluloid Screams are active vegans themselves and so they already had a strong connection to its purpose, and praised the film for its accuracy and ability to convey the right meaning.
The Herd has won countless awards, including ‘Best Short Horror Film’ at Celluloid Screams. Be sure to head over to Horrorthon to read the full interview.
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