Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2020
Images from the Internet
Shepard
Directed by Jourdan McClure
Dull Boy Films / Red Rover Movie
71 minutes, 2020
President Obama said, ““Bullying can have destructive consequences for
our young people. And it’s not something we have to accept. As parents and
students; teachers and communities, we can take steps that will help prevent
bullying and create a climate in our schools in which all of our children can
feel safe.” Or, as Melania Trump phrased her bullying emphasis, “Be best.”
Ultimately, this film is about bullying and being bullied, mixed with a
twisted version of My Bodyguard (1980) and perhaps a bit of Heathers (1989). For a genre film, you know it’s not going to end with just a
few fists thrown and teasing.
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| Kurt Krause and Will Beinbrink |
I know someone who works with kids in foster care, and knows that those
teenagers in this type of care situation can be pretty damaged by the time they
near the end term of being in “the system.” It can be brutal, heartless and
unkind from the system that put them there, the foster families themselves, to
those associated indirectly. That is part of the social end of the lessons of
this film that focuses on the old expression, “enough is enough,” or as they say
it here, “I just want it to stop.”
Ray (Kurt Krause) is just such a foster kid who is kind of a schlubby every-man,
and filled with physical and mental scars. Now entering his ninth home, he’s at
high school level and will sooner than later age out of the system. His new foster family is his aunt (Thia Gill) and cousin Kim (very cute Paulina Alvarez) are kind to him, but
others are not, including Kim’s dick of a privileged boyfriend, Eric (Michael
Reed Campbell), the newest bully in Ray’s life.
Though an intense moment in a store ignited by Eric, Ray accidentally
meets the titular Shepard (Will Beinbrink), and older man who has had his own share
of violent history and trust issues, and has lost his moral compass and sense
of physical boundaries. This leads to a comparing scars scene that reminds me
of a particular masculinist bonding one from Jaws (1975).
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| Paulina Alvarez |
Of course, those who have come to care about Ray (i.e., the good guys) such as his new family
and teacher (Kareem Grimes) don’t really get what it’s like to have a foster
history, and want Ray to just tell the authorities; but Ray has trust issues of
his own, and Shepard is the only strong person he knows that has some idea of
what he’s gone through. This leads the sinister Shepard to influence Ray in unhealthy
ways (hence, his name, with Ray being the “lamb”). When the violence of Eric
and his crony escalates, even though they started it, Ray starts to become desperate,
leading to his own obvious ramping up of testosterone.
While there is a relatively low body count in this film (and rightfully
so), the confrontations are keen, and sharp in multiple ways. You can feel Ray’s
emotional and physical pain as most of us have probably been there at the knuckle
end of a fist at one time or another.
The acting is well done and fleshed out (no pun intended), with large,
expressive, and appropriate burst of anger or worry. This gives the story a
realistic tone that makes the violence all the more palpable. There is no
cartoon level of John Wick-like ultraviolence that is relentless, but rather moments of flashing
anger and desperation. This is almost as much a psychological study of Ray –
and I would add Shepard – rather than a slam bang-em-up. It reminds me a little
bit of the flip side of Jason Koch’s Pig Pen (2017), which also deals with bullying and revenge, but ramps down the emotion.
Though shot in the Malibu/Santa Monica area, the tone of the place is
kept in an appropriate level, without the big houses and shoreline, but
focusing on the suburban areas and Olympic High School, which feels right (although
Eric’s car is of a higher caliber, indicating his privilege, ads I noted
earlier). This was a smart move. There are no proverbial valley girl-types, and
the two female student peers (and foster mom) are played for their characters,
rather than their locale. Again, wise decision.
For a film that deals with this infrequent yet strong level of action, this
is a good one to watch when you’re in the mood for some non-cartoon/superhero-like
mega destructo where whole buildings or cities are destroyed; sometimes I just
find that tiring. Instead it’s relatively small cast and the scale is perfect
for the story.
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