Area native Steven Pierce celebrated the world premiere of his film, “Herd,” last week.
U.S. release of the project is expected in coming months and the Daily American Republic hopes to be able to share details of a special Poplar Bluff premiere as soon as they become available.
Portions of the horror movie were filmed in and around Poplar Bluff in April and May 2022, with area residents serving as background actors and in other roles.
Pierce was director for the project and co-writer alongside James Allerdyce.
“Herd” was shown Aug. 26 to a sold-out crowd during the annual FrightFest in London, England.
“The festival added a second screening the day after due to popular demand and it premiered on one of the largest screens in Europe,” Pierce shared this week.
The initial screening was attended by more than 700 people. A question and answer session with Pierce and two of the film’s stars, Ellen Adair and Mitzi Akaha, was held after the screening.
In the film, a woman trying to outrun her past ends up trapped between a zombie outbreak and warring militia groups. Framework Productions, which produced the film, says she is caught in a world where some fight for survival but others fight for control.
The film’s stars include Corbin Bernsen (Major League, Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang, LA Law); Timothy V. Murphy (Snowpiercer, National Treasure: Book of Secrets); Adair (Homeland, Bull, The Sinner); Akaha (Archive 81); and Jeremy Holm (Mr. Robot, House of Cards).
Local stars included Susannah Wheeler, then a Campbell fifth-grader, who was chosen to play a younger version of Adair during flashback scenes in the film.
Wheeler has been involved in stage productions of community theater since a production of “Cheaper by the Dozen” at age 9.
Gina Duckett, a Poplar Bluff schools psych examiner and staff member for Poplar Bluff Realty, also got to be in the film. Duckett was transformed into one of the boil-covered zombies for the movie.
Duckett was part of the horde that filmed in Downtown Poplar Bluff for one of the finale scenes. The Daily American Republic was used as a staging area for cast and crew during this overnight shoot.
Duckett noted at the time it might require 15 takes to get the final cut the audience gets to see.
“One major thing that I learned from this experience: people sit down to watch a movie, and you’re sitting there maybe an hour and a half, two hours, and it’s over. And they (the filmmakers) make it flow. You don’t think about everything that’s involved in making that movie,” Duckett said in 2022. “I just never really thought about how much time, money it takes to make a movie. It’s a long process.”
For Pierce, it is exciting to bring the conclusion of that long process to screens and back to his hometown for a special premiere with family and friends.
Being able to do the world premiere at FrightFest was incredible, according to Pierce.
“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. Having the film be seen for the first time on such an incredible screen and in the heart of London is a filmmaker’s dream come true,” Pierce said prior to the event.
Allerdyce, both a producer and co-writer, shared prior to the world premiere that he was excited to see their film on the IMAX screen, surrounded by the FrightFest fan base.
“When you write these scripts you spend a lot of time watching the movie in your mind. I’m beyond excited to watch it in reality, outside my mind,” he shared ahead of the event.
FrightFest is the United Kingdom’s biggest community-driver horror and fantasy film festival. It’s held in the Cineworld Leicester Square in London.
This was the 24th year for the event, which was held from Aug. 24-28. The four screens were host to 25 world, 23 International/European and 12 UK premieres, with 14 countries represented, spanning five continents.
For the most up-to-date information visit https://www.thefp.tv/herd and @Herd.film on Instagram.
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