For Shepherd to truly transcend its rickety bits and its story clichés, it would need to come up with more resonant and creative images than Owen is able to produce here.

| May 6, 2022

While the plot here is thin (and slow-paced, and oppressively grim), Owen has a remarkable facility for generating atmosphere.

| May 6, 2022

Callum Donaldson’s marvelously icy soundscape might be doing much of the heavy lifting, but it’s Owen’s slow and steady directing style — favoring patient reveals over swift scares — that keeps this ominous horror tale firmly on track.

| May 5, 2022

Heavy on unnerving atmospherics — the trill of bells, decaying interiors, etc. — this psychological thriller set on a remote Scottish island is chilling in every way.

| Original Score: 2.5/4 | May 5, 2022

Eric is indeed a soul lost in a limbo of his own making, and his sheep-counting adventures in isolation play like an oneiric remix of Carnival of Souls (1962), Triangle (2009) and Shutter Island (2010)...

| Dec 7, 2021

While a bit self-defeating, this attempt at a maximalist style is ultimately admirable.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Nov 23, 2021

While it may be somewhat heavy-handed, Russell Owen's Gothic horror benefits greatly from its isolated location, effective visuals and strong performance from Tom Hughes.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Nov 22, 2021