Zombie flick by Poplar Bluff native, shot in area, to be screened at Rodgers Theatre

Many scenes from the film were shot in the local area, including this shot of a lone figure approaching the historic Hargrove Bridge is east Butler County.

Movie stills provided by Framework Productions

A movie shot in Poplar Bluff, created by a Poplar Bluff native, will premiere Oct. 21 at Rodgers Theatre during a day-long celebration.

The film “Herd” — which will also be screened at the New York Comic Con in October — is coming home and its creators want that homecoming to benefit the community.

Share memories of the Rodgers to win tickets to 'Herd' Poplar Bluff premiere

By DONNA FARLEY Editor

The Daily American Republic is partnering with the filmmakers of "Herd," and Rodgers Theatre to give away event tickets in October as part of a series, Remember the Rodgers. To enter, participants just need to share their memories of the Rodgers. This can include stories and/or photos of their time at the historic Downtown Poplar Bluff theatre or...

Steven Pierce, who grew up in Poplar Bluff, directed and co-wrote the zombie thriller alongside James Allerdyce.

A family fun event will be held during the day Oct. 21, with a street festival kicking off at 1 p.m., along with other events, including a zombie 5K, food trucks, and more.

It will be followed by a screening at 6:30 p.m. at Rodgers Theatre. “Herd” is an R-rated movie. Tickets for the screening go on sale Friday via Eventbrite on HERD.film.

The Daily American Republic will also give away tickets to the movie through its Remembering the Rodgers series (see sidebar).

The evening event starts with a red carpet kickoff at 5 p.m. with filmmakers and members of the cast, who will join a question and answer session after the screening.

Activities will benefit the Rodgers restoration project, Pierce explained this week.

“I remember going to the Rodgers when I was a kid and there were two screens,” he recalled. “It was one of my favorite places to go see movies.

“The community was so integral in us being able to make this, we feel like if we can give back to the Rodgers, it’s a way we can leave behind something that benefits the community.”

The premiere is organized in coordination with the Poplar Bluff Chamber of Commerce and aims to shine a spotlight on local talent while benefiting the cherished Rodgers Theatre.

The Missouri Film Office will attend the evening event, and Pierce hopes this will help generate more interest in the restoration efforts.

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.

The gripping narrative of “Herd” unfolds against the backdrop of rural Missouri, as it delves into a tale of survival amidst a virus-infected apocalypse.

Cast members Mitzi Akaha and Ellen Adair are captured during a dramatic moment in the horror flick, ‘Herd.’

Movie stills provided by Framework Productions

In the film, Jamie Miller and her wife, Alex Kanai, try to save their failing marriage by going on a canoe trip in rural Missouri, but they find themselves stranded after an accident. Alex breaks her leg during a canoe flip and they must slowly make their way to the nearest small town for help. Upon arriving they find it has been overrun by virus-infected “Heps” and extreme right-wing local militias who are battling them.

Pierce shared that he grew up in a tight-knit community of people who cared deeply for each other.

“To be on the inside and feel that sense of belonging was magically comfortable. But I also saw firsthand what happened to the people on the outside,” he said in a press release. “When I was 17, one of my close personal friends came out to his parents. They disowned him, throwing him out of their home and forcing him to become fully self-sufficient. Because his orientation was outside of the bounds of our society, he was alone.”

His mission as a director, Pierce said, is to tell the story of small communities clashing with big society and with “Herd” they examine the power of herd mentality and how it can cause good people to do bad things.

“‘Herd’ uses horror and action in a high-paced love story to engage and entertain,” he said. “And when the film ends, the audience is left to think about when independent thinking takes a back seat to group action, suddenly people begin to condemn and destroy, rather than accept and understand.”

The film’s stars include Ellen Adair (Homeland, Bull, The Sinner); Mitzi Akaha (Archive 81); Corbin Bernsen (Major League, Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang, LA Law); Timothy V. Murphy (Snowpiercer, National Treasure: Book of Secrets); 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. She 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.

The film premiered in September in London to a sold out audience at FrightFest. Currently scheduled U.S. screenings are: New York, Oct. 12; Kansas City, Oct. 13; Poplar Bluff, Oct. 21.

It will be available on digital platforms Oct. 13, including AppleTV, Google Play and Prime Video.

“Herd” was produced by Framework Productions and released by Dark Sky Films.

For the most up-to-date information visit https://www.thefp.tv/herd and @Herd.film on Instagram.

One of the infected from the movie "Herd" is shown.

Still provided by Framework Productions