In The Herd: New, director Melanie Light returns with a bold continuation of her chilling 2014 short film The Herd, transforming the metaphorical horror of industrial exploitation into a full-length, deeply unsettling narrative. While the original short depicted women treated like livestock in a facility designed for human milk extraction—an allegory for the dairy industry—this new installment expands both the universe and the themes with striking effectiveness.
Set several years after the events of the original, The Herd: New follows a survivor named Ava, who has escaped the facility and now leads a covert resistance against the corporation behind the atrocities. The film explores how far systemic cruelty can go when masked by corporate propaganda and normalized by society. While The Herd leaned heavily into body horror, The Herd: New adds layers of psychological tension, moral ambiguity, and even hints of dystopian thriller.
Visually, the film is bleak but beautifully composed. The sterile white corridors of the breeding facility contrast starkly with the crumbling resistance outposts, mirroring the themes of dehumanization versus defiance. Light’s use of sound design—metallic clinks, distant moans, and abrupt silences—enhances the viewer’s discomfort, making the horror feel all too real.
The cast, led by Naomi Battrick as Ava, delivers raw and committed performances. Battrick captures the trauma, rage, and resilience of a woman caught between the memories of captivity and the hope of liberation. The supporting roles, including a conflicted doctor-turned-whistleblower and a young recruit forced to confront the system's brutality, offer powerful counterpoints that raise ethical questions: Is ignorance an excuse? Can justice be achieved without becoming what we fight?
Though the film sometimes teeters on didacticism, it rarely loses its emotional grip. The Herd: New isn't just horror for shock’s sake—it forces viewers to confront uncomfortable truths about consumption, exploitation, and agency. It’s a fierce feminist parable that challenges us to see beyond the surface of systemic cruelty—whether inflicted on animals or on each other.
Overall, The Herd: New is a daring and uncompromising film that solidifies Melanie Light’s place as a director unafraid to merge activism with artistry. Not for the faint of heart, but certainly for those who seek cinema that provokes, disturbs, and inspires.
