Toronto’s Clever Creature Co. will bring the action-horror feature “For the Good of the Herd,” starring AMC Shudder’s “The Host” star Hayley Bishop, to the American film market.
Mark Pritchard wrote the script and will also direct, and principal photography is expected to begin in the UK in November. Michelangelo Masankaj, managing partner of Clever Creature, will serve as producer alongside Michael Galván and Screen Anthology’s Sebastien Basile. Galvan is co-producing with British producer Tim Willrich of Limbo Pictures.
The project combines survival horror and psychological thriller elements to examine how far people can survive when society collapses. Bishop plays Zoe, a character haunted by her past who must tap into her dark instincts to overcome it.
“This story examines the influence of malevolent belief structures, the sheer will it takes to deny them, and the lengths humans will go to serve the conceit of truth,” Pritchard said. “Ultimately, for me, humans are the scariest monsters. The blurring of lines around belief seems to bring the cogs of our savagery to the surface. The characters dance around these lines, engaging in unsettling interrogations that provoke personal questions about the nature of predatory forces, what they do with their power, and whether they can be trusted.”
“‘For The Good Of The Herd’ really struck me as a bold and exhilarating take on horror,” Bishop added. “What attracted me to my character, Zoe, is that she tries so hard to rid herself of her past guilt, but ultimately finds herself having to tap into her dark impulses to survive. And, selfishly speaking, being the bloody, ass-kicking badass final girl is a dream role. It’s a story laced with paranoia as much as bone-crunching gore, and I think audiences will love it.”
“This project represents the kind of bold, genre-based filmmaking that Clever Creature is passionate about, pushing the boundaries both creatively and commercially,” Masankai said. “Mark Pritchard’s vision taps into primal fear while providing a powerful social undercurrent, and with Hayley Bishop leading the cast, we couldn’t be more excited to bring this production to audiences around the world.”
Michael Tomczyk, Kevin Sand, Gisele Gastel, Bianca Consuji, and Donovan Rodriques serve as executive producers.
Clever Creature has built projects in international genres spanning horror, action, and highbrow films. The company, which recently announced a remake of Roger Corman’s cult classic, develops and represents content that bridges creative talent from Canada, Asia and Europe.
