Herd

I was only introduced to this film because a buddy of mine had worked with one of the guys who worked on it. It is, hands down, one of the funniest short films I have EVER seen. If you get the chance, Do not miss the opportunity to view this movie. It is genius!

My roommate's an assistant on "Deuce", the new Rob Schneider vehicle over at Touchstone. He was telling me that the film's director is just a few years older than we are. So when he brought home the guy's short film, "Herd", I had high expectations.

I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. This film is a work of genius. Instead of being restrained by budget limitations, Mitchell utilizes them for humorous effect. The result is hilarious. The bookmark sequences are beautifully crafted as well, leaving the viewer with a calm sense of awe. All in all, a wonderfully spectacular effort.

I now see why he got the job.

I saw this film at the Los Angeles Independent Film Festival, where my film "The Meeting" was screening. Of all the shorts at the festival, it was the one that most stuck with me, mostly because of its twisted sense of humor and cinematic inventiveness.

My film played again at the Florida Film Festival in June, and so did "Herd." I made a point of catching it again, and with a totally fresh audience. It received (easily) the best response of all the films in that particular shorts program.

If you have a local film festival, keep an eye open for this low-tech classic. Often filmmakers (myself included) dwell too long on trying to get Hollywood-like production values. Mike Mitchell eschews all that, knowing the low-tech shortcuts to communicate the same ideas in much funnier ways.

Greatest cow levitation scene ever in the history of motion pictures. New uses for little bits and pieces of your household appliances, including your cat clock. How to crack an egg. Further proof that the $200,000,000 spent on Titanic was $199,995,000 more than it takes to make an outstanding movie. Herd has got it all!!

When I saw this at a short film fest in NYC, I laughed so hard tears were running down my face. You have GOT to see this movie, especially if you've seen ET, 2001 and a fair share of paranoid sci-fi movies. Vegetarians, check it out, too.