The Goatherd (2009) User Reviews

Virtually no story and little in the way of Horror, but nice Cinematography

[CinemaLiberated · 3/10 · 14 March 2011]

Three friends go hiking in the Chilean Andes. Will (Wil Edgar) and Ilenka (Macarena Paz Chacon)are a couple visiting Ilenka's college friend Ana (Patricia Gonzalez). The countryside is in spring bloom and it's absolutely stunning. When Ilenka breaks her ankle, the other two carry her to help. What they find is a goat farm, it's occupied but no one is there. They aren't alone, a man attacks them with a shovel and knocks them all out. When they wake up they find themselves in a nightmare.

The film is positioned like a horror/slasher film but it's really more of a crime drama with some thriller elements. There isn't any torture. There is some cannibalism and implied rape. It is probably the most beautiful nature cinematography ever shot for a film of this sort. Too bad this film has such a thin plot. There's 5 minutes spent with the friends hiking before they're captured, the rest of it is of them being captive, but there's more scenes of goat herding than there is of the prisoners.

except from www.cinemaliberated.com

Completely awful

[Enkidu278 · 1/10 · 13 March 2011]

This movie is just plain awful. It has a very shallow and predictable plot, and that is giving it a lot of credit. But you probably wouldn't notice the lack of purpose because you will be distracted by the worst acting imaginable. The actors are so forced, it becomes laughable. The movie would have been better in their native language because the poor acting and dialog could be masked.

The whole point of the movie is drawn out in a hugely artificial way. Things happen for no reason or explanation. The characters are moronic beyond words. The simple and obvious solutions to their predicament elude them in order to create more "complex" (laughable) tension.

Overall, stay away. Take your time and money elsewhere. Eating glue would serve more entertainment and be a better investment then this disaster.

The Madness of Isolation

[wang200287107 · 8/10 · 17 March 2011]

This is really not about three hikers, Will Edgar, Patricia Gonzalez, and Macarena Paz Chacon, getting trapped by a goatherd. This is portrait of madness; and as such, director Leon Errazuriz is more concerned with the madman and the tragedy which the awful and beautifully lonely mountains of the Andes fail so miserably to absorb from the soul of this madman, played admirably by Luis Dubo, than with the effect of that madness on others. Interweaving shots of goats being tied, and humans being tied, and goats being cut, and humans being cut,and the mingled sounds of human and kid-goat wails skillfully blend to reflect the distance this man has drifted from humanity. Tragedy and isolation combine.And in a stark and forbidding landscape mercy is unknown, but pain is very real. There could have been efforts made to more thoroughly flesh-out this man's story, and greater tension moving towards the ending would have helped make this a tauter work, but all in all I found The Goatherd to be chilling and memorable.

A masterpiece of Horror

[jose-bascur · 10/10 · 1 March 2011]

Excellent movie! First of all, the photography is amazing. The thriller has a good pace with an unexpected end. Beautiful creation. A masterpiece of horror, that has everything to be a classic. The movie is well done in all aspects. From the casting, including an exceptional performance of Luis Dubó, passing through the photography of the Andes chain mountains that shows a terrific landscape. The script has points of sublime horror, and drops of a classic horror movie. The first time I saw The Goatherd I remember classics like The Shining, Jason, Texas Chain.. but with a touch of independent style that brings the unique touch that a classic movie needs to have to remain in the minds of the public. Joe