Movie Review: The Herd flies on Nigeria’s insecurity crisis amid U.S. spotlight

The Herd is a tense, morally grounded thriller that arrives on Netflix at a moment when Nigeria’s internal insecurities are under global scrutiny.

Just days before the film’s wider release, former U.S. President Donald Trump designated Nigeria a “Country of Particular Concern” (CPC), citing severe violations of religious freedom. The timing is uncanny: a nation already grappling with kidnappings, banditry, and societal fragmentation is now under international watch, and The Herd puts the human face on these crises.

Starring the likes of Daniel Etim Effiong (debut producer and actor role), Deyemi Okanlawon, Genoveva Umeh, Kunle Remi, Mercy Aigbe, Tina Mba, Jaiye Kuti, Lateef Adedimeji, and Nobert Young, The Herd, set in Ekiti, pulls its tension from the contradictions of Nigerian society.

Synopsis : From Celebration to Catastrophe

The story opens with a celebration: newlyweds Derin and Fola are eager to travel with their best man, Gosi (Daniel Etim-Effiong), and get away from controlling family members. Their nuptial happiness, however, turns out to be a fleeting happiness. As they are being driven away by Gosi, they, alongside other travelers plying the route, are captured by kidnappers after a brutal ambush on the highway. Gosi narrowly escaped, but his luck ran out and he was apprehended when he came across a dead end – a big body of water. Fola, on the other hand, is killed as soon as he steps out of the car. Gosi is asked to carry the dead body of Fola but not too long after, he drops the body out of fatigue. Frustrated, the kidnappers Derin to disfigure her husband’s body but she lacks the will to do so. Gosi, afraid that she might be killed for her refusal to carry out the order, brutally carries it out on her behalf.

While police investigators in Ekiti try to find the gang, families back home rush to fund a N50 million ransom. Gosi’s wife, meanwhile, struggles with illness, critical family members, and the burdensome pressure of gathering ransom money on her own.

Thematic Allure

The Herd is part of a growing wave of Nigerian films that tackle the country’s insecurity and societal crises head-on. Films such as The Milkmaid (2020), which explores insurgency and the trauma of abduction; The Trade (2023), depicting the mechanics and human cost of kidnapping-for-ransom; and Voiceless (2020), a thriller centred on terrorism and mass abduction, share thematic DNA with Effiong’s work.

What is particularly intriguing is the manner in which it mirrors the realities of the Nigerian state, especially in these last couple of weeks when bandits, kidnappers and terrorists are having a field day, storming towns and villages, carting away people, asking for hefty ransoms, and punishing erring victims. Fola and Emeka are killed because they plan to run while huge ransoms are requested for the release of others.

The plot of the movie shows that every that there is always a chain of network behind every operation. The movie shows a tribal network and a religious network; the kidnaping syndicate is an offshoot of a bigger gang led by a certain Sheikh. Halil, the leader of the syndicate of the plot’s kidnap, a northerner, is helped by a Yoruba old woman, deals with a fake Pastor who buys human parts from them. After Halil loses a grip of his situation, Yakubu comes back with his own gang to avenge the death of Sheikh.

The plot of The Herd is further aligned to shed light on the cultural image of the Osu system in the Igbo land. The refusal of Gosi’s parents to accept Adanma as his wife and his eventual disownment reflect the corrosive influence of prejudice and societal expectation. Their adherence to caste and tradition becomes a subtle yet powerful antagonist, reminding audiences that Nigeria’s crises are not only armed but cultural and structural.

The Herd also illuminates how Nollywood increasingly engages with harsh realities — portraying the psychological and moral toll of violence, while reflecting the nation’s fractured social fabric. By situating The Herd within this cinematic conversation, it becomes clear that the film is not only a suspenseful thriller but also a socially conscious narrative reflecting lived experiences

Cast Allure

The bandits are frightening not for caricatured villainy but for plausibility. Ibrahim Abubakar as Anas delivers a performance steeped in rage and realism, supported by lesser-known Hausa actors whose depictions of abduction and violence verge on documentary-like. Their menace feels immediate and believable, echoing the real-world reports that likely informed the CPC designation.

Cinematographic Allure

The Herd excels technically. Cinematography shifts effortlessly from the warmth of celebration to the shadows of captivity. Sound design leverages silence to amplify tension, while lighting, editing, and special effects maintain gritty realism without excess. Multilingual dialogue of Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo, Pidgin, and English adds authenticity, reflecting Nigeria’s diverse, fractured society.

The Take-home

The Herd is more than a crime thriller; it is a meditation on courage, survival, and societal fragility. It combines gripping performances, cultural nuance, and frightening realism to offer a cinematic mirror to a nation under pressure. In a Nollywood year often dominated by spectacle, Etim-Effiong’s debut stands out: compelling, urgent, and unflinching, a film that commands attention not only for its suspense but for its unvarnished commentary on life in a country now observed on the global stage.

culled from vanguard