Director: Geo Santini
One accident, one duffle bag of cash, and a decision to hide a body set off the chain of events driving The Bad Shepherd, a 2024 wilderness crime thriller.
What is The Bad Shepherd about?
A group of friends on a remote backcountry trip accidentally strikes and kills an unknown woman with their car, and in the panic of the moment, they discover a duffle bag stuffed with cash near where she fell. Rather than report what happened, they choose to bury the evidence and split the money, believing the isolation of the wilderness will keep their secret safe. That decision unravels almost immediately once the bag's real owner starts tracking down whoever took it, turning the group's guilt over the cover-up into a fight for survival against someone far more dangerous than the law they were trying to avoid.
Cast & crew
Christos Kalabogias and Scotty Tovar lead the ensemble of friends at the center of the story, with director Geo Santini also appearing on screen. Brett Zimmerman, Justin Taite, Andrew Pagana, Annie Gonzalez, and Courtney Blythe Turk fill out the rest of the cast.
Context & significance
The Bad Shepherd is a United States production that keeps its scope tight, leaning on an isolated wilderness setting to raise the stakes of a fairly simple premise. Santini directs as well as acts in the film, a dual role that shapes its lean, low-frills approach to a crime story built around one bad decision compounding into several worse ones. At just over ninety minutes, the film moves at a brisk pace, escalating from a single moment of panic into a sustained, tense pursuit through unfamiliar terrain.
Where & how to watch
The Bad Shepherd is streaming on K-Time with a Persian dub available, presented through a Farsi-language interface designed for Persian-speaking viewers. There is no cost to read this page, and watching the film only requires signing in with a free K-Time account.