The last time I was moved to watch a Nigerian movie due to hype?
That, I can’t remember. It’s been very long.
The Herd, a Nigerian movie, was released in the early days of October 2025, which I knew because one of my favourite content creators promoted the movie. But the movie didn’t make waves until this month of November when it coincidentally matched up with the latest happenings in Nigeria—and that’s the kidnapping by bandits. After the many reviews and hype by people, I decided to give it a watch, just to see how it portrays the evil lurking in Nigeria.
The Plot:
A couple had just gotten married, and while hurriedly rushing to their hotel for refreshment, they met cows and herdsmen blocking the road. Before they knew it, the herdsmen brought out guns—I mean sophisticated guns—and started shooting in the air. While the groom was trying to run away, he got shot, and he died flat on the spot. Trauma for the wife! She couldn’t believe what she had just witnessed.
So that was it—they got kidnapped and taken into the bush so ransom could be demanded.
Opinions:
Just like everyone has been saying, the production did an excellent job by selecting the perfect tribe to take up the characters. The kidnappers represent the notorious and brutal northern part of Nigeria, who have been known for such dealings since Nigeria gained her independence.
The funniest thing is, ever since the movie started trending—following the recent increase in kidnappings by the bandits who are publicly known and identified as northerners—there have been calls by them to put down the movie because it’s portraying a negative notion about them, meanwhile the movie says the whole truth about them.
The native languages used made it good as well, even though I don’t understand the northern and western languages. The subtitles that followed were good.
Talking about the individual characters, they all did well, and I feel they selected the best people for the movie. Although there are new faces there (it’s been long since I watched a Nigerian movie), it’s good how they nailed their characters.
It’s a good watch. I’m glad I didn’t waste my time watching it.
