WFG RATING: C+

ITN Distribution presents a Blue Harpy Films production. Directed by Alan Delabie and LH Chambat. Produced, lensed, and edited by LH Chambat. Written by Alan Delabie.

Stars Alan Delabie, Don “The Dragon” Wilson, Michael Morris, Victoria Axensalva, Natasha Killip, and Silvio Simac.

A professional assassin attempting to get out of the game has one last mission that’s set to go awry in this indie thriller starring Alan Delabie.

Alex Lapierre is known as The Shepherd. He is the best of the best when it comes to the world of being a professional assassin. However, he has been wanting to get out of the game after the death of his wife Tania. Tania, who exposed a corruption scandal, was killed by another professional assassin, Edson. However, Lewis, Alex’s friend and mentor, offers him one final mission before retirement.

Lisa is the daughter of an African minister who is backpacking in Europe. Lisa is being targeted for a possible kidnapping and since the minister is an old friend of Lewis’s, Alex reluctantly takes the job of being her bodyguard. However, he soon learns who may be targeting Lisa and it is a familiar face, forcing Alex to not only complete his mission but also finally get the revenge he wanted for so long.

This film, directed, written, and starring Alan Delabie, is an exercise in what happens when you take the tropes of the typical assassin film when it comes to getting out of the game. The story of a hitman who is offered one last mission before retirement of course has to come with complications. There’s also the typical “protecting the spoiled rich girl” trope but thankfully doesn’t pull the “fall in love with target” riff as we learn that it didn’t bode well for our lead character of Alex “The Shepherd” Lapierre.

Delabie makes the most of his role as Lapierre, who while still reeling from the death of his beloved Tania, is selected to protect rich girl Lisa, played by Victoria Axensalva. The two previously worked together on Delabie’s The Last Nosferatu. However, you can tell she is a relative newcomer who gives off an “A for effort” vibe when it comes to her acting. As for Michael Morris, he brings some comic relief to the mix as Matt Daniels, a friend of Alex’s who is part of the organization.

Known for being the King of Martial Arts B-Flicks in the 1990s, kickboxing icon and legend Don “The Dragon” Wilson plays it straight as Lewis, Lapierre’s mentor and handler. In these types of films, the handler sometimes could be involved in betraying our hero but don’t worry about that here. As for taekwondo powerhouse Silvio Simac, he oozes the slime factor as professional hitman Edson, who is responsible both the death of Lapierre’s beloved and is the one hired to find and get Lisa for a rival of her father’s.

The action scenes, directed by Delabie, are okay for a film of this caliber and budget. Some of the gunplay is made up of CGI, and we get to see Delabie showcase his martial arts skills in addition to he and Simac engaging in their skills in their final confrontation. A sequel, The Shepherd Code II: Road Back is coming out next week (as of this post) in the U.K.

The Shepherd Code is an okay low-budget thriller that has its flaws when it comes to the acting department and hokey CGI effects. However, the positives include the fight scenes and Alan Delabie continuing to show his passion to become an action hero type.