The Shade

The Shade (2023) is not your typical horror film. While it certainly has its share of chilling moments, it's far more than just another dumb jump-scare flick. This is a film with a powerful message, one that explores the dark and often taboo subjects of grief, mental illness, and family trauma.

What sets The Shade apart is its allegorical approach to horror. The entity that haunts the characters is more than just a monster; it's a representation of the destructive cycle of depression and suicide that can plague families for generations. This metaphorical layer adds a depth and complexity to the film that elevates it above standard horror fare.

The film follows Ryan, a young man struggling to cope with the recent loss of his father. As he grapples with his own grief and anxiety, he begins to see a terrifying vision that no one else can see. This vision leads him down a dark path, forcing him to confront a hidden family secret that has been buried for years.

The Shade is a film that will stay with you long after the credits roll. It's a haunting and thought-provoking exploration of the human psyche, and it's sure to spark important conversations about mental health and the importance of seeking help.

If you're looking for a horror film that is both terrifying and meaningful, The Shade is definitely worth checking out.

This movie was honestly awful. With how the movie began, the font of the posters and it being categorized as a horror movie it is not one. It's one of those those really awful movies that's just all dialouge and nothing really happens through out the movie and it's one of those movies that you always have to think if the supernatural thing is actually happening or it's just the character hallucinating. But I actually did like most of the characters especially Ryan, he was just cool and the acting was ok. But good characters isn't enough to save a boring movie like this, this movie actually needed to be a horror movie with real stuff happening for it to have any sort of redemption. I don't write reviews often cause I'm bad at them but when it's a movie as boring and bad as this one I usually try my best even if it saves one person their time, this movie wasn't even worth the 50 cent online fee for regal unlimited.

TL;DR: not a horror movie, it's a dialogue driven movie about the character Ryan getting over his fathers death.

Film all in all is not bad - the metaphors make it across the board, the characters and acting is well for the most part, the cinematography and thensome is phneomal, however the issue I personally had was the fact that the film dragged it's feet through thick mud. If you're expecting this to he a horror flick to the core, scary - immediately disregard that, this is an all in all very reality stricken tale of many challenging emotions like depression, grief and the repercussions of what our lashing actions can do. It really gets the messages across the board well, but as said, thick mud. I can see many people losing their patience with this one, finding it boring with its very prominent slow burn approach. This is a film to watch, if you're seeking to immerse yourself in this characters trauma and grief journey, as well as get a glimpse of some really well captured raw emotions.

I fully see where they were going, I personally enjoy the message and thensome, however with its extremely slow wrapping up and ending that ( for me ) felt like the capsize of this film, this was quite an endurance to sit through and watch. Mentally prepare and know what this film has to offer before jumping in.

THE GOOD REVIEWS ARE LIES

I just wasted my time watching this crap that starts out good, but they obviously had no idea how to give the story any background or an ending that wasn't a complete joke.

Why are the characters being haunted?

Nope, no answer, not even a clue and the ending is just stupid.

This is Not a horror movie. This is a bait and switch. You start the movie thinking, "hey, this looks like it could be a creepy film about satanic cults," but it ends up just a wanna-be documentary on hereditary schizophrenia that makes a mockery of the actual illness and those that suffer it.

Pretty disgusted I got taken in by the good reviews.

You spent two precious hours of my time to explain nothing! Where is the explanation about what I'm looking at and why is this movie so long just to leave people hanging? Is this a generational curse? A curse for the men in the family? Or is the illness a generational curse that's causing all of these issues? Why aren't these idiots taking medication? You seek therapy but don't seek any other preventative measures. This movie is literally about how self destructive people with mental illnesses are but how it also impacts those around them. Yet for some reason I doubt that was the intent. The musical score is horrible and doesn't match the mood or the movie. You didn't just give the creature the middle finger, you gave it to the audience too.