The Shade

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. You didn't just give the creature the middle finger, you gave it to the audience too.

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.

This was a film that I got the chance to see via screener thanks to Kim from dominion3. The title looked interesting and the bit from the press release that I read, I figured I'd check this out. It does help with making my end of year list to mix in these independent films to ensure that I'm not missing out on any gems. I did come into this without knowing too much to be as blank a slate as possible.

Synopsis: following the loss of his father, a grieving twenty-year-old struggles to hold his family together as an unspeakable darkness plagues his older brother.

We start this with seeing a truck driving along a dark road. In the cab is Randy Beckman (Robert Marsella). There's a boy with him. They stop at a cemetery. Randy gets out and pours something on a grave. He then lights it on fire. When this happens, hooded figures appear from the surrounding woods. Randy then shoots himself in the chest and the fire catches on to his clothes.

Ryan (Chris Galust) then wakes up from this nightmare. Randy was his father. His and the life of his family was turned upside down when Randy killed himself. He did this in his closet and did it by shooting himself in the chest. Renee (Laura Benanti) is the mother and she's doing what she can to make ends meet. Ryan works at a local pizzeria and is an apprentice at a tattoo shop. He also watches over his younger brother, James (Sam Duncan). Ryan does have a girlfriend, Alex Ayala (Mariel Molino), who tries to help keep him grounded. He also sees a therapist to deal with his issues, Dr. Huston (Michael Boatman).

Things take a turn for the family when Ryan's older brother is released. I don't recall if this was from jail or from a mental hospital. Regardless, Jason (Dylan McTee) is unstable. He butts heads with Ryan, as his younger brother is taking on more responsibility with their father being gone. Renee, needing to work as much as she does, contributes as well. We get to see that this family loves each other, despite all these issues.

It takes an even darker tone when Jason listens to metal music in his room loudly. This wakes up Ryan who asks him to turn it down. He peaks in the room and sees a dark entity hiding in the closet. Jason appears and attacks Ryan for going into his room, which leads to a tussle. Ryan then starts to see this creature and it freaks him out. He questions his sanity when no one else sees it. Tragedy continues to strike this family and this entity could be contributing.

That is where I'll leave my recap and introduction to the characters. Where I want to start is that this film tells a story that we've seen before. There is this family that has experienced tragedy, we have an unreliable lead character who we know is dealing with depression and possible hallucinations. There is this entity that we don't know if it is real or just his imagination. I do appreciate the deeper allegory here, even though it is something that we've seen before.

Let's then delve deeper here into our lead character since I'd say this is a study of him. We see that due to everything that has happened, he's forced to grow up faster than normal. His father killed himself so they aren't bringing in as much money as they used to. Renee is forced to pick up shifts, meaning that Ryan watches the younger brother. He has a dream of becoming a tattoo artist so he does apprentice tasks at one. He also has a job at night. There is a therapist that is helping him, but Ryan isn't always taking his medication. Alex is there to help Ryan and wants to be his rock, but we see him pushing her away. This is a classic sign for people with mental illness. There is more to it as well, since we see similar things with Jason, who probably is dealing with his own issues. Since Ryan is our lead, we get glimpses of this for his older brother, but we aren't following him.

What I'm saying here parlays into the entity. It is listed in the credits as a harpy and played by Charlotte Stickles. I thought the make-up there was great. It's also creepy that it is done up white and then we see it in the shadows. It creates a stark contrast that is jarring. That is a perk in this film's favor. Now we don't learn much about this creature. What the film is alluding to is that this is what made Randy do what he did. You can then read this as there isn't really a monster. This is how I see it, that this entity is a manifestation of depression and grief, probably even stress as well. It pushes those that it haunts to kill themselves. I'm not the biggest fan of going this route, only because we've seen this done. Deciding to go this way doesn't ruin it for me. I could also get wrong. This is just how I read it.

I think I'll then go over to discuss the acting performances. Galust is solid as our lead. He has a good look about him and I think he does well at conveying the different emotions he needs to. We see them happy, depressed and stressed out, to just name things that stuck out. I also like Molino as his girlfriend. She's attractive, which is good. It is also good that she has depth to her. We see her upset with Ryan for shutting her out. She is also snarky and I appreciate that. Duncan is solid for the younger brother. McTee also works as this older sibling who bothers Ryan. Seeing them clash adds tension. There is also an emotional thing that happens to him. I'd also say that Benanti, Brandan Sexton III, Boatman and the rest of the cast push Ryan as well as James to where they end up.

All that is left then is filmmaking. I'd say that the cinematography was good to capture where this is set. It is a small town where everyone knows everyone. That made me think where I'm from. It also has rural areas where things could happen without people knowing. That's a good touch. I'll credit the framing, especially to ramp up the tension when we see this monster. It is creepy and that made me uncomfortable in the best way possible. I'd say the soundtrack and design worked for what was needed. I do have a glaring issue though. This runs too long. It is over two hours and it needs to be trimmed. This hurts the pacing and also causes it to lose tension.

In conclusion, this is a decent low budget effort on telling a heavy story. I do love this idea of an entity that preys on people that are hurting. There is something dark about that. I'm not entirely sure the monster that we're seeing is real, but more of a manifestation for the audience. I do think that the acting was solid. Galust leads the way with everyone pushing him to where he ends up. I'll credit the cinematography, framing and the look of the monster as bright spots for the filmmaking. This does run too long though. It needs to be trimmed to less than 105 minutes or if they could get it to 90, it would work better. With how it is, I would still recommend it if you wanted a take on how our mental illness can affect us.

My Rating: 6 out of 10.

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.

While the Babadook is about a mother being plagued by a supernatural creature representing her grief, loneliness, and despair as a failed mother and lost partner, the men in The Shade are menaced by a hideous harpy being that likewise represents their grief, anxiety, emotions, and fears that they're not good enough and are slipping.

The film's impact comes from it's normalcy. How completely regular and everyday it is, and then suddenly there's this flash of an arm, or your worst fear slinking across the hall. And you can't say anything, because you are so scared it's not real and no one will believe you.

The film is from the masculine perspective and explores, in a subtle, tactful way underneath the horror premise, the damage done to men when women usurp and then block their natural communication amongst themselves and ways of processing.

The men are hobbled in facing their (literal) demon by the women in their lives who cannot even see the creature as real, as many women deny male emotions are real, yet still manage to make the men's experiences about their own feelings and what they need those men to provide for them. Even men speaking just amongst themselves are hindered, since they are hedged into feminine modes of therapy speak and must reframe their experience to be less offensive or obtrusive, apologizing even as they are ignored.

The inability to share in a masculine way and the reluctance to participate in an ineffectual-for-them feminine one leads to anxiety, panic attacks, and suicides as the Harpy creature infiltrates their lives.

It's not until they band together and take up their natural roles that they can face the demon down.