Directed by Tyler Chipman, The Shade is a horror drama that attempts to discuss the scarring impact of generational trauma. As a thematic idea, it does sound great, but when it comes to execution, the film fails. As someone who enjoys a good slow burn, The Shade’s pacing seemed unnecessarily slow and the reactions a little repetitive. By the time the film arrives at the climax, the interest is long gone, and most of the questions I had in mind remained unanswered. The relationship and connection between the men in the family was not explored to its full potential, which resulted in a lack of clarity. Overall, The Shade will neither impress someone hoping to experience something profound nor will it excite horror genre fans.
Ryan struggled with his mental health after his father’s death. He regularly consulted a therapist and was trying his best not to let the demons in his head get to him. He was an artist working as an apprentice at a tattoo shop; he was also a college student who had to look after his brother, James, when his mother was not at home during her working hours. After her husband’s death, Renee had to provide for her family, and she often worked late to make ends meet. Ryan’s mental health took a toll when he found out that his elder brother, Jason, was returning home from college in the middle of his term. It was assumed that Jason found college overwhelming and that was the reason behind his return. Ryan and Jason had grown distant after Jason stopped keeping in touch with him for over a year. Will Ryan forgive Jason? Let’s find out
Spoiler Alert
Why did Jason kill himself?
Ryan could not forgive his brother for not staying in touch with him. He was all the more frustrated with Jason when he played loud music in the middle of the night. Ryan peeped into his room and was shocked to see a creepy-looking creature hiding in his closet. Jason was mad at Ryan for trying to enter his room without permission. Even though it was a trivial matter, the brothers got into a physical fight. It was only after their younger brother, James, and their mother stepped in that the boys stopped fighting and went back to their rooms. Jason tried apologizing for his behavior the next day, but Ryan pretended not to care. Clearly, Jason was going through a lot mentally, and he could not explain himself to his family. We soon learn that Jason was a talented boxer with several awards and medals to his name. He had also received a sports scholarship to a fine college that most could only dream of attending. Jason was with their father when he shot himself, and perhaps the memory continued to haunt him. While depression does not necessarily have a root cause, maybe having to always prove himself as a sportsman was also one of the many reasons behind his degrading mental health. Ryan had no idea why his brother was home, but he could see the demons he believed had always followed his father. While the opening scene of The Shade would make one think that the film is about a cult, as the story progresses we discover that the first scene had more to do with the demons in one’s head than with a cult.
Jason, Ryan, and James shared a light moment on Halloween’s Eve. The brothers stepped out to have dinner together. Jason was in a better mood, and he offered to take his brothers out. He was also eager to help Ryan when he figured out that his brother was planning on skipping a party because he had to take James for trick-or-treating. Jason knew that Ryan had a lot on his plate, and he wanted to be a better brother to him. Ryan was happy when Jason offered to help; after a long while, he felt there was someone looking out for him as well.
At the Halloween party, Ryan had a panic attack. The demons he had once seen consume his father had started to follow him as well, and he felt helpless. When Ryan returned home, James told him that Jason had thanked him for letting him take their little brother out and that he loved Ryan, even though he did not say it often. That night Ryan had a nightmare—he saw Jason emerge from the woods naked, begging Ryan to help him. Behind him was a demon in a black robe ready to take his brother away. Ryan woke up in a frenzy, and he rushed to Jason’s room and discovered that his brother had killed himself with a cable tie. Ryan tried to revive his brother, but he was long gone. The demon got to Jason as it did to their father. Perhaps Jason had been planning his suicide, and he decided to spend time with his brothers and shower them with love before he left them. Jason’s death left Ryan devastated, and the creature/woman in his brother’s closet started to haunt him.
Why did Ryan start seeing the ghost?
When Ryan described the creepy woman he had seen in his brother’s closet, his therapist hinted that he was hallucinating. Even though Ryan knew that the woman was not there in reality, he felt terrified every time he saw her. She had a protruding skull and pointed teeth, her skin was pale, and she had dilated jet-black pupils. She followed Ryan whenever he was alone. The monster represented Ryan’s crippling depression, something that Jason had struggled with as well. Ryan felt irritated with himself for not having control over his mind, and it started to impact his relationship with his loved ones. He blamed his mother for Jason’s death; he struggled to communicate what he was going through to his girlfriend, and it resulted in distance between them. He started to lie to his therapist as well. He believed that no one would understand him and that it was impossible to help him. From his mother to his best friend and his girlfriend, Ryan had pushed everyone far away. But he continued to care about his little brother and was hellbent on keeping the ghost away from James.
Why was James afraid?
It was almost a chain of events, with Jason seeing their father shoot himself at the cemetery–Jason struggling with his mental health as an adult and killing himself– and, Ryan discovering Jason’s lifeless body in his room. The demons that once haunted his brother and father were after him, and Ryan was afraid that soon the demons would also start scaring his little brother.
One night, when his girlfriend contacted him hoping to mend their differences, Ryan decided to give their relationship another chance. He went to Alex’s house, and even though his mother repeatedly called him, he ignored her. Things got complicated when Ryan saw the creepy woman walk into the room. Alex was concerned when she realized that Ryan was hallucinating. Ryan once again had no explanation for his behavior, and he decided to leave. He called his mother on his way home, and he learned that James was alone, he had told Renee that there was a monster in his bedroom. Ryan lost his calm; he immediately knew that his little brother was seeing the same woman he had been seeing all this while. Upon reaching home, Ryan discovered that his brother was gone, and he was confident that the only place the monster would take him was the cemetery. It is also likely that James ran to the cemetery upon seeing the monster because he thought staying close to Jason would somehow help him.
How did Ryan break the cycle?
The cemetery plays a crucial role in the film. In the opening scene of The Shade, a young Ryan watched his father kill himself, but we later discover that it was Jason who had found their father dead and not Ryan. The only conclusion one can draw is that Ryan reimagined how his father might have killed himself, and he thought of himself as a helpless little boy who witnessed the entire incident unfold before his eyes. His father had set fire to Randall Beckman’s tombstone (presumably his own tombstone), which further indicates that it was all a dream Ryan had. On his way to the cemetery, the woman continued to haunt Ryan, and he perhaps would have died in a car crash if he had not been careful. But Ryan was determined to rescue his brother, and while he was injured after his car crashed into a tree, he still managed to make it to the cemetery. At one moment, Ryan wanted to kill himself because he could no longer live with the demons constantly following him, but then again he had to rescue his brother, and his love for James triumphed over the burden of generational trauma. After facing the demon and proving that he was not easy to break, the demon left him.
Ryan made it to the cemetery and was reunited with James. They returned home, and he apologized to his little brother for not taking better care of him. While his father and Jason had never chosen to talk about the demon that haunted them, Ryan decided to break the cycle. He knew what James was going through and decided to help him confront the demon instead of running away. While we do not know Ryan’s diagnosis, it seemed he and his family members suffered from symptoms of schizophrenia. Instead of losing hope and leaving his brother to deal with the monster in his room alone, Ryan decided to take charge. The two brothers waited for the monster to reappear.
In The Shade’s ending, when the monster crawled on the bed, Ryan flipped the monster off– a gesture to let her know that they were no longer afraid of the demons in their heads anymore. The monster, a naked woman with wings, can be interpreted as a version of a demonic angel, while some might mistake for a protector; her only intention was to consume the sanity of humans. One can either surrender to her or stand their ground in front of her, and Ryan and James chose the latter. We can hope that Ryan and James will seek the help that they need to overcome the trauma of losing a loved one. The Shade could have been all the more meaningful if we knew more about Ryan’s father and his demons. The relationship between Jason and Ryan also deserved more attention and their dynamics should have been better explored. A lot is left unsaid and that does not necessarily add much to the overall story.
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