The Shade, an award-winning independent horror film starring Chris Galust (Give Me Liberty, Mending the Line) and Tony Award-winner Laura Benanti (tick, tick… BOOM!, No Hard Feelings), has been picked up for North American distribution by Level 33 Entertainment. The film will have an exclusive theatrical release on several hundred screens in the U.S. and Canada on September 20, 2024, ahead of its release across all digital platforms. 

The Shade, which marks writer/director Tyler Chipman’s feature debut, was produced by David Purdy for Red King Cinema. Red King is a groundbreaking new company focused on developing, producing and distributing unique, exciting content for the independent film market, and was co-founded by the storytelling duo in 2019.

Conceived as an exploration of mental health, family dynamics, and generational trauma, The Shade follows twenty-year-old Ryan Beckman (Chris Galust) in the aftermath of the tragic loss of his father. Ryan lives with his mother Renee (Laura Benanti) and spends his days apprenticing at a local tattoo shop and looking after his younger brother James (Sam Duncan). The grieving college student struggles to hold his family together as an unspeakable darkness plagues his older brother Jason (Dylan McTee)—a collegiate athlete who has unexpectedly returned home mid-semester. When a mysterious entity begins stalking Ryan, he is forced to confront the dark presence before it destroys what remains of his family.