“So Fades the Light” Asks What We Do When The Chosen One Grows Up
Cults have always been a subject of fascination for those who haven’t been part of one themselves. There’s always the question of how and why someone would join a cult. Can’t they see how ridiculous it is? Of course the answer is no, because what led them down this path is a desire to be part of something. To have a purpose during this lifetime. Cults provide a neat and tidy answer to the nebulous desire to be part of a larger community. What about those who are raised in the organization for their whole life? Those raised from childhood to believe that they are the Chosen One? In Chris Rosik and Rob Cousineau’s So Fades the Light, a “chosen” child is now grown up and must reckon with her childhood.
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Sun (Emersyn Smerek) grew up in The Ministry of Iron and Fire, a right-wing, gun-loving cult. She was referred to as the God Child and Chosen by The Reverend (D. Duke Solomon). When Sun is still young, the compound is stormed by the United States government in a raid that feels similar to that of Waco, without the prolonged standoff. Years later, Sun (now played by Kiley Lotz) is all grown up and trying to process her role in The Ministry. She has decided to take a road trip to return to the compound for the first time since the siege. Unbeknownst to Sun, The Reverend was just released from jail and is also on his way there.
Much of So Fades the Light is a controlled exercise in anticipation. The audience knows what’s waiting for Sun at the end of her trip. We’re waiting with bated breath for Sun to once again come face-to-face with The Reverend. That confrontation is what we’re here for. To see this young woman reclaim the childhood that was stolen from her by the man who was responsible. The sense of dread that So Fades the Light achieves is quite potent. There are flashbacks throughout, but the most skin-crawling moment is a slow jumpscare. It sounds antithetical, as a jumpscare relies on quickness, a flash in the pan, to get the audience out of their seats. This particular moment in So Fades the Light is much more methodical, more languid, which creates a deeper fear. It’s as though the evil in the film isn’t concerned with brevity, that it knows it will forever live on in the dark corners of Sun’s subconscious.
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Even though So Fades the Light has a relatively short runtime of sub-90 minutes, there are long stretches, like on a road trip, where little happens. It’s merely Sun alone in the van, ambling down the road to the compound. When she does stop, she meets a series of characters who all have different interpretations of faith, religion, and purpose. These moments are quite strong and give Sun time to reflect on her upbringing. To unlearn the trauma she endured as a child. So Fades the Light spends a little too much time trying to show the monotony of a road trip rather than the thorny conversations that come from parsing through the trauma of Sun’s childhood.
So Fades the Light manages to achieve a lot with very little. For most of the film, it’s just Lotz as Sun existing in a world that’s still somewhat foreign to her because of her upbringing. The questions the film raises are compelling, even if they’re not fully explored. What does it mean to see your violent childhood immortalized in a museum dedicated to the organization that trapped you? How do you befriend people after being treated as a holy person for years? So Fades the Light is a look at life in the aftermath of being told you have a purpose. What then? Who are you now?
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