Form 02-B · First look briefing

The Shining

A blocked writer takes a winter caretaker job at an empty mountain hotel, and the building's malevolence patiently turns him into the axe his wife and gifted son must outrun.

Poster concept 01

Written by

Stanley Kubrick & Diane Johnson

Based on

Based on the novel by Stephen King

Genre / Format

Horror, Psychological Thriller · ~147 min (from 147 pages at roughly a minute a page)

Setting

Contemporary (circa 1980)

Tone

dread-soaked psychological horror

By the numbers

133

Scenes

Characters

Locations

Props

Exhibit A — Taglines

> The axe is patient. The hotel is patient. Winter does the rest.

> A family of three. A hotel that has always wanted four.

> Some caretakers never leave their post.

Synopsis

Aspiring novelist Jack Torrance signs on as winter caretaker of the Overlook, a vast Colorado resort that closes for the season and strands a single family in its corridors. He brings his wife Wendy and their young son Danny, a boy who speaks through an imaginary friend named Tony and carries a psychic gift the hotel's chef, Dick Halloran, calls the shining. Before the last staff leave, manager Stuart Ullman mentions the previous caretaker, Grady, who murdered his own family with an axe in this same building. The snow seals them in. Jack's pages go blank while Danny's visions sharpen: two motionless girls in a corridor, blood pouring from the elevators, a locked door marked 237. Jack grows colder toward Wendy, warmer toward the empty Gold Room bar, where a bartender named Lloyd is always pouring. As the storm cuts the phones and the radio, Wendy begins to grasp that the hotel is not merely isolating her family but recruiting her husband. What the Overlook wants from Jack, and how far back its claim on him reaches, is the turn the script saves for the snow.

Themes

Isolation and cabin fever

The snow-in is the engine: once the last staff leave, the family has only each other and the hotel, and Ullman's own phrase about the place going quiet as a ghost ship (scene 38) becomes literal as phones and radio fail.

Domestic violence and the family as threat

The horror is a husband, not a monster. Wendy's confession to the doctor about a dislocated arm during Jack's drinking days (scene 20) sets the fuse that the axe attack on the bathroom door finally lights.

The persistence of evil in place and memory (the shining)

Danny's gift and Halloran's both let the building's old crimes bleed through into the present; the recurring vision of blood gushing from the elevator (scene 14) is the hotel's history forcing its way into the boy's eye.

Madness and the dissolution of identity

Jack's manuscript turns out to be hundreds of pages of a single repeated line (scene 101) — a writer's mind worn down to one groove, the surface of a man with nothing left behind it.

Repetition and inescapable history

The story rhymes with the Grady murders it keeps invoking, and pays the rhyme off in a framed 1921 photograph whose smiling young man looks unsettlingly familiar (scene 133), as if the hotel has run this winter before.

Scope at a Glance

133

Total scenes

Unique locations

Principal cast

Exterior scenes

Night shoots

VFX/FX scenes

Estimated shoot days

Company moves

approx. 8-12 meaningful moves — the Overlook and its maze anchor most of the schedule, with satellite trips to Boulder, the ranger's office, Miami, Denver air travel, Durkin's garage, and the snowbound mountain road

Complexity Read

The real pressure points are a substantial child performer carrying snow stunts and a window slide, the blood-flood elevator rig and the Room 237 old-age and decomposition makeup, the snow-covered full-scale hedge maze used for the night climax, and the axe door-destruction and staircase fall — all concentrated inside one immense interior build that demands relentless continuity rather than company moves.

Atmosphere

This is a film about a building that is bigger than the family inside it, and the camera knows it from the first frame. It opens on an aerial track across a Colorado lake and mountain range, past an island, then finds a single yellow VW threading a serpentine road far below, dwarfed. By the time Jack crosses the deserted Overlook lobby toward reception, he is already a small figure swallowed by the space. The air here is wide, cold, and over-lit. Daylight floods the manager's office and the Colorado Lounge, and that brightness is the trap: nothing hides in shadow because the threat is the geometry itself, the long symmetrical corridors, the patterned carpet, the rooms scaled for crowds that left at five o'clock. Wendy calls it a ghost ship and she is right. The pace is slow and unbroken, built on the glide of the Steadicam behind Danny's tricycle as he pedals from kitchen to lounge and back, the low whisper of rubber on carpet then plank then carpet again. That smoothness is the film's signature unease. It refuses to cut when a cut would relieve you. Time is measured in title cards, CLOSING DAY, A MONTH LATER, TUESDAY, THURSDAY, 4 p.m., each one tightening the snow-in. Domestic warmth curdles by degrees: breakfast in bed at 11:30, Jack saying he's never been happier and that he felt he'd been here before, a snowball fight, a mother and son hand in hand at a dead end in the hedge maze, all of it slowly drained until Jack sits alone at the typewriter in a cavernous lounge throwing a rubber ball against the wall instead of writing. When the hotel finally speaks it does so in flat, courteous voices. The Grady girls stand motionless and invite Danny to play for ever and ever before flash-cuts show their butchered bodies. Lloyd appears the instant Jack lowers his hands and pleads for a drink. Grady, a waiter with advocaat on his sleeve, politely explains that Jack has always been the caretaker and must correct his family. The horror is never loud until it is total: the elevator doors releasing a torrent of blood down the corridors, the young woman in the Room 237 bath turning to a laughing, scarred corpse in the mirror, hundreds of typed pages that say only ALL WORK AND NO PLAY MAKES JACK A DULL BOY. The deck should feel patient, symmetrical, and quietly wrong, a place too clean and too large, where evil keeps office hours. What a viewer carries out a week later is texture and object: the maze-green hedge under snow seen from directly overhead, two small figures inside it; a tricycle stopped outside the locked door numbered 237; REDRUM scrawled in lipstick reading MURDER in a mirror; an axe splitting a bathroom door panel and a grinning face shoved through; and a 1921 July 4th Ball photograph in which Jack stands smiling among the long-dead.

Tonal Descriptors

01glacial dread02symmetrical03over-lit04patient05uncanny06domestic gone wrong07isolating08trance-like09polished menace10repetitive11airless12cold-bright

Reference Points

Stanley Kubrick's symmetrical one-point-perspective framing

center the corridor, the bar, the photograph; let the architecture itself stare back.

The Steadicam (Garrett Brown's gliding camera)

adopt the unbroken low glide behind the tricycle and through the maze, smoothness as the source of unease.

Diane Arbus's twin photograph

the Grady girls hand in hand in matching dresses, stillness and pairing as quiet horror.

Edward Hopper's interiors

over-lit rooms scaled too large for their few occupants, where the light offers no comfort.

The Saul Bass / minimal poster tradition of a single overwhelming motif

one motif (the maze, the doorway, the photograph) carrying the whole frame.

High-angle aerial maze photography

the descending crane shot of two tiny figures inside green walls; vulnerability read as pure geometry.

Music & Sound

The score should be dissonant and orchestral, more texture than tune, closer to an avalanche than a melody. Strings that screech, swell, and pulse without resolving belong over the visions: the blood-flood from the elevators, the Grady-girls apparition in the corridor, the mirror reveal of MURDER, the axe coming through the bathroom door. These are not stingers dropped on a jump scare; they should drone and rise underneath the symmetry so the dread is continuous, building from the very first aerial of the lake under an ominous main-title cue. Keep the music monolithic and cold. Sweetness has no place here except as a lie. Against that, the film's most chilling sound is diegetic period music. The Gold Room ball runs on 1920s dance-band music such as Midnight, the Stars and You, and the same ghostly waltz returns over the final 1921 photograph. That warm, scratchy nostalgia playing in an empty hotel is more frightening than any orchestra. Let the contrast carry whole scenes: the elegant past audible in rooms full of the dead. When music stays out, room tone does the work, and there is a lot of room. The Steadicam tricycle sequences live on the rhythm of wheels crossing carpet to wood to carpet, the only sound in corridors built for hundreds. Let silence sit on Jack typing alone, on the dead switchboard Wendy discovers, on the boiler dials, on a yellow ball rolling from nowhere to Danny's feet. The blizzard and the Snowcat engine should swallow the climax outdoors; the axe biting into doors and the squeak of Wendy's knife on a panel should be unbearably present indoors. Voices stay flat and polite when the hotel speaks, which makes them worse.

Soundtrack References

There Will Be Blood · 2007

Jonny Greenwood

steal the dissonant string clusters that pulse and scrape under wide, empty landscapes, dread as sustained texture rather than theme.

Under the Skin · 2013

Mica Levi

borrow the alien, sliding strings that make ordinary spaces feel predatory and wrong.

Suspiria · 1977

Goblin

take the way a repeating motif over an opulent interior curdles beauty into menace.

2001: A Space Odyssey · 1968

Ligeti / Strauss (curated)

study the use of pre-existing avant-garde and waltz music to make vast, clean spaces feel sublime and terrifying at once.

Color Palette

Overlook Gold#C9A24B

the pink-and-gold ballroom and the glowing Gold Room bar where Lloyd serves Jack on the house, warmth weaponized into seduction.

Maze Hedge Green#3F5E45

the thirteen-foot hedge walls Ullman warns he wouldn't enter without an hour to spare, and the green corridor where the tricycle vanishes from frame.

Elevator Blood#7E1116

the torrent that gushes from the elevator doors in Danny's vision and surges back in Wendy's climactic delirium, the hotel's deepest red.

Snow-Blind White#E8ECEE

the over-lit lobby, the blizzard burying the hotel, and the white slope Danny slides down from the bathroom window to escape.

Caretaker Brown#5A4632

the Navajo and Apache motifs of the Colorado Lounge and the warm, cosy staff apartment Jack calls perfect for a child before it becomes the axe-attack site.

Similar Moods

Hereditary · 2018

the family itself as the haunted house, dread accreting through domestic routine until it detonates.

Eyes Wide Shut · 1999

the same cold, symmetrical opulence and the sense of a closed world running rituals just out of sight.

The Innocents · 1961

children, an isolated grand house, and apparitions that may be psychic projection or real, held in unbearable ambiguity.

Stalker · 1979

slow, patient movement through an indifferent space that seems to think, where the journey is the menace.

Poster Concepts

Character-Driven

The Face in the Door

“He came up here to write. The hotel had other plans.”

A splintered horizontal gap torn through a white-painted bathroom door fills the lower third; a man's grinning face thrusts through the breach, eyes wide, lit hard from one side. Everything above the gap is blank door, leaving room for the title to sit in the upper void.

Character-Driven

The Boy Who Knows

“Some children see what the walls remember.”

A small boy seen from behind, kneeling on a patterned carpet at the dead center of a long, symmetrical hotel corridor that recedes to a single far doorway. He is tiny; the corridor swallows him. Two pale child-shapes stand faint and out of focus at the vanishing point.

Character-Driven

The Caretaker's Wife

“She married a quiet man. The winter found out what he really was.”

A woman backed into the corner of a stairwell, chin low, eyes up and wide, both hands gripping a baseball bat raised in front of her chest. She fills the right half of the frame; the left is the steep diagonal of a banister and empty stairs climbing into dark.

Symbolic/Metaphorical

All Work

“The novel was finished. There was only ever one sentence.”

A single sheet curling out of a typewriter platen, shot in tight macro, packed edge to edge with the same line repeated hundreds of times. One slight typo or smear sits dead center, the only break in the pattern, where the eye snags.

Symbolic/Metaphorical

The Hedge Map

“Every hallway leads back to him.”

A clean top-down view of a green hedge maze filling the whole frame, its corridors rendered like an engraved schematic. At the dead center, one tiny human figure; a second figure, axe in hand, frozen at a wrong turn three walls away. Snow dusts the hedge tops.

Symbolic/Metaphorical

The Mirror Word

“Read it backwards. Now run.”

A child's hand-scrawled word in waxy red letters on a dark door, shown twice: the lower half as written (reversed, nonsense), the upper half as its mirror image resolves into a second, legible word. A sliver of mirror seam splits them.

Scene-Based

The Elevator Tide

“The hotel has been keeping something for fifty years.”

A pair of closed metallic elevator doors at the end of a patterned corridor, a thick sheet of dark liquid surging out from the seam and rolling toward the viewer in a low wave that swallows the carpet. Silhouette of furniture lifting off the floor in the flood.

Scene-Based

Closing Day, Empty Halls

“Four months. No guests. No way down.”

The cavernous hotel lobby shot symmetrically, every chair and column in its place, vast and gleaming and utterly empty — except one small figure crossing the floor far below, dwarfed. Late light falls in long shafts from high windows.

Scene-Based

Frozen in the Maze

“The maze always keeps one.”

A man slumped against a snow-laden hedge wall at first light, head tipped back, face and lashes crusted with frost and icicles, an axe half-buried in the snow beside an open hand. Soft blue dawn, the maze walls rising on both sides like a tomb.

Minimalist/Typographic

Room 237

“Of all the doors in the hotel, stay out of this one.”

Nothing but a closed door, dead-on and centered, with a brass room number as the only detail. Flat, frontal, no shadow play — a door you are not supposed to open, rendered as a closed object. Generous dark margin all around.

Minimalist/Typographic

The Tricycle Line

“Listen for the wheels. Then for when they stop.”

An almost-empty frame: a long expanse of patterned carpet and bare corridor, with a single child's tricycle parked small in the lower corner, its shadow stretching across the floor. The rest is geometry and air. The corridor turns at the far edge into dark.

Minimalist/Typographic

Snowed In

“No phone. No road. No spring until April.”

A field of near-white snow texture filling the entire frame, with the tiny dark silhouette of the hotel pressed against the very bottom edge, almost crushed by white. The title floats in the upper whiteout, letters slightly snow-eroded at the edges.

Mood/Atmospheric

The Carpet Pattern

“The floors here don't forget.”

A full-frame, dead-flat overhead of the hotel's hexagonal carpet pattern, hyper-saturated and hypnotic, with the geometry subtly warping toward the center where a faint dark stain spreads through the weave. No figures. Just the floor that has seen everything.

Mood/Atmospheric

Three Lit Windows

“Somewhere up the mountain, three people are awake.”

The dark mass of the snowbound hotel at night seen from a distance across black trees, almost lost in shadow, with only three warm-lit windows glowing in the facade. The scale of the dark around the three small lights is the whole point.

Collage/Ensemble

The 1921 Photograph

“He always worked here. He just hadn't been born yet.”

A framed, sepia-aged group photograph of a crowded period ballroom party, hung slightly crooked on a patterned hotel wall. Among the long-dead revelers, one man at the front is rendered in faint cold modern color, smiling out of the wrong decade. A brass plaque sits under the frame.

Cast

JACK

Jack Torrance, a former schoolteacher and aspiring writer; the Overlook's new winter caretaker. Charming and ironic on the surface, increasingly unstable, with a history of drinking and violence.

A struggling writer seeking solitude is seduced by the hotel's malevolent influence into trying to murder his family, and dies frozen in the maze, revealed to have 'always been' the caretaker.

49 scenes·4 wardrobe changes

WENDY

Wendy Torrance (Winifred), Jack's wife; gentle, nervous, devoted to Danny. A self-described ghost-story and horror addict.

A timid, accommodating wife is forced to find the strength to defend her son, club her husband, and escape the hotel alive.

52 scenes·5 wardrobe changes

DANNY

Danny Torrance, the Torrances' young son (about 5-6); possesses 'the shining,' a psychic gift. Speaks through an imaginary friend, Tony.

A gifted, frightened boy foresees the hotel's evil, survives his father's murderous pursuit by outwitting him in the maze, and escapes with his mother.

41 scenes·4 wardrobe changes

TONY

Danny's imaginary friend, 'the little boy who lives in my mouth,' voiced by Danny through a crooked, wiggling forefinger and a strained croaking voice.

The psychic alter-ego through whom Danny receives the hotel's warnings and visions, ultimately chanting the 'Red Rum' warning.

7 scenes

ULLMAN

Stuart Ullman, the Overlook's manager; brisk, polished, professionally genial.

The manager who hires Jack and tours the family, planting the story of the Grady murders before departing for the season.

11 scenes·1 wardrobe changes

WATSON

Bill Watson, the hotel's maintenance man who handles the building's mechanicals.

The handyman who accompanies the closing-day tour and explains the hotel's upkeep.

8 scenes

SUSIE

Susie, Ullman's secretary; friendly and brief.

The office secretary who greets Jack and later returns Danny to his parents.

2 scenes

RECEPTIONIST

The Overlook receptionist who directs Jack to Ullman's office.

A one-line functionary at the start of Jack's interview.

1 scenes

DOCTOR

A female pediatrician who examines Danny in Boulder; calm and reassuring.

The doctor who finds nothing physically wrong with Danny and draws out the family's troubled history with Wendy.

3 scenes

HALLORAN

Dick Halloran, the Overlook's head chef; warm, kindly, and gifted with the shining like Danny. Based in Miami in the off-season.

The telepathic chef who befriends Danny, senses the family's peril from Miami, races back through the storm to help, and is murdered by Jack on arrival.

23 scenes·3 wardrobe changes

RANGER

A forest-service ranger at the KDK 1 station who handles radio and phone contact about the Overlook.

The ranger who talks to Wendy by radio and to Halloran by phone, relaying that the hotel has gone silent.

6 scenes

LLOYD

Lloyd, the ghostly bartender of the Gold Room; impeccable, deferential, and unsettlingly attentive in his red jacket.

The phantom bartender who serves Jack 'on the house' and coaxes him deeper into the hotel's grip.

2 scenes

GRADY

Delbert Grady, the hotel's former caretaker who murdered his own wife and daughters; appears as a deferential waiter and later as a disembodied voice. Politely insists Jack must 'correct' his family.

The ghost of the previous caretaker who indoctrinates Jack, frees him from the storeroom, and drives him to murder.

3 scenes·1 wardrobe changes

GRADY GIRLS

The two murdered Grady daughters (about eight and ten), appearing hand in hand in matching dresses, sometimes shown butchered and bloodied.

The ghostly daughters who beckon Danny to play 'for ever and ever' and flash images of their own slaughter.

3 scenes

YOUNG LADY

The beautiful, naked young woman who rises from the bath in Room 237.

The seductive apparition who embraces Jack before transforming into a rotting corpse.

1 scenes

ELDERLY WOMAN

The decayed, scar-covered naked old woman the Room 237 apparition becomes, laughing as she rises from the bath.

The corpse-form of the bathtub apparition that drives Jack from Room 237.

1 scenes

STEWARDESS

An airline stewardess on Halloran's DC-10 flight.

A brief functionary who gives Halloran the flight's arrival time.

1 scenes

DURKIN

Larry Durkin, owner of a Sidewinder garage; gruff, helpful.

The garage owner who supplies Halloran with the Snowcat to reach the hotel.

2 scenes

INJURED GUEST

A ghostly party guest in evening dress with a bleeding scar down his head and face, raising a glass to Wendy.

One of the hotel's manifesting ghosts who greets Wendy with 'Great party, isn't it?'

1 scenes

MAN IN DOG COSTUME

A man in an animal/dog costume kneeling at the foot of a bed in one of the hotel rooms, glimpsed in Wendy's ghost vision.

Part of the uncanny ghost tableau Wendy sees as the hotel reveals itself.

1 scenes

MAN IN EVENING DRESS

A man in formal evening dress beside the figure in the dog costume, who leans forward to leer at Wendy.

The second figure in Wendy's ghostly bedroom vision.

1 scenes

Locations

colorado mountains

The vast Colorado lake, mountain ranges and winding mountain roads the Torrances drive through to reach the Overlook.

EXT4 scenes

DAY

Set Requirements

•Aerial/helicopter photography over lake and mountains
•Mountain road with tunnel for the family's car

Key Visual Moments

S1An aerial track forward across a vast lake and mountain range, past an island, opening the film on overwhelming wilderness scale
S2A tiny yellow VW car threads a serpentine mountain road from high above, dwarfed by the landscape
S21Camera tracks forward over treetops on the mountainside down to Jack's car on the road below
S23High-angle aerial of Jack's car snaking along the mountainside road

overlook hotel

The grand, isolated Overlook Hotel and all its interiors and immediate exterior: lobby, Colorado Lounge, Gold Ballroom and corridor, games room, kitchen, walk-in freezer, dry-goods storeroom, boiler/basement, manager's office and switchboard, green and other corridors, Room 237 and its bathroom, the Torrance caretaker's apartment (living room, bedroom, Danny's bedroom, bathroom), staircase, garage, men's toilet, and the snowy grounds at the building's front.

BOTH94 scenes

DAYDUSKNIGHT

Set Requirements

•Cavernous lobby with elevators rigged for the blood-flood effect
•Colorado Lounge with Navajo/Apache motifs and writing table
•Gold Ballroom with practical bar (Lloyd) and 1920s party dressing
•Hotel kitchen with practical oven (Danny hides inside) plus walk-in freezer and dry-goods storeroom
•Room 237 with bathtub for the apparition
•Caretaker's apartment: living room, master bedroom, Danny's small bedroom, bathroom (door destroyed by axe, working window over a snow slope)
•Boiler room, office with CB radio and switchboard
•Grand staircase rigged for Jack's stunt fall
•Garage housing the red Snowcat
•Men's toilet (Grady scene)
•Skeleton-ball and ghost tableaux dressing

Key Visual Moments

S3Jack crosses the cavernous, deserted hotel lobby toward the reception desk, a small figure swallowed by the space
S4Jack shakes hands with Ullman across a sunlit office desk as Susie the secretary looks on
S7Ullman calmly recounts how the previous caretaker Grady killed his family with an axe and shot himself, while Jack listens unfazed
S10Jack leans on the reception counter telling Wendy he got the job and she'll love the place
S12Jack, phone to ear, promises Wendy and Danny will love the beautiful place
S14A torrent of blood gushes from the elevator doors and surges down the corridors toward the lens
S15The two little Grady girls stand hand in hand in a hotel corridor, motionless
S16Blood again gushes from the corridors flanking the elevator doors, surging toward camera
S18The blood gushes up into the lens and blacks out the frame as the doctor's voice bridges into the next scene
S24Cars parked outside the grand facade of the Overlook on closing day
S25Ullman and Watson cross the busy closing-day lobby to greet Jack as departing staff carry out luggage
S26The group crosses the soaring Colorado Lounge with its Navajo and Apache motifs as Wendy marvels at the hotel
S27Danny pulls darts from the board and turns to see the two Grady girls watching from an open doorway, who silently leave
S28Ullman leads the couple down the staff-wing corridor to their quarters as more departing girls wave goodbye
S29Jack peers into the small bedroom and pronounces it 'perfect for a child' as the family settles into the cosy staff apartment
S31In the pink-and-gold ballroom Ullman introduces head chef Dick Halloran, who shakes hands warmly with the Torrances
S32Susie leads Danny across the ballroom to his parents, and Ullman suggests Halloran show Wendy the kitchen
S33Halloran leads Wendy through the vast kitchen as she jokes she'll need breadcrumbs to find her way out
S34Halloran gestures around the walk-in freezer stacked with meat, calling Danny 'Doc' for the first time
S35Wendy presses Halloran on how he knew they call Danny 'Doc', and he deflects with a Bugs Bunny joke
S36Amid the stocked dry-goods shelves, Halloran silently offers Danny ice cream by thought transfer while talking aloud about cereals
S37The men return from the basement and Ullman borrows Wendy, leaving Halloran to take Danny for ice cream
S38Walking the green corridor, Ullman remarks that by five o'clock the hotel will be empty as a ghost ship
S39Halloran quietly tells Danny about 'the shining' and warns him to stay out of Room 237
S40The Overlook stands alone with the mountain behind it after a month has passed
S41Wendy pushes a service trolley through the deserted corridors and into the lobby
S42Danny pedals his tricycle from kitchen to lounge and back, the camera gliding low behind him through the empty halls
S43Wendy pushes the breakfast trolley along the corridor to the apartment door
S44Wendy brings Jack breakfast in bed at 11:30 as he says he's never been this happy, that he felt he'd been here before
S45A blank sheet sits in the typewriter as the camera tilts up to Jack throwing a ball against the lounge wall instead of writing
S48Jack leans over the scale model of the maze, gazing down as if godlike upon his wife and son inside it
S50The hotel sits against the mountain at dusk
S51Wendy opens a can in the kitchen as a portable TV reports a missing Aspen woman and an incoming snowstorm
S52Danny slows his tricycle outside Room 237, reaches for the handle, and finds the door locked
S53Jack erupts at Wendy, ordering her never to interrupt his writing and to get the fuck out
S54Wendy flees laughing as Danny pelts her with snowballs in front of the hotel
S55Jack watches from the window as Wendy and Danny play in the snow, the camera tracking in to his unreadable face
S56The hotel sits beyond snowy trees in the foreground
S57From a high angle Jack sits alone typing at his table in the cavernous lounge
S58Wendy discovers the dead switchboard, then crosses to the office radio to call the rangers
S60Wendy perches on a cabinet, foot up, chatting easily with the ranger about the worst storm in years
S61Danny pedals his tricycle down the green corridor and out of frame, leaving the camera gliding on alone
S62The Grady girls invite Danny to play 'for ever and ever' as flash-cuts reveal their axe-murdered bodies sprawled in blood
S63Wendy and Danny watch a film on TV in the lobby; Danny asks to fetch his fire-engine from the room where Jack sleeps
S64Jack sits Danny on his knee, vowing he'd never hurt him, then asks if Wendy ever said he would
S65The snow-buried hotel shows three lit windows against the dark
S66A yellow ball rolls to Danny's toy trucks from nowhere; he follows it down the corridor to find Room 237's door standing open
S67Wendy checks the boiler dials, then freezes as she hears Jack crying out in his sleep
S68Jack slumps at his writing table, head down, groaning and crying out in a nightmare
S69Jack confesses he dreamed he killed and dismembered his family; then Wendy sees the bruises on Danny's neck and accuses Jack
S70Jack mutters and flails down the corridor past the 'THE GOLD ROOM' sign, switching on the lights toward a now-glowing bar
S71Jack pleads 'God, I'd give anything for a drink,' lowers his hands, and the ghostly bartender Lloyd is suddenly there
S73The door of Room 237 stands open in the empty corridor
S74Danny shakes his head violently in close-up as the woman's laughter echoes from Room 237
S75Jack embraces the beautiful young woman from the bath, then recoils as her reflection in the mirror reveals a laughing, scarred corpse
S77Jack lies that he found nothing in Room 237, then turns vicious when Wendy says they must get Danny out of the hotel
S78Danny lies rigid and awake, mouth wide open, as 'MURDER' appears scrawled backwards on the door behind him
S79In a rage Jack sweeps the coffee pot and stove rings to the floor and kicks them as he storms out
S80An empty corridor strewn with balloons and streamers, the camera gliding forward toward the unseen party
S83At the crowded ghost ball a waiter who reveals himself as Delbert Grady tells Jack he must 'correct' his wife and son
S84In the blood-red men's room Grady insists Jack has always been the caretaker and that his son is bringing an outside party in
S85As Wendy plots their escape, Danny sits up croaking 'Red Rum' in Tony's flat voice, no longer himself
S86Tony tells Wendy 'Danny's gone away, Mrs. Torrance' as she tries in vain to wake her son
S87Jack enters the office as the ranger's radio call goes unanswered, and he starts to unscrew the set
S88Jack rips the internal components out of the CB radio, cutting the family's last link to the outside world
S93Through the lounge entrance Jack sits typing alone, the camera creeping toward his back
S100Wendy tells Danny to stay and watch cartoons, then takes a baseball bat and locks him in before going to find Jack
S101Wendy finds Jack's manuscript is hundreds of pages of 'ALL WORK AND NO PLAY MAKES JACK A DULL BOY,' and he appears behind her
S102Wendy drags the groaning, semi-conscious Jack across the kitchen and locks him in the dry-goods storeroom
S103Locked in the storeroom, Jack laughs that Wendy isn't going anywhere and tells her to check the Snowcat and the radio
S104Wendy runs down the corridor with the knife and forces open the snow-blocked exit door
S105Wendy shoves the door open against the snow and runs along the hotel front through deep drifts
S106Wendy lifts the Snowcat's distributor cap and realizes Jack has wrecked it, stranding them
S107The Overlook stands amid snow and trees as the afternoon wanes
S108The bolted storeroom door is mysteriously drawn open from outside after Grady's disembodied voice tells Jack to 'correct' his family
S111Danny takes a lipstick and scrawls 'REDRUM' on the door; in the mirror Wendy reads 'MURDER' as Jack's axe strikes outside
S112Jack swings the axe again and again into the apartment's front door
S113Wendy scoops Danny up and rushes him into the bathroom as the axe blows land
S114Jack hacks a hole in the bathroom door, thrusts his grinning face through and cries 'Here's Johnny!'
S115Jack pauses at the splintered bathroom door, head cocked, as he hears the Snowcat's engine outside
S116Wendy pushes Danny out the bathroom window onto the snow slope; he slides to the bottom while she gets stuck
S118Halloran's Snowcat crawls along the front of the floodlit Overlook and halts
S119Danny crawls into the kitchen oven to hide as the limping, axe-wielding Jack passes through behind him
S120Trapped in the bathroom, Wendy sobs and slashes at the door with her knife
S121Halloran trudges to the door Wendy left open and pushes inside the hotel
S122As Halloran calls out in the lobby, Jack lunges from behind a pillar and buries the axe in his chest
S123Wendy runs up the staircase calling for Danny, pausing on the landing
S124Through an open doorway Wendy glimpses a man in a dog costume kneeling before a man in evening dress, both turning to leer at her
S125Jack limps to the open hotel door and throws the exterior light switches, scanning the snow for Danny
S126Danny breaks from behind the Snowcat track and flees across the snow into the hedge maze with Jack limping after him
S128Fleeing through the hotel Wendy runs into a lounge full of cobwebbed skeletons seated at the long-abandoned party
S129A blood-flood pours from the elevators and a scarred ghost in evening dress raises a glass: 'Great party, isn't it?'
S130Wendy throws down her knife and Danny runs out of the maze into her arms by Halloran's idling Snowcat
S133The camera glides to a 1921 July 4th Ball photograph and slowly settles on a smiling young man in a dinner jacket at the center of the long-dead revelers, his face unsettlingly familiar

overlook hotel maze

The hotel's famous hedge maze, walls thirteen feet high, plus its outdoor approach, scale model, and plan board; site of family play and the climactic chase and Jack's death.

EXT7 scenes

DAYNIGHT

Set Requirements

•Full-scale hedge maze (snow-covered for climax)
•Scale model of the maze on a lobby table
•Maze plan board at the entrance
•High-angle/crane rig for aerial maze shots

Key Visual Moments

S30Ullman walks the family along the thirteen-foot-high hedge maze, warning he wouldn't enter without an hour to find his way out
S46Wendy chases Danny from the hotel into the hedge maze, the camera panning with their footrace to the entrance
S47Mother and son wind deep into the maze hand in hand, hitting a dead end before turning back
S49From high overhead Wendy and Danny move as tiny figures through the green maze as the camera descends
S127Danny doubles back in his own footprints and brushes out his trail, leaving Jack to stagger lost and freezing through the snowbound maze
S131Jack, hearing the Snowcat leave, staggers and moans through the maze before slumping against a hedge wall in the snow
S132By morning Jack sits frozen dead in the maze, snow and icicles crusting his pale, grimacing face

boulder apartment

The Torrances' modest apartment building and rooms in Boulder: living room/kitchen, bathroom with mirror, and Danny's bedroom; the prologue home before the hotel.

BOTH9 scenes

DAY

Set Requirements

•Living room/kitchen with dining table
•Bathroom with basin, stool and mirror (Tony scenes)
•Danny's bedroom for the doctor's exam

Key Visual Moments

S5Camera tracks in on the modest Boulder apartment building with the mountains looming behind it
S6Danny wiggles his forefinger at the table and answers in Tony's voice, the imaginary friend resisting the move to the hotel
S8Danny stands on a stool at the basin asking Tony whether Daddy got the job, the boy already knowing the answer
S9Wendy dries her hands and crosses to answer the ringing phone, the camera panning with her
S11Wendy sits on the back of a chair, phone to her ear, smiling at the good news
S13The camera tracks in on Danny's reflection in the mirror as he presses Tony to explain why he fears the hotel
S17Danny screams in close-up as the vision overwhelms him
S19The doctor leans over Danny examining his eyes as he calmly explains that Tony lives in his mouth
S20Over cigarettes on the sofa, Wendy admits Jack dislocated Danny's arm while drunk, then quit drinking

jack's car

The family's yellow VW car interior during the drive up the mountain.

INT1 scene

DAY

Set Requirements

•Process/driving rig for windscreen background plates

Key Visual Moments

S22Jack tells a wide-eyed Danny about the Donner Party resorting to cannibalism as they climb the mountain road

ranger's office

The forest-service ranger station (callsign KDK 1) with radio, filing cabinet and desk, used to contact the hotel.

INT3 scenes

DAYNIGHT

Set Requirements

•CB radio base station and desk dressing

Key Visual Moments

S59The forest ranger answers Wendy's radio call, warning that downed lines may stay out until spring
S82The ranger agrees to radio the hotel and asks Halloran to call back in twenty minutes
S90The ranger, phone to ear at his radio, offers to keep trying the silent hotel

halloran's miami apartment

Dick Halloran's apartment in Miami, with a TV and bed, where he senses the family's danger and makes his phone calls.

INT4 scenes

NIGHT

Set Requirements

•Bedroom with practical TV (Newswatch broadcast) and telephone

Key Visual Moments

S72Halloran lies on his bed beneath a TV news report of the Colorado blizzard, his face tightening as he senses something wrong
S76Halloran dials the Overlook but an operator recording tells him the call cannot be completed
S81Halloran phones the Forest Service, asking the ranger to radio-check the family at the Overlook
S89The ranger tells Halloran they got no answer from the hotel, and Halloran's hand goes to his head in worry

denver air travel

Halloran's journey by air to Colorado: the sky, the DC-10 cabin, the airport exterior runway, and the airport interior phone booth in Denver/Stapleton.

BOTH4 scenes

DAY

Set Requirements

•DC-10 airliner (exterior plates and cabin mock-up)
•Airport terminal with telephone booth

Key Visual Moments

S91A DC-10 airliner cuts across the sky carrying Halloran toward Colorado
S92Halloran asks the stewardess their arrival time, glancing anxiously at his watch
S94The DC-10 touches down and rolls along the flare path
S97Halloran, in a Stapleton phone booth, tells Durkin he needs a Snowcat to reach the Overlook today

durkin's garage

Larry Durkin's snowbound garage near the mountains, with petrol pump, office and counter, where Halloran obtains the Snowcat.

BOTH2 scenes

DAY

Set Requirements

•Garage forecourt with petrol pump
•Office interior with counter and telephone

Key Visual Moments

S95Durkin leaves a car at the petrol pump and heads into his snowbound garage office
S96Durkin promises to ready a Snowcat for Halloran, warning the mountain roads are completely blocked

mountain road

The snow-covered mountain roads at night that Halloran drives, first by car then by Snowcat, through the blizzard to the hotel.

BOTH5 scenes

NIGHT

Set Requirements

•Snow-covered road with banks of trees
•Overturned truck dressing
•Process/driving rigs for car and Snowcat interiors

Key Visual Moments

S98Halloran's car pushes through driving snow along the dark mountain road as a radio DJ reports closed passes
S99Behind the wheel Halloran passes an overturned truck as the radio warns the storm will rage all day
S109Halloran drives the Snowcat through deep snow between dark banks of trees toward the hotel
S110Halloran grips the wheel of the Snowcat, wipers beating against the storm
S117Halloran drives the final stretch of snow road, almost at the hotel

Production Design · Props

axe

Hero

11 scenes

Jack's murder weapon for the climax; used to destroy doors and kill Halloran. Also appears bloodied in the Grady-girls vision. Needs breakaway/door-rigging and blood versions.

S62S101S112S114S115S119S122S125S126S127S131

typewriter

Hero

6 scenes

Jack's writing instrument; close-up reveal of the 'ALL WORK AND NO PLAY MAKES JACK A DULL BOY' manuscript.

S45S53S57S68S93S101

manuscript pages ('ALL WORK AND NO PLAY MAKES JACK A DULL BOY')

Hero

1 scene

Hundreds of typed pages filling a box, all repeating the single line. Requires multiple printed sheets for close-ups and flicking.

S101

baseball bat

Hero

2 scenes

Wendy's defensive weapon; she clubs Jack down the stairs with it.

S100S101

kitchen knife

Hero

9 scenes

Wendy carries it through the climax; slashes Jack's hand at the bathroom door; Danny also takes it during the REDRUM sequence.

S102S104S105S106S111S114S116S120S130

tricycle

Hero

4 scenes

Danny's tricycle for the recurring Steadicam corridor sequences; leads him to Room 237 and the Grady girls.

S42S52S61S62

Snowcat

Hero

9 scenes

Red snow vehicle; the family's only motorized escape. Jack sabotages the hotel's; Halloran's becomes Wendy and Danny's getaway. Working and 'damaged distributor cap' versions needed.

S30S102S103S106S109S110S118S126S130

television set

4 scenes

Portable/standing TVs playing news (storm, missing woman, Newswatch) and cartoons; used as exposition and to track time.

S51S63S72S100

CB radio set

Hero

4 scenes

The hotel's two-way radio (KDK 12), the family's lifeline. Jack rips out its components to disable it; needs a gutted/practical version.

S58S60S87S88

lipstick

Hero

1 scene

Danny uses it to scrawl 'REDRUM' on the door; revealed as 'MURDER' in the mirror.

S111

telephone

9 scenes

Used for the early Jack/Wendy call and Halloran's repeated attempts to reach the hotel and the ranger/Durkin.

S9S10S11S12S76S81S89S96S97

breakfast tray (eggs, bacon, orange juice)

1 scene

Wendy's breakfast-in-bed service for Jack.

S44

darts and dartboard

1 scene

Danny plays in the games room when he first sees the Grady girls.

S27

doctor's bag and instruments (ophthalmoscope, stethoscope)

1 scene

Used in the doctor's examination of Danny in Boulder.

S19

cigarettes and lighter

3 scenes

Wendy's recurring cigarettes; continuity prop across the doctor scene and the empty-hotel routine.

S20S51S100

rubber ball

Hero

3 scenes

Jack throws it against the lounge wall; a yellow ball later rolls supernaturally to Danny, luring him to Room 237. Color/continuity to be confirmed.

S45S48S66

maze model

Hero

1 scene

Scale model of the hedge maze on a lobby table; Jack looms over it as the camera match-cuts to the real maze.

S48

bourbon bottle and glass

2 scenes

Lloyd serves Jack at the Gold Room bar; central to Jack's relapse.

S71S83

advocaat glass and serviette

2 scenes

Grady spills advocaat on Jack, motivating the move to the men's room for the key conversation.

S83S84

1921 July 4th Ball photograph

Hero

1 scene

The final reveal: framed period photo with Jack at its center. Custom hero photo prop.

S133

champagne bottle and skeleton-ball dressing

1 scene

Cobwebbed skeletons and a champagne bottle in Wendy's ghost-party vision.

S128

Scenes

1EXT

DAY

pp. 1-1

COLORADO MOUNTAIN (U.S.A.)

isolation

An aerial track forward across a vast lake and mountain range, past an island, opening the film on overwhelming wilderness scale

Characters: None
Wardrobe: Standard
VFX/Stunts: Aerial helicopter tracking shot over lake and mountains
Notes: Opening title sequence shot. Source has no scene numbers; this draft is a shot-by-shot post-production script.
Camera: Aerial track forward, low over the water
Lighting: Flat overcast daylight, cool and even
Mood: Vast, ominous

2EXT

DAY

pp. 1-1

ROAD

foreboding

A tiny yellow VW car threads a serpentine mountain road from high above, dwarfed by the landscape

Characters: None
Props: yellow VW car
Wardrobe: Standard
VFX/Stunts: Aerial tracking shots of car; car passing through tunnel
Notes: Multiple aerial set-ups of the Torrance car driving up to the hotel; camera tracks in on the Overlook to end the sequence.
Camera: High aerial tracking, holding the car small in frame
Lighting: Bright natural daylight, long shadows of trees
Mood: Foreboding, lonely

3INT

DAY

pp. 2-2

OVERLOOK HOTEL/LOBBY

arrival

Jack crosses the cavernous, deserted hotel lobby toward the reception desk, a small figure swallowed by the space

Characters: JACK, RECEPTIONIST
Props: reception desk
Wardrobe: Standard
Notes: Title card 'THE INTERVIEW' precedes this scene. Jack arrives for his appointment with Ullman.
Camera: Wide shot, low and central, deep perspective to the desk
Lighting: Soft daylight through tall windows, warm interior fill
Mood: Hushed, dwarfing

4INT

DAY

pp. 2-3

OVERLOOK HOTEL/ULLMAN'S OFFICE

introduction

Jack shakes hands with Ullman across a sunlit office desk as Susie the secretary looks on

Characters: JACK, ULLMAN, SUSIE
Props: desk, book, coffee
Wardrobe: Standard
Notes: Ullman introduces his secretary Susie and asks her to fetch coffee and Bill Watson.
Camera: Medium two-shot across the desk
Lighting: Natural window daylight, warm and clean
Mood: Cordial, brisk

5EXT

DAY

pp. 3-3

APARTMENT BUILDING/BOULDER

transition

Camera tracks in on the modest Boulder apartment building with the mountains looming behind it

Characters: None
Wardrobe: Standard
Notes: Establishing shot of the family's home in Boulder.
Camera: Slow track-in toward the building
Lighting: Flat daytime overcast
Mood: Plain, looming

6INT

DAY

pp. 3-5

JACK & WENDY'S APARTMENT IN BOULDER / LIVING ROOM

unease

Danny wiggles his forefinger at the table and answers in Tony's voice, the imaginary friend resisting the move to the hotel

Characters: DANNY, WENDY, TONY
Props: sandwich, book
Wardrobe: Standard
Notes: First appearance of Tony, Danny's imaginary friend who speaks through his finger. Tony refuses to go to the hotel.
Camera: Medium close on the boy at the table
Lighting: Soft daylight through a side window
Mood: Unsettling, intimate

7INT

DAY

pp. 5-12

OVERLOOK HOTEL/ULLMAN'S OFFICE

dread

Ullman calmly recounts how the previous caretaker Grady killed his family with an axe and shot himself, while Jack listens unfazed

Characters: JACK, ULLMAN, WATSON
Props: desk, chairs
Wardrobe: Standard
Notes: The exposition interview: seasonal closure, isolation, and the Grady murders in the winter of 1970. Jack mentions his wife is a ghost-story and horror addict.
Camera: Medium wide, favoring Jack's unreadable reaction
Lighting: Bright natural daylight from the window
Mood: Civil dread

8INT

DAY

pp. 12-13

BOULDER APARTMENT/BATHROOM

premonition

Danny stands on a stool at the basin asking Tony whether Daddy got the job, the boy already knowing the answer

Characters: DANNY, TONY
Props: stool, basin
Wardrobe: Standard
Notes: Tony confirms Jack got the job before any call is made.
Camera: Medium, slightly low at the boy's level
Lighting: Flat bathroom daylight, soft
Mood: Hushed premonition

9INT

DAY

pp. 12-13

BOULDER KITCHEN/LIVING ROOM

anticipation

Wendy dries her hands and crosses to answer the ringing phone, the camera panning with her

Characters: WENDY
Props: telephone, dishes, fridge carton
Wardrobe: Standard
Notes: Wendy answers the phone; intercut with Jack calling from the hotel.
Camera: Pan following her toward the phone
Lighting: Bright kitchen daylight
Mood: Anticipation

10INT

DAY

pp. 13-13

HOTEL - LOBBY

reassurance

Jack leans on the reception counter telling Wendy he got the job and she'll love the place

Characters: JACK
Props: telephone, reception counter
Wardrobe: Standard
Notes: Phone call intercut with the Boulder apartment.
Camera: Medium, the counter line leading into deep empty space
Lighting: Soft daylight through tall lobby windows
Mood: Buoyant, isolated

11INT

DAY

pp. 13-13

BOULDER APARTMENT/LIVING ROOM

relief

Wendy sits on the back of a chair, phone to her ear, smiling at the good news

Characters: WENDY
Props: telephone, chair
Wardrobe: Standard
Notes: Continuation of the phone-call intercut.
Camera: Medium, eye level on the seated figure
Lighting: Warm interior daylight
Mood: Relief

12INT

DAY

pp. 13-13

HOTEL - LOBBY

warmth

Jack, phone to ear, promises Wendy and Danny will love the beautiful place

Characters: JACK
Props: telephone, reception desk
Wardrobe: Standard
Notes: Phone-call intercut continues.
Camera: Medium wide, room depth behind him
Lighting: Soft daylight, warm fill
Mood: Warm, hollow

13INT

DAY

pp. 13-14

BOULDER APARTMENT/BATHROOM

dread

The camera tracks in on Danny's reflection in the mirror as he presses Tony to explain why he fears the hotel

Characters: DANNY, TONY
Props: mirror, stool, basin
Wardrobe: Standard
Notes: Danny presses Tony for answers; leads directly into his first vision.
Camera: Slow track-in on the mirror reflection
Lighting: Flat soft bathroom light
Mood: Mounting dread

14INT

DAY

pp. 14-14

HOTEL - LOBBY

terror

A torrent of blood gushes from the elevator doors and surges down the corridors toward the lens

Characters: None
Props: elevator doors
Wardrobe: Standard
VFX/Stunts: Elevator blood flood effect - vast quantity of stage blood surging toward camera
Notes: Danny's vision of the elevators bleeding. The recurring blood-flood motif, recalled later in Wendy's climactic vision.
Camera: Low wide, corridor receding to the elevator doors
Lighting: Dim corridor light overwhelmed by the red
Mood: Apocalyptic terror

15INT

DAY

pp. 14-14

HOTEL/CORRIDOR

dread

The two little Grady girls stand hand in hand in a hotel corridor, motionless

Characters: GRADY GIRLS
Wardrobe: Two girls in matching pale dresses
Notes: First glimpse of the Grady girls inside Danny's vision.
Camera: Symmetrical wide, corridor centered on the girls
Lighting: Even diffuse corridor light
Mood: Uncanny dread

16INT

DAY

pp. 14-14

HOTEL/LOBBY

terror

Blood again gushes from the corridors flanking the elevator doors, surging toward camera

Characters: None
Props: elevator doors
Wardrobe: Standard
VFX/Stunts: Elevator blood flood effect
Notes: Vision intensifies.
Camera: Low wide, the doors centered, walls flanking
Lighting: Corridor light drowned in red
Mood: Escalating terror

17INT

DAY

pp. 15-15

BOULDER APARTMENT

panic

Danny screams in close-up as the vision overwhelms him

Characters: DANNY
Wardrobe: Standard
Notes: Danny's faint/seizure that prompts the doctor's visit.
Camera: Extreme close-up on the boy's face
Lighting: Soft flat daylight
Mood: Panic

18INT

DAY

pp. 15-15

HOTEL/LOBBY

terror

The blood gushes up into the lens and blacks out the frame as the doctor's voice bridges into the next scene

Characters: DOCTOR
Props: elevator doors
Wardrobe: Standard
VFX/Stunts: Elevator blood flood effect - blood blacks out lens
Notes: Sound bridge: the DOCTOR's voice ('hold your eyes still') carries over the black-out into the bedroom.
Camera: Low, red rising to fill and black out the frame
Lighting: Engulfing red, then darkness
Mood: Drowning terror

19INT

DAY

pp. 15-18

BOULDER APARTMENT/DANNY'S BEDROOM

concern

The doctor leans over Danny examining his eyes as he calmly explains that Tony lives in his mouth

Characters: DOCTOR, DANNY, WENDY
Props: ophthalmoscope, doctor's bag, stethoscope, bed
Wardrobe: Standard
Notes: Danny describes Tony; Wendy explains he is an imaginary friend.
Camera: Medium close over the boy on the bed
Lighting: Warm bedside daylight, gentle
Mood: Tender concern

20INT

DAY

pp. 18-22

CORRIDOR/LIVING ROOM

confession

Over cigarettes on the sofa, Wendy admits Jack dislocated Danny's arm while drunk, then quit drinking

Characters: DOCTOR, WENDY
Props: sofa, cigarettes, lighter
Wardrobe: Standard
Notes: Key backstory: Jack's drinking, the injury to Danny's shoulder, and his five months sober. Recalled in Jack's later bar monologue to Lloyd.
Camera: Medium two-shot across the coffee table
Lighting: Soft window daylight, hazed with smoke
Mood: Confessional unease

21EXT

DAY

pp. 22-23

COLORADO MOUNTAINS

journey

Camera tracks forward over treetops on the mountainside down to Jack's car on the road below

Characters: None
Props: Jack's car
Wardrobe: Standard
VFX/Stunts: Aerial tracking shot
Notes: Title card 'CLOSING DAY' precedes this sequence. The family's drive up to the Overlook begins.
Camera: Aerial track forward and down over treetops to the road
Lighting: Bright mountain daylight
Mood: Journey, smallness

22INT

DAY

pp. 23-24

JACK'S CAR

foreboding

Jack tells a wide-eyed Danny about the Donner Party resorting to cannibalism as they climb the mountain road

Characters: WENDY, JACK, DANNY
Props: car
Wardrobe: Standard
VFX/Stunts: Process/driving shots through windscreen
Notes: The Donner Party cannibalism conversation; Danny says he saw it on TV.
Camera: Wide from the dashboard, all three in frame
Lighting: Natural daylight through the windscreen
Mood: Foreboding, queasy

23EXT

DAY

pp. 24-24

COLORADO MOUNTAINS

journey

High-angle aerial of Jack's car snaking along the mountainside road

Characters: None
Props: Jack's car
Wardrobe: Standard
VFX/Stunts: Aerial tracking shot
Notes: Drive continues toward the hotel.
Camera: High aerial tracking the car along the road
Lighting: Bright daylight, hard shadows of pine
Mood: Lonely, ascending

24EXT

DAY

pp. 24-24

OVERLOOK HOTEL

arrival

Cars parked outside the grand facade of the Overlook on closing day

Characters: None
Props: parked cars
Wardrobe: Standard
Notes: Establishing the hotel exterior.
Camera: Wide establishing of the full facade
Lighting: Flat overcast daylight
Mood: Imposing arrival

25INT

DAY

pp. 24-26

OVERLOOK HOTEL/LOBBY

introduction

Ullman and Watson cross the busy closing-day lobby to greet Jack as departing staff carry out luggage

Characters: ULLMAN, WATSON, JACK
Props: luggage, floor cleaner
Wardrobe: Standard
Notes: Jack's family is touring; Watson is sent to move the Torrances' things to their apartment.
Camera: Wide, tracking the men across the busy lobby
Lighting: Soft daylight, warm interior fill
Mood: Busy, transitional

26INT

DAY

pp. 26-27

HOTEL/COLORADO LOUNGE

wonder

The group crosses the soaring Colorado Lounge with its Navajo and Apache motifs as Wendy marvels at the hotel

Characters: ULLMAN, WENDY, JACK, WATSON
Wardrobe: Standard
Notes: Ullman recounts the hotel's illustrious past and famous guests.
Camera: Wide, the group small against the soaring room
Lighting: Flooding natural light from tall windows
Mood: Awed grandeur

27INT

DAY

pp. 27-27

HOTEL GAMES ROOM

uncanny

Danny pulls darts from the board and turns to see the two Grady girls watching from an open doorway, who silently leave

Characters: DANNY, GRADY GIRLS
Props: darts, dartboard, chair
Wardrobe: Two girls in matching dresses
Notes: Danny encounters the Grady girls again in the games room.
Camera: Medium, the boy foreground, girls framed in the doorway beyond
Lighting: Even interior daylight
Mood: Uncanny stillness

28INT

DAY

pp. 27-28

HOTEL/CARETAKER'S APARTMENT CORRIDOR

transition

Ullman leads the couple down the staff-wing corridor to their quarters as more departing girls wave goodbye

Characters: ULLMAN, WENDY, JACK
Props: luggage bags
Wardrobe: Standard
Notes: Ullman explains none of the other bedrooms are heated in winter.
Camera: Tracking the group down the narrow corridor
Lighting: Plain overhead service-wing light
Mood: Transitional

29INT

DAY

pp. 28-29

HOTEL/JACK'S APARTMENT

domestic warmth

Jack peers into the small bedroom and pronounces it 'perfect for a child' as the family settles into the cosy staff apartment

Characters: ULLMAN, WENDY, JACK
Props: bed
Wardrobe: Standard
Notes: The Torrance apartment: living room, bedroom, bathroom, and Danny's small bedroom. Becomes the climactic axe-attack location.
Camera: Medium, Jack framed in the bedroom doorway
Lighting: Warm cosy interior lamplight
Mood: Domestic warmth

30EXT

DAY

pp. 29-30

HOTEL/THE MAZE

ominous charm

Ullman walks the family along the thirteen-foot-high hedge maze, warning he wouldn't enter without an hour to find his way out

Characters: ULLMAN, WENDY, JACK, WATSON
Props: hedge maze, red Snowcat
Wardrobe: Standard
Notes: Introduces the hedge maze and the Snowcat. Ullman notes the hotel is built on an Indian burial ground. The maze becomes the site of Jack's death.
Camera: Wide, group dwarfed by the hedge walls
Lighting: Cool overcast daylight
Mood: Ominous charm

31INT

DAY

pp. 30-33

HOTEL BALLROOM/CORRIDOR

introduction

In the pink-and-gold ballroom Ullman introduces head chef Dick Halloran, who shakes hands warmly with the Torrances

Characters: ULLMAN, JACK, WATSON, WENDY, HALLORAN
Props: shuttered bar
Wardrobe: Standard
Notes: The Gold Ballroom and its bar are introduced; Ullman notes all liquor is removed for the winter. Jack: 'We don't drink.' Halloran is introduced.
Camera: Medium group shot in the ornate ballroom
Lighting: Warm decorative ballroom light
Mood: Cordial introduction

32INT

DAY

pp. 33-33

HOTEL - BALLROOM

logistics

Susie leads Danny across the ballroom to his parents, and Ullman suggests Halloran show Wendy the kitchen

Characters: SUSIE, DANNY, JACK, HALLORAN, WATSON, WENDY, ULLMAN
Wardrobe: Standard
Notes: The party splits: Halloran takes Wendy and Danny to the kitchen; Ullman continues with Jack.
Camera: Medium wide, the group splitting into two parties
Lighting: Warm ballroom light
Mood: Busy logistics

33INT

DAY

pp. 33-34

HOTEL - KITCHEN

warmth

Halloran leads Wendy through the vast kitchen as she jokes she'll need breadcrumbs to find her way out

Characters: WENDY, DANNY, HALLORAN
Props: kitchen equipment, walk-in freezer door
Wardrobe: Standard
Notes: Halloran begins the kitchen tour and renames Wendy from Winifred. The kitchen is the climactic refuge and Halloran's death site.
Camera: Tracking the trio down the kitchen aisle
Lighting: Bright even fluorescent kitchen light
Mood: Warm, sprawling

34INT

DAY

pp. 34-35

HOTEL - FREEZER

warmth

Halloran gestures around the walk-in freezer stacked with meat, calling Danny 'Doc' for the first time

Characters: HALLORAN, WENDY, DANNY
Props: meat stores, rib roasts, lamb
Wardrobe: Standard
Notes: Halloran first calls Danny 'Doc' - a name only the family uses, hinting at his shining.
Camera: Medium wide inside the freezer, door behind the family
Lighting: Cold flat freezer strip-light
Mood: Chilly warmth

35INT

DAY

pp. 35-36

HOTEL - KITCHEN

suspicion

Wendy presses Halloran on how he knew they call Danny 'Doc', and he deflects with a Bugs Bunny joke

Characters: DANNY, WENDY, HALLORAN
Wardrobe: Standard
Notes: Wendy notices Halloran knew the nickname; he deflects and moves on to the storeroom.
Camera: Medium two-shot, favoring the mother's frown
Lighting: Bright even kitchen light
Mood: Flickering suspicion

36INT

DAY

pp. 36-37

HOTEL - STOREROOM

telepathy

Amid the stocked dry-goods shelves, Halloran silently offers Danny ice cream by thought transfer while talking aloud about cereals

Characters: HALLORAN, DANNY, WENDY
Props: dried goods, canned goods, cereal boxes
Wardrobe: Standard
Notes: Halloran's telepathic 'thought transfer' to Danny about ice cream. This dry-goods storeroom is also where Wendy later locks Jack.
Camera: Medium, chef and boy framed by towering shelves
Lighting: Dim overhead storeroom light
Mood: Secret telepathy

37INT

DAY

pp. 37-39

HOTEL KITCHEN

transition

The men return from the basement and Ullman borrows Wendy, leaving Halloran to take Danny for ice cream

Characters: HALLORAN, WENDY, DANNY, ULLMAN, JACK, WATSON
Props: storeroom door
Wardrobe: Standard
Notes: Wendy rejoins the men for the basement tour; Halloran keeps Danny for the private shining conversation.
Camera: Wide, the group splitting across the kitchen
Lighting: Bright even kitchen light
Mood: Transitional

38INT

DAY

pp. 39-39

HOTEL - GREEN CORRIDOR

foreboding

Walking the green corridor, Ullman remarks that by five o'clock the hotel will be empty as a ghost ship

Characters: WENDY, ULLMAN, JACK, WATSON
Wardrobe: Standard
Notes: Wendy: 'Just like a ghost ship, huh?' Foreshadows the coming isolation.
Camera: Wide tracking down the green corridor
Lighting: Even diffuse corridor light
Mood: Foreboding

39INT

DAY

pp. 39-45

HOTEL - KITCHEN

revelation

Halloran quietly tells Danny about 'the shining' and warns him to stay out of Room 237

Characters: HALLORAN, DANNY
Props: kitchen table
Wardrobe: Standard
Notes: The central exposition of the shining: traces left behind, places that shine, and the warning about Room 237. Danny intuits Halloran's fear of 237.
Camera: Intimate medium two-shot, close on both faces
Lighting: Soft warm pool over the table, kitchen dim beyond
Mood: Quiet revelation

40EXT

DAY

pp. 45-45

OVERLOOK HOTEL

isolation

The Overlook stands alone with the mountain behind it after a month has passed

Characters: None
Wardrobe: Standard
Notes: Title card 'A MONTH LATER' precedes this. The family is now alone in the hotel.
Camera: Wide establishing, hotel centered and alone
Lighting: Cool flat daylight
Mood: Sealed isolation

41INT

DAY

pp. 45-45

OVERLOOK HOTEL - LOBBY

routine

Wendy pushes a service trolley through the deserted corridors and into the lobby

Characters: WENDY
Props: service trolley
Wardrobe: Standard
Notes: The empty-hotel daily routine begins.
Camera: Wide, the woman small against the empty lobby
Lighting: Soft daylight through tall windows
Mood: Solitary routine

42INT

DAY

pp. 45-46

HOTEL - KITCHEN & LOUNGE

unease

Danny pedals his tricycle from kitchen to lounge and back, the camera gliding low behind him through the empty halls

Characters: DANNY
Props: tricycle
Wardrobe: Standard
VFX/Stunts: Steadicam tracking of tricycle
Notes: The recurring tricycle Steadicam motif establishing the geometry of the empty hotel.
Camera: Low gliding Steadicam, following close behind the trike
Lighting: Even daytime interior light
Mood: Restless unease

43INT

DAY

pp. 46-46

HOTEL - CORRIDOR TO TORRANCE'S APARTMENT

routine

Wendy pushes the breakfast trolley along the corridor to the apartment door

Characters: WENDY
Props: trolley, breakfast tray
Wardrobe: Standard
Notes: Leading into Jack's late-morning breakfast.
Camera: Medium, the corridor receding to the door
Lighting: Plain even corridor light
Mood: Quiet routine

44INT

DAY

pp. 46-48

HOTEL - TORRANCE'S APARTMENT

deja vu

Wendy brings Jack breakfast in bed at 11:30 as he says he's never been this happy, that he felt he'd been here before

Characters: JACK, WENDY
Props: breakfast tray, orange juice, eggs and bacon, mirror
Wardrobe: Standard
Notes: Jack's eerie deja vu speech: he knew what was around every corner. First sign of his attachment to the hotel.
Camera: Medium across the bed, favoring Jack's face
Lighting: Warm late-morning window light
Mood: Uneasy déjà vu

45INT

DAY

pp. 48-48

HOTEL - LOUNGE

stagnation

A blank sheet sits in the typewriter as the camera tilts up to Jack throwing a ball against the lounge wall instead of writing

Characters: JACK
Props: typewriter, rubber ball
Wardrobe: Standard
Notes: Jack's writer's block: throwing the ball against the wall. The typewriter becomes a key motif (the 'ALL WORK' pages).
Camera: Tilt up from typewriter to the ball-throwing man
Lighting: Flooding daylight from tall windows
Mood: Stagnation

46EXT

DAY

pp. 48-48

HOTEL - MAZE

play

Wendy chases Danny from the hotel into the hedge maze, the camera panning with their footrace to the entrance

Characters: WENDY, DANNY
Props: maze plan board
Wardrobe: Wendy and Danny in winter coats
Notes: Wendy and Danny play in the maze. Camera tracks onto the maze plan board.
Camera: Pan following the footrace to the maze entrance
Lighting: Cool flat daylight
Mood: Playful

47INT

DAY

pp. 48-49

MAZE

tenderness

Mother and son wind deep into the maze hand in hand, hitting a dead end before turning back

Characters: WENDY, DANNY
Wardrobe: Standard
Notes: Inside the maze with Wendy and Danny; intercut with Jack at the maze model. Note: source slug reads 'INT. MAZE' though the maze is an exterior hedge set.
Camera: Medium, following the pair along the hedge passage
Lighting: Cool diffused daylight in the maze shadow
Mood: Tender enclosure

48INT

DAY

pp. 49-49

HOTEL - LOBBY

menace

Jack leans over the scale model of the maze, gazing down as if godlike upon his wife and son inside it

Characters: JACK
Props: maze model, rubber ball
Wardrobe: Standard
Notes: Jack studies the maze model - implied match-cut to the aerial of Wendy and Danny inside the real maze.
Camera: High angle favoring Jack bent over the model
Lighting: Soft lobby daylight, faint shadow on his face
Mood: Cold menace

49EXT

DAY

pp. 49-50

MAZE

vulnerability

From high overhead Wendy and Danny move as tiny figures through the green maze as the camera descends

Characters: WENDY, DANNY
Wardrobe: Standard
VFX/Stunts: High-angle crane/aerial of maze
Notes: Aerial of the pair in the maze, intercut with Jack at the model.
Camera: High crane/aerial descending over the maze
Lighting: Cool overcast daylight from above
Mood: Watched vulnerability

50EXT

DUSK

pp. 50-50

HOTEL

transition

The hotel sits against the mountain at dusk

Characters: None
Wardrobe: Standard
Notes: Title card 'TUESDAY' precedes this. Time-passage establishing shot.
Camera: Wide establishing at dusk
Lighting: Fading dusk sky, faint warm window light
Mood: Encroaching night

51INT

DUSK

pp. 50-51

HOTEL - KITCHEN

creeping dread

Wendy opens a can in the kitchen as a portable TV reports a missing Aspen woman and an incoming snowstorm

Characters: WENDY
Props: portable TV, can, bowl
Wardrobe: Standard
Notes: News broadcast about a missing woman (Susan Robertson) and the approaching storm. Establishes the coming snow-in.
Camera: Medium, the woman and TV in the dim kitchen
Lighting: Low ambient dusk with cold TV glow
Mood: Creeping dread

52INT

pp. 51-52

OVERLOOK HOTEL - CORRIDORS

temptation

Danny slows his tricycle outside Room 237, reaches for the handle, and finds the door locked

Characters: DANNY
Props: tricycle, Room 237 door
Wardrobe: Standard
VFX/Stunts: Steadicam tricycle tracking
Notes: Danny is drawn to Room 237; the door won't open. Brief flash of the Grady girls. The room becomes the site of the bathtub apparition.
Camera: Low Steadicam halting behind the trike at the door
Lighting: Even quiet corridor light
Mood: Forbidden pull

53INT

NIGHT

pp. 52-55

HOTEL - LOUNGE

cruelty

Jack erupts at Wendy, ordering her never to interrupt his writing and to get the fuck out

Characters: JACK, WENDY
Props: typewriter, paper
Wardrobe: Standard
Notes: Jack's first overt verbal abuse; the new 'rule' about interrupting his work. Marks his turn.
Camera: Medium, low and tight on the looming man
Lighting: Hard pooled lamplight, deep night shadow
Mood: Vicious cruelty

54EXT

DAY

pp. 55-55

HOTEL

fleeting joy

Wendy flees laughing as Danny pelts her with snowballs in front of the hotel

Characters: WENDY, DANNY
Props: snowballs
Wardrobe: Winter coats
Notes: Title card 'THURSDAY' precedes this. A last moment of normal family play.
Camera: Wide, following the chase across the snow
Lighting: Bright flat snow-bounced daylight
Mood: Fleeting joy

55INT

DAY

pp. 55-55

HOTEL - LOUNGE

isolation

Jack watches from the window as Wendy and Danny play in the snow, the camera tracking in to his unreadable face

Characters: JACK
Wardrobe: Standard
Notes: Jack observes his family from inside, separated from their joy.
Camera: Slow track-in on Jack at the window
Lighting: Cold window light against dim interior
Mood: Separating isolation

56EXT

DAY

pp. 55-56

HOTEL

isolation

The hotel sits beyond snowy trees in the foreground

Characters: None
Wardrobe: Standard
Notes: Title card 'SATURDAY' precedes this. Time-passage establishing shot.
Camera: Wide, snowy branches framing the distant hotel
Lighting: Flat cold winter daylight
Mood: Deepening isolation

57INT

DAY

pp. 56-56

HOTEL - LOUNGE

obsession

From a high angle Jack sits alone typing at his table in the cavernous lounge

Characters: JACK
Props: typewriter
Wardrobe: Standard
Notes: Jack absorbed in his 'writing.'
Camera: High angle, Jack small at his table below
Lighting: Flooding daylight from the tall windows
Mood: Obsessive solitude

58INT

DAY

pp. 56-57

HOTEL - LOBBY & OFFICE

concern

Wendy discovers the dead switchboard, then crosses to the office radio to call the rangers

Characters: WENDY
Props: switchboard, headset, radio set, microphone
Wardrobe: Standard
Notes: Phones are down; Wendy uses the CB radio (callsign KDK 12). Sets up the radio that Jack later sabotages.
Camera: Medium following her to the radio desk
Lighting: Soft office daylight
Mood: Rising concern

59INT

DAY

pp. 57-59

RANGER'S OFFICE

isolation

The forest ranger answers Wendy's radio call, warning that downed lines may stay out until spring

Characters: RANGER
Props: radio, microphone, filing cabinet
Wardrobe: Standard
Notes: Ranger station (KDK 1). Intercut with Wendy in the hotel office across several radio exchanges; consolidated here as one location.
Camera: Medium on the ranger at his radio desk
Lighting: Plain office daylight
Mood: Matter-of-fact isolation

60INT

DAY

pp. 57-59

HOTEL - OFFICE

false calm

Wendy perches on a cabinet, foot up, chatting easily with the ranger about the worst storm in years

Characters: WENDY
Props: radio, microphone
Wardrobe: Standard
Notes: Wendy's side of the radio conversation. Ranger advises leaving the radio on at all times.
Camera: Medium, the woman perched at the radio
Lighting: Soft office daylight
Mood: False calm

61INT

pp. 59-59

HOTEL - GREEN CORRIDOR

unease

Danny pedals his tricycle down the green corridor and out of frame, leaving the camera gliding on alone

Characters: DANNY
Props: tricycle
Wardrobe: Standard
VFX/Stunts: Steadicam tricycle tracking
Notes: Leading into Danny's encounter with the Grady girls.
Camera: Low Steadicam gliding on after the trike exits frame
Lighting: Even green-tinged corridor light
Mood: Abandoning unease

62INT

pp. 59-61

HOTEL - CORRIDOR

horror

The Grady girls invite Danny to play 'for ever and ever' as flash-cuts reveal their axe-murdered bodies sprawled in blood

Characters: DANNY, GRADY GIRLS
Props: bloodstained axe
Wardrobe: Grady girls in matching dresses
VFX/Stunts: Blood and gore makeup; bloodstained walls and floor
Notes: The full Grady-girls apparition: 'Come and play with us... for ever and ever.' Tony reassures Danny it's like pictures in a book.
Camera: Symmetrical corridor wide, hard cut to the tableau
Lighting: Even corridor light, the flash starker and colder
Mood: Horror

63INT

DAY

pp. 61-63

OVERLOOK HOTEL - LOBBY

domestic tension

Wendy and Danny watch a film on TV in the lobby; Danny asks to fetch his fire-engine from the room where Jack sleeps

Characters: WENDY, DANNY
Props: television set
Wardrobe: Standard
Notes: Title card 'MONDAY' precedes this. Danny leaves to get his toy, walking into Jack's room.
Camera: Medium two-shot before the TV
Lighting: Warm lobby light with cool screen glow
Mood: Domestic tension

64INT

DAY

pp. 63-65

HOTEL - JACK'S APARTMENT

menace beneath tenderness

Jack sits Danny on his knee, vowing he'd never hurt him, then asks if Wendy ever said he would

Characters: DANNY, JACK
Props: bed
Wardrobe: Standard
Notes: Jack's unsettling 'I love you... I'd never hurt you' scene with Danny. He wishes they could stay 'for ever and ever.'
Camera: Medium close, tight on father and son
Lighting: Soft warm bedside light, slightly hardened
Mood: Menace beneath tenderness

65EXT

pp. 65-66

HOTEL

isolation

The snow-buried hotel shows three lit windows against the dark

Characters: None
Wardrobe: Standard
Notes: Title card 'WEDNESDAY' precedes this. Night establishing shot.
Camera: Wide night establishing of the snowbound hotel
Lighting: Dark night, faint snow glow, warm window light
Mood: Engulfing isolation

66INT

pp. 66-66

HOTEL - CORRIDOR TO ROOM 237

lured

A yellow ball rolls to Danny's toy trucks from nowhere; he follows it down the corridor to find Room 237's door standing open

Characters: DANNY
Props: toy cars and trucks, yellow ball, Room 237 door
Wardrobe: Standard
Notes: The hotel lures Danny into Room 237 with the rolling ball. Camera tracks into the open room.
Camera: Low on the boy, then tracking toward the open door
Lighting: Even corridor light, the open room darker beyond
Mood: Lured

67INT

pp. 66-67

HOTEL - BOILER ROOM

alarm

Wendy checks the boiler dials, then freezes as she hears Jack crying out in his sleep

Characters: WENDY
Props: boilers, dials, clipboard, switchboard
Wardrobe: Standard
Notes: Wendy's boiler-room duty; she hears Jack's nightmare and runs to him.
Camera: Medium, the woman among pipes and gauges
Lighting: Dim utilitarian boiler-room light
Mood: Alarm

68INT

pp. 67-67

HOTEL - LOUNGE

torment

Jack slumps at his writing table, head down, groaning and crying out in a nightmare

Characters: JACK
Props: writing table, typewriter
Wardrobe: Standard
Notes: Jack's nightmare in the lounge; Wendy rushes to wake him.
Camera: Medium, slightly high on the slumped figure
Lighting: Low pooled lamplight, heavy shadow
Mood: Torment

69INT

pp. 67-70

HOTEL - CORRIDOR TO LOUNGE

rupture

Jack confesses he dreamed he killed and dismembered his family; then Wendy sees the bruises on Danny's neck and accuses Jack

Characters: WENDY, JACK, DANNY
Props: table, chair
Wardrobe: Standard
Notes: Jack's dismemberment dream confession; Danny arrives marked at the neck (from Room 237); Wendy accuses Jack and flees with Danny. Jack storms off to the Gold Room.
Camera: Medium three-shot, favoring the wife between them
Lighting: Cool flat corridor light
Mood: Rupture

70INT

pp. 70-71

HOTEL BALLROOM CORRIDOR

descent

Jack mutters and flails down the corridor past the 'THE GOLD ROOM' sign, switching on the lights toward a now-glowing bar

Characters: JACK
Props: 'THE GOLD ROOM' trestle sign
Wardrobe: Standard
Notes: Jack heads to the empty ballroom bar, where the supernatural bartender Lloyd appears.
Camera: Tracking with Jack toward the glowing room
Lighting: Dim hall yielding to warm spreading light ahead
Mood: Descent

71INT

pp. 71-75

HOTEL - BALLROOM

seduction

Jack pleads 'God, I'd give anything for a drink,' lowers his hands, and the ghostly bartender Lloyd is suddenly there

Characters: JACK, LLOYD, WENDY
Props: bar, bourbon bottle, glass, ice, wallet
Wardrobe: Lloyd in red bartender's jacket
Notes: Jack and Lloyd: 'White man's burden.' Jack rants about the accident with Danny (recalled from Wendy's account to the doctor). Wendy bursts in about the crazy woman who strangled Danny.
Camera: Medium across the bar, favoring the reveal
Lighting: Warm intimate bar light, glints on glass
Mood: Seduction

72INT

pp. 75-78

MIAMI APARTMENT

premonition

Halloran lies on his bed beneath a TV news report of the Colorado blizzard, his face tightening as he senses something wrong

Characters: HALLORAN
Props: television set, bed
Wardrobe: Standard
Notes: Halloran in Miami watching the Colorado storm news. Sets up his telepathic alarm. Same apartment recurs across his phone-call scenes.
Camera: Medium, low across the bed toward the TV
Lighting: Warm lamp glow against cold TV light
Mood: Premonition

73INT

pp. 78-78

OVERLOOK HOTEL - CORRIDOR

dread

The door of Room 237 stands open in the empty corridor

Characters: None
Props: Room 237 door
Wardrobe: Standard
Notes: Beginning the Room 237 flashback/sequence intercut with Danny's bedroom.
Camera: Wide symmetrical corridor centered on the open door
Lighting: Dim nocturnal corridor light, dark beyond the door
Mood: Dread

74INT

pp. 78-80

HOTEL - DANNY'S BEDROOM

trauma

Danny shakes his head violently in close-up as the woman's laughter echoes from Room 237

Characters: DANNY
Wardrobe: Standard
Notes: Danny reacting, intercut with the Room 237 bathtub apparition.
Camera: Extreme close-up on the boy's shaking head
Lighting: Cool dim nocturnal light
Mood: Trauma

75INT

pp. 78-80

HOTEL - ROOM 237

revulsion

Jack embraces the beautiful young woman from the bath, then recoils as her reflection in the mirror reveals a laughing, scarred corpse

Characters: JACK, YOUNG LADY, ELDERLY WOMAN
Props: bathtub, shower curtain, mirror
Wardrobe: Young Lady nude; Elderly Woman nude with scars and decay makeup
VFX/Stunts: Old-age and decomposition prosthetic makeup; mirror reveal
Notes: The Room 237 bathtub woman: young then rotting. Jack backs out, locks the door, and later lies to Wendy that he saw nothing. The same room Danny entered earlier.
Camera: Medium favoring the mirror reveal behind the embrace
Lighting: Cold sickly bathroom light, greenish cast
Mood: Revulsion

76INT

NIGHT

pp. 80-80

MIAMI APARTMENT

frustration

Halloran dials the Overlook but an operator recording tells him the call cannot be completed

Characters: HALLORAN
Props: telephone
Wardrobe: Standard
Notes: Halloran's first failed attempt to reach the hotel.
Camera: Medium on the chef with the phone
Lighting: Warm low lamplight
Mood: Frustration

77INT

pp. 80-84

HOTEL - JACK'S APARTMENT

confrontation

Jack lies that he found nothing in Room 237, then turns vicious when Wendy says they must get Danny out of the hotel

Characters: WENDY, JACK
Props: chain lock, bed
Wardrobe: Standard
Notes: Jack denies the woman; argues that Danny hurt himself. Wendy insists they leave. Jack explodes about his work and contract. Intercut with Danny's room and 'MURDER' on the door / blood flood.
Camera: Medium two-shot, favoring Jack's hardening face
Lighting: Low warm lamplight gone cold
Mood: Confrontation

78INT

pp. 83-84

OVERLOOK HOTEL - DANNY'S BEDROOM

dread

Danny lies rigid and awake, mouth wide open, as 'MURDER' appears scrawled backwards on the door behind him

Characters: DANNY
Props: bed, door with 'MURDER' reversed
Wardrobe: Standard
Notes: Danny in a trance; the reversed 'MURDER' (REDRUM) door first appears. Intercut with the parents' argument and the blood-flood vision.
Camera: Medium, boy in foreground, marked door behind
Lighting: Cold low nocturnal light
Mood: Dread

79INT

pp. 84-84

HOTEL - KITCHEN

fury

In a rage Jack sweeps the coffee pot and stove rings to the floor and kicks them as he storms out

Characters: JACK
Props: coffee pot, stove rings
Wardrobe: Standard
Notes: Jack's tantrum in the kitchen; the scattered pots reappear later when Wendy stumbles through them.
Camera: Wide, following the raging figure across the kitchen
Lighting: Cold flat night kitchen light
Mood: Fury

80INT

pp. 84-85

HOTEL CORRIDOR LEADING TO BALLROOM

uncanny

An empty corridor strewn with balloons and streamers, the camera gliding forward toward the unseen party

Characters: None
Props: balloons, streamers
Wardrobe: Standard
Notes: The hotel's ghostly party begins to manifest, leading into the Gold Room ball.
Camera: Slow forward glide through the decorated corridor
Lighting: Dim warm corridor light, faint glow ahead
Mood: Uncanny festivity

81INT

NIGHT

pp. 85-87

MIAMI - HALLORAN'S APARTMENT

rising alarm

Halloran phones the Forest Service, asking the ranger to radio-check the family at the Overlook

Characters: HALLORAN, RANGER
Props: telephone
Wardrobe: Standard
Notes: Halloran calls the ranger to check on the Torrances; intercut with the Ranger's office.
Camera: Medium on the chef mid-call
Lighting: Warm low lamplight
Mood: Rising alarm

82INT

pp. 86-87

RANGER'S OFFICE

procedure

The ranger agrees to radio the hotel and asks Halloran to call back in twenty minutes

Characters: RANGER
Props: radio, telephone
Wardrobe: Standard
Notes: Ranger's side of Halloran's call.
Camera: Medium on the ranger at his desk
Lighting: Plain low office light
Mood: Procedure

83INT

pp. 87-96

HOTEL CORRIDOR & BALLROOM

corruption

At the crowded ghost ball a waiter who reveals himself as Delbert Grady tells Jack he must 'correct' his wife and son

Characters: JACK, LLOYD, GRADY
Props: bar, advocaat glass, serviette, drinks tray
Wardrobe: Grady in white waiter's jacket, Jack in everyday clothes among formally dressed 1920s guests
Notes: The Gold Room ball: Lloyd serves Jack 'on the house'; Grady spills advocaat and leads Jack to the men's room. Contains a racial slur in Grady's dialogue. Jack identifies Grady as the former caretaker who killed his family.
Camera: Medium in the crowd, favoring waiter and Jack
Lighting: Warm period ballroom glow
Mood: Corruption

84INT

pp. 91-96

MEN'S TOILET

indoctrination

In the blood-red men's room Grady insists Jack has always been the caretaker and that his son is bringing an outside party in

Characters: JACK, GRADY
Props: basins, tap, serviette, drinks tray
Wardrobe: Grady in white waiter's jacket
Notes: The key Grady scene: 'You have always been the caretaker.' Grady reveals Danny is contacting Halloran and urges Jack to 'correct' his family, as Grady did his own. Contains a racial slur.
Camera: Medium two-shot among the red basins and mirrors
Lighting: Even red-saturated washroom light
Mood: Indoctrination

85INT

pp. 96-98

HOTEL - JACK'S APARTMENT

possession

As Wendy plots their escape, Danny sits up croaking 'Red Rum' in Tony's flat voice, no longer himself

Characters: WENDY, DANNY, TONY
Props: cigarette, bed
Wardrobe: Standard
Notes: Wendy schemes to use the Snowcat and radio to escape. Danny, as Tony, begins chanting 'Red Rum' (MURDER backwards).
Camera: Medium, mother foreground, the boy rising behind
Lighting: Low warm lamplight, hazed with smoke
Mood: Possession

86INT

pp. 97-98

DANNY'S BEDROOM

dread

Tony tells Wendy 'Danny's gone away, Mrs. Torrance' as she tries in vain to wake her son

Characters: DANNY, WENDY, TONY
Props: bed
Wardrobe: Standard
Notes: Tony has taken over; Danny 'can't wake up.' Wendy strokes his hair.
Camera: Medium close over the bed
Lighting: Cool dim nocturnal light
Mood: Hollow dread

87INT

pp. 98-99

HOTEL LOBBY

sabotage

Jack enters the office as the ranger's radio call goes unanswered, and he starts to unscrew the set

Characters: JACK, RANGER
Props: radio set
Wardrobe: Standard
Notes: Jack hears the ranger calling KDK 12 and moves to disable the radio. RANGER heard only over the radio (voice).
Camera: Medium on Jack at the radio set
Lighting: Dim office night light, faint dial glow
Mood: Sabotage

88INT

pp. 99-100

HOTEL - OFFICE

entrapment

Jack rips the internal components out of the CB radio, cutting the family's last link to the outside world

Characters: JACK
Props: radio set, radio components
Wardrobe: Standard
Notes: Jack destroys the radio, sealing them in. RANGER heard over the radio only.
Camera: Medium close on the hands and gutted radio
Lighting: Dim office night light
Mood: Entrapment

89INT

NIGHT

pp. 100-100

MIAMI - HALLORAN'S APARTMENT

decision

The ranger tells Halloran they got no answer from the hotel, and Halloran's hand goes to his head in worry

Characters: HALLORAN, RANGER
Props: telephone
Wardrobe: Standard
Notes: Halloran learns the hotel won't answer; resolves to fly to Colorado. Intercut with the Ranger's office.
Camera: Medium on the chef, hand to head
Lighting: Warm low lamplight
Mood: Grim resolve

90INT

NIGHT

pp. 100-100

RANGER'S OFFICE

concern

The ranger, phone to ear at his radio, offers to keep trying the silent hotel

Characters: RANGER
Props: radio, telephone
Wardrobe: Standard
Notes: Ranger's side of the second Halloran call.
Camera: Medium on the ranger at the radio
Lighting: Plain dim office light
Mood: Concern

91EXT

DAY

pp. 100-101

SKY

rescue underway

A DC-10 airliner cuts across the sky carrying Halloran toward Colorado

Characters: None
Props: DC-10 airliner
Wardrobe: Standard
Notes: Title card '8 a.m.' precedes this. Halloran's journey west begins.
Camera: Wide aerial of the jet against open sky
Lighting: Bright high-altitude daylight
Mood: Rescue underway

92INT

pp. 101-101

D.C.10

urgency

Halloran asks the stewardess their arrival time, glancing anxiously at his watch

Characters: HALLORAN, STEWARDESS
Props: wristwatch, airline seat
Wardrobe: Standard
Notes: Halloran in flight, due in Denver at 8:20.
Camera: Medium on the chef in his seat
Lighting: Even soft cabin light
Mood: Suppressed urgency

93INT

pp. 101-101

HOTEL - LOUNGE

menace

Through the lounge entrance Jack sits typing alone, the camera creeping toward his back

Characters: JACK
Props: typewriter
Wardrobe: Standard
Notes: Brief insert of Jack at the typewriter, intercut with Halloran's journey.
Camera: Slow creeping push-in toward Jack's back
Lighting: Cool daylight from the tall lounge windows
Mood: Menace

94EXT

DAY

pp. 101-101

AIRPORT

arrival

The DC-10 touches down and rolls along the flare path

Characters: None
Props: DC-10 airliner
Wardrobe: Standard
Notes: Halloran lands at Stapleton (Denver).
Camera: Wide of the jet on the runway
Lighting: Flat overcast daylight
Mood: Arrival

95EXT

pp. 101-102

DURKIN'S GARAGE

transition

Durkin leaves a car at the petrol pump and heads into his snowbound garage office

Characters: DURKIN
Props: petrol pump, car
Wardrobe: Standard
Notes: Establishing Larry Durkin's garage, source of Halloran's Snowcat.
Camera: Wide establishing of the snowy garage
Lighting: Flat cold daylight
Mood: Workaday transition

96INT

pp. 102-105

DURKIN'S GARAGE

determination

Durkin promises to ready a Snowcat for Halloran, warning the mountain roads are completely blocked

Characters: DURKIN, HALLORAN
Props: telephone, counter
Wardrobe: Standard
Notes: Halloran arranges a Snowcat from Larry Durkin; intercut with the airport phone booth.
Camera: Medium two-shot across the counter
Lighting: Bare utilitarian garage light
Mood: Determination

97INT

pp. 102-105

AIRPORT

urgency

Halloran, in a Stapleton phone booth, tells Durkin he needs a Snowcat to reach the Overlook today

Characters: HALLORAN
Props: telephone booth
Wardrobe: Standard
Notes: Halloran's side of the Durkin call from the airport.
Camera: Medium on the chef in the phone booth
Lighting: Cold fluorescent terminal light
Mood: Urgency

98EXT

NIGHT

pp. 105-106

ROAD

peril

Halloran's car pushes through driving snow along the dark mountain road as a radio DJ reports closed passes

Characters: HALLORAN
Props: car, car radio
Wardrobe: Standard
VFX/Stunts: Snow-driving photography
Notes: Halloran drives toward the mountains in the blizzard.
Camera: Wide tracking the car along the snowy road
Lighting: Headlights against snow and pitch dark
Mood: Peril

99INT

NIGHT

pp. 105-106

HALLORAN'S CAR

peril

Behind the wheel Halloran passes an overturned truck as the radio warns the storm will rage all day

Characters: HALLORAN
Props: car, windscreen wipers
Wardrobe: Standard
VFX/Stunts: Process/driving photography; overturned truck on roadside
Notes: Interior of Halloran's hired car battling the storm.
Camera: Medium from the dashboard, wreck visible ahead
Lighting: Headlight glare on snow through the windscreen
Mood: Peril

100INT

pp. 106-107

OVERLOOK HOTEL - JACK'S APARTMENT

resolve

Wendy tells Danny to stay and watch cartoons, then takes a baseball bat and locks him in before going to find Jack

Characters: DANNY, WENDY, TONY
Props: television set, cigarette, baseball bat
Wardrobe: Standard
Notes: Wendy arms herself with the bat to confront Jack. Danny answers as Tony.
Camera: Medium following the mother to the door with the bat
Lighting: Soft daylight with cool TV glow
Mood: Frightened resolve

101INT

pp. 107-117

HOTEL LOUNGE

terror

Wendy finds Jack's manuscript is hundreds of pages of 'ALL WORK AND NO PLAY MAKES JACK A DULL BOY,' and he appears behind her

Characters: WENDY, JACK
Props: typewriter, box of manuscript pages, baseball bat
Wardrobe: Standard
VFX/Stunts: Stunt fall: Jack tumbles backwards down the staircase
Notes: The 'ALL WORK AND NO PLAY' reveal; Jack menaces Wendy ('I'm not going to hurt you... I'm just going to bash your brains in') and backs her up the stairs, where she clubs him and he falls. Intercut with the blood flood and 'MURDER' door.
Camera: Medium, the woman and pages foreground, Jack appearing behind
Lighting: Cool daylight from the tall windows
Mood: Crystallizing terror

102INT

pp. 117-122

HOTEL - KITCHEN

desperation

Wendy drags the groaning, semi-conscious Jack across the kitchen and locks him in the dry-goods storeroom

Characters: JACK, WENDY
Props: storeroom door, bolt, knife, kitchen table
Wardrobe: Standard
Notes: Wendy imprisons Jack in the storeroom (the same room Halloran toured earlier). She vows to take Danny down to the Sidewinder in the Snowcat and arms herself with a kitchen knife.
Camera: Wide, following the drag across the kitchen floor
Lighting: Cold flat kitchen light
Mood: Desperation

103INT

pp. 119-122

HOTEL - FOOD STORE ROOM

malice

Locked in the storeroom, Jack laughs that Wendy isn't going anywhere and tells her to check the Snowcat and the radio

Characters: JACK
Props: cardboard boxes, sacks, storeroom door
Wardrobe: Standard
Notes: Jack, imprisoned, reveals he has sabotaged the Snowcat and radio. Intercut with the kitchen.
Camera: Medium close on Jack at the bolted door
Lighting: Dim single-bulb storeroom light
Mood: Malice

104INT

pp. 122-122

HOTEL - CORRIDOR

flight

Wendy runs down the corridor with the knife and forces open the snow-blocked exit door

Characters: WENDY
Props: knife, exit door
Wardrobe: Standard
Notes: Wendy heads outside to check the Snowcat.
Camera: Tracking the running woman to the exit door
Lighting: Dim corridor cut by cold light from the opening
Mood: Flight

105EXT

pp. 122-122

HOTEL

flight

Wendy shoves the door open against the snow and runs along the hotel front through deep drifts

Characters: WENDY
Props: knife
Wardrobe: Wendy in winter clothing
Notes: Wendy crosses the snow to the garage.
Camera: Wide tracking her run along the snowbound facade
Lighting: Harsh bright snow-bounced daylight
Mood: Flight

106INT

pp. 122-123

HOTEL - GARAGE

despair

Wendy lifts the Snowcat's distributor cap and realizes Jack has wrecked it, stranding them

Characters: WENDY
Props: Snowcat, distributor cap, knife
Wardrobe: Standard
Notes: Wendy discovers the sabotaged Snowcat; escape by vehicle is now impossible.
Camera: Medium on the woman over the open engine
Lighting: Cold dim garage light
Mood: Despair

107EXT

pp. 123-123

HOTEL

dread

The Overlook stands amid snow and trees as the afternoon wanes

Characters: None
Wardrobe: Standard
Notes: Title card '4 p.m.' precedes this. Establishing shot before the Grady-storeroom scene.
Camera: Wide establishing of the snowbound hotel
Lighting: Fading flat afternoon light
Mood: Gathering dread

108INT

pp. 123-125

HOTEL - FOOD STORE ROOM

supernatural release

The bolted storeroom door is mysteriously drawn open from outside after Grady's disembodied voice tells Jack to 'correct' his family

Characters: JACK, GRADY
Props: storeroom door, bolt, shelves
Wardrobe: Standard
Notes: Grady (unseen, voice only outside the door) frees Jack, demanding he deal with his family 'in the harshest possible way.' The bolt is drawn by no visible hand.
Camera: Medium close on the self-drawing bolt and Jack
Lighting: Dim storeroom light, cold glint on the bolt
Mood: Supernatural release

109EXT

NIGHT

pp. 125-125

ROAD

approach

Halloran drives the Snowcat through deep snow between dark banks of trees toward the hotel

Characters: HALLORAN
Props: Snowcat
Wardrobe: Standard
VFX/Stunts: Snowcat driving at night
Notes: Halloran on the final leg in the Durkin Snowcat.
Camera: Wide tracking the Snowcat through the snow
Lighting: Headlights against night and falling snow
Mood: Approach

110INT

pp. 125-125

HALLORAN'S SNOWCAT

determination

Halloran grips the wheel of the Snowcat, wipers beating against the storm

Characters: HALLORAN
Props: Snowcat, windscreen wipers
Wardrobe: Standard
VFX/Stunts: Process driving
Notes: Interior of Halloran's Snowcat approaching the Overlook.
Camera: Medium from the cab dash toward the chef
Lighting: Headlit snow through the windscreen
Mood: Determination

111INT

NIGHT

pp. 125-128

HOTEL - JACK'S APARTMENT

horror reveal

Danny takes a lipstick and scrawls 'REDRUM' on the door; in the mirror Wendy reads 'MURDER' as Jack's axe strikes outside

Characters: DANNY, WENDY, TONY
Props: knife, lipstick, dressing table, mirror, door
Wardrobe: Standard
Notes: Tony, through Danny, writes REDRUM; the mirror reveals MURDER just as Jack begins axing the apartment door. Wendy wakes screaming.
Camera: Medium favoring the mirror and the waking mother
Lighting: Cold dim nocturnal light
Mood: Horror reveal

112INT

pp. 128-129

HOTEL - CORRIDOR

violence

Jack swings the axe again and again into the apartment's front door

Characters: JACK
Props: axe, apartment door
Wardrobe: Standard
VFX/Stunts: Axe destruction of door
Notes: Jack breaks through the front door of the apartment; intercut with Wendy and Danny inside.
Camera: Medium on Jack hacking at the door
Lighting: Dim corridor night light, hard shadows
Mood: Violence

113INT

pp. 128-129

JACK'S APARTMENT

flight

Wendy scoops Danny up and rushes him into the bathroom as the axe blows land

Characters: WENDY, DANNY
Props: door with 'MURDER' reversed
Wardrobe: Standard
Notes: Wendy and Danny retreat into the bathroom and lock the door.
Camera: Tracking the fleeing mother and child
Lighting: Cold dim nocturnal light
Mood: Flight

114INT

pp. 128-134

BATHROOM

terror

Jack hacks a hole in the bathroom door, thrusts his grinning face through and cries 'Here's Johnny!'

Characters: WENDY, DANNY, JACK
Props: axe, bathroom door, window, knife, basin
Wardrobe: Standard
VFX/Stunts: Axe smashing through door panels, Knife slash to Jack's hand
Notes: The 'Here's Johnny!' and 'Little pigs, little pigs' axe attack. Wendy pushes Danny out the window to safety and slashes Jack's reaching hand; Halloran's Snowcat is heard arriving, halting Jack.
Camera: Medium favoring the face in the hacked door
Lighting: Cold flat bathroom light
Mood: Terror

115INT

pp. 130-134

BEDROOM

interruption

Jack pauses at the splintered bathroom door, head cocked, as he hears the Snowcat's engine outside

Characters: JACK
Props: axe, splintered door
Wardrobe: Standard
Notes: Jack abandons the bathroom attack on hearing Halloran arrive. Intercut with the bathroom.
Camera: Medium on Jack frozen at the door
Lighting: Cold dim nocturnal light
Mood: Interruption

116EXT

pp. 130-134

HOTEL - M.S.

rescue and entrapment

Wendy pushes Danny out the bathroom window onto the snow slope; he slides to the bottom while she gets stuck

Characters: WENDY, DANNY
Props: bathroom window, snow drift
Wardrobe: Standard
VFX/Stunts: Child slides down snow slope from window
Notes: Danny escapes through the window; Wendy cannot fit and is forced back inside. She tells Danny to run and hide.
Camera: Wide on the window and the snow slope below
Lighting: Cold blue night-snow light
Mood: Rescue and entrapment

117EXT

NIGHT

pp. 134-134

ROAD

approach

Halloran drives the final stretch of snow road, almost at the hotel

Characters: HALLORAN
Props: Snowcat, windscreen
Wardrobe: Standard
VFX/Stunts: Process driving
Notes: Halloran nears the Overlook.
Camera: Wide tracking the Snowcat on the snow road
Lighting: Headlights against the snowy dark
Mood: Approach

118EXT

NIGHT

pp. 134-135

HOTEL

arrival

Halloran's Snowcat crawls along the front of the floodlit Overlook and halts

Characters: HALLORAN
Props: Snowcat
Wardrobe: Standard
Notes: Halloran arrives at the hotel and parks the Snowcat (which Wendy and Danny later use to escape).
Camera: Wide of the Snowcat halting at the floodlit hotel
Lighting: Hard exterior floodlight on snow
Mood: Arrival

119INT

pp. 135-135

HOTEL CORRIDOR - KITCHEN

hiding

Danny crawls into the kitchen oven to hide as the limping, axe-wielding Jack passes through behind him

Characters: DANNY, JACK
Props: oven, axe
Wardrobe: Standard
Notes: Danny hides in the oven; Jack limps past hunting him.
Camera: Low, boy in the oven foreground, figure passing behind
Lighting: Cold dim night kitchen light
Mood: Hiding

120INT

pp. 135-135

BATHROOM

desperation

Trapped in the bathroom, Wendy sobs and slashes at the door with her knife

Characters: WENDY
Props: knife, splintered door
Wardrobe: Standard
Notes: Wendy left behind in the bathroom as Jack goes to confront the intruder.
Camera: Medium on the woman at the broken door
Lighting: Cold flat bathroom light
Mood: Desperation

121EXT

pp. 135-135

HOTEL

intrusion

Halloran trudges to the door Wendy left open and pushes inside the hotel

Characters: HALLORAN
Wardrobe: Halloran in heavy coat
Notes: Halloran enters the Overlook.
Camera: Medium tracking the chef to the door
Lighting: Cold night-snow light, warm spill from the door
Mood: Intrusion

122INT

pp. 135-137

HOTEL - LOBBY

murder

As Halloran calls out in the lobby, Jack lunges from behind a pillar and buries the axe in his chest

Characters: JACK, HALLORAN, DANNY
Props: axe
Wardrobe: Halloran's raincoat
VFX/Stunts: Axe-to-chest kill effect with blood; Halloran collapses
Notes: Jack murders Halloran in the lobby. Danny, hidden, witnesses with his mouth wide open. Jack then hunts 'Danny boy.'
Camera: Wide, the ambush at the pillar, boy hidden at the edge
Lighting: Dim warm lobby light, heavy shadow
Mood: Murder

123INT

pp. 137-138

HOTEL - STAIRS

Wendy runs up the staircase calling for Danny, pausing on the landing

Characters: WENDY
Wardrobe: Standard
Notes: Wendy, freed/searching, climbs the stairs and begins to see the hotel's ghosts.
Camera: Medium on the woman on the staircase landing
Lighting: Dim warm stairwell light, deep shadow
Mood: Frantic search

124INT

pp. 138-138

HOTEL - BEDROOM (WENDY'S P.O.V.)

uncanny horror

Through an open doorway Wendy glimpses a man in a dog costume kneeling before a man in evening dress, both turning to leer at her

Characters: WENDY, MAN IN DOG COSTUME, MAN IN EVENING DRESS
Props: bed
Wardrobe: Man in animal/dog costume, Man in evening dress / tuxedo
Notes: The hotel's ghosts manifest to Wendy (the dog-costume tableau). She backs away in terror.
Camera: POV through the doorway onto the tableau
Lighting: Dim warm bedroom light
Mood: Uncanny horror

125INT

pp. 138-139

LOBBY

hunt

Jack limps to the open hotel door and throws the exterior light switches, scanning the snow for Danny

Characters: JACK, DANNY
Props: axe, switch panel
Wardrobe: Standard
Notes: Jack turns on the exterior lights and pursues Danny outside.
Camera: Medium, Jack at the lit doorway from behind
Lighting: Dim interior cut by exterior floodlight
Mood: Hunt

126EXT

pp. 138-140

HOTEL

chase

Danny breaks from behind the Snowcat track and flees across the snow into the hedge maze with Jack limping after him

Characters: DANNY, JACK
Props: Snowcat, axe
Wardrobe: Standard
Notes: The maze chase begins; Danny lures his father into the maze.
Camera: Wide tracking the boy toward the maze, pursuer behind
Lighting: Hard exterior floodlight on snow
Mood: Chase

127EXT

pp. 139-146

HOTEL - MAZE

survival

Danny doubles back in his own footprints and brushes out his trail, leaving Jack to stagger lost and freezing through the snowbound maze

Characters: DANNY, JACK
Props: axe, snow
Wardrobe: Standard
VFX/Stunts: Maze chase through snow; Jack collapses in drifts
Notes: The climactic maze chase. Danny tricks Jack and escapes; Jack is lost and ultimately freezes. Intercut with Wendy's hotel ghost visions.
Camera: Low on the boy erasing his tracks in the snow
Lighting: Cold floodlit night-snow, deep hedge shadow
Mood: Survival

128INT

pp. 140-142

HOTEL - CORRIDOR & LOUNGE

supernatural dread

Fleeing through the hotel Wendy runs into a lounge full of cobwebbed skeletons seated at the long-abandoned party

Characters: WENDY
Props: champagne bottle, skeletons, glasses
Wardrobe: Skeletons in period evening dress
VFX/Stunts: Skeleton tableaux / cobweb dressing
Notes: Wendy's vision of the skeleton ball; the hotel's ghosts fully manifest to her. Intercut with the maze chase.
Camera: Wide, the woman among the skeleton revelers
Lighting: Dim eerie low light, grey and gold
Mood: Supernatural dread

129INT

pp. 141-142

HOTEL - CORRIDOR

delirium

A blood-flood pours from the elevators and a scarred ghost in evening dress raises a glass: 'Great party, isn't it?'

Characters: WENDY, INJURED GUEST
Props: elevator doors, cocktail glass
Wardrobe: Injured Guest in evening dress with bleeding head wound
VFX/Stunts: Elevator blood flood effect
Notes: Wendy sees the bleeding 'Great party' guest and the elevator blood flood (the vision Danny had at the film's start). The recurring blood motif pays off.
Camera: Wide, the bleeding guest amid the red flood
Lighting: Corridor light drowned in red
Mood: Delirium

130EXT

pp. 144-146

HOTEL

reunion

Wendy throws down her knife and Danny runs out of the maze into her arms by Halloran's idling Snowcat

Characters: WENDY, DANNY
Props: knife, Snowcat
Wardrobe: Standard
Notes: Mother and son reunite and climb into Halloran's Snowcat to flee down the mountain.
Camera: Wide on the reunion by the Snowcat
Lighting: Hard exterior floodlight on snow
Mood: Reunion

131EXT

pp. 145-146

HOTEL - MAZE

defeat

Jack, hearing the Snowcat leave, staggers and moans through the maze before slumping against a hedge wall in the snow

Characters: JACK
Props: axe, snow
Wardrobe: Standard
Notes: Jack, abandoned, collapses in the maze as the Snowcat drives away.
Camera: Medium following Jack to his collapse against the hedge
Lighting: Cold floodlit night-snow, deep hedge shadow
Mood: Defeat

132EXT

DAY

pp. 146-146

HOTEL - MAZE

death

By morning Jack sits frozen dead in the maze, snow and icicles crusting his pale, grimacing face

Characters: JACK
Props: snow, icicles
Wardrobe: Jack frozen, frost makeup
VFX/Stunts: Frozen-corpse makeup with icicles
Notes: Jack found frozen to death in the maze the next day.
Camera: Medium on the frozen seated figure
Lighting: Cold flat morning light on snow
Mood: Frozen death

133INT

pp. 146-147

HOTEL - GOLD BALLROOM

revelation

The camera glides to a 1921 July 4th Ball photograph and slowly settles on a smiling young man in a dinner jacket at the center of the long-dead revelers, his face unsettlingly familiar

Characters: JACK
Props: framed ballroom photographs
Wardrobe: A young man in 1920s formal dress in the photograph
Notes: The final photograph: 'OVERLOOK HOTEL / JULY 4th BALL / 1921' the smiling young man at its center implying the hotel has kept him. Fade out to black frames.
Camera: Slow push-in to the framed photograph
Lighting: Warm ballroom daylight on the framed prints
Mood: Revelation