Directed by Mick Garris. Written by Stephen King (novel and teleplay). Starring Steven Weber, Rebecca De Mornay, Courtland Mead, Melvin Van Peebles and Cynthia Garris.
Plot: a recovering alcoholic and his family move into a haunted hotel so he can work as it’s caretaker while in the off-season
Filmed at the actual hotel the story is based around. Stephen King even stayed in room #217. There’s no stupid maze in this one, just the CGI hedge animals, which aren’t that well done and look kind of funny, but we guess you can’t win them all. It follows rules. It’s realistic. And although DJ doesn’t find it incredibly rewatchable (mostly because of the long running time), I do. I just love to binge watch stuff.
In this version of The Shining, the Torrance family moves into the hotel after meeting Dick (Peebles), the cook at the hotel. Dick shares a secret with little Danny – they can both “shine”. They can talk to each other without opening their minds and they can sense when bad things are gong to happen.
When Dick and everyone else finally leave the Torrance’s alone in their new place, strange occurrences start to take place. Doors start opening and closing by themselves. A wasps nest Jack smoke bombs is put into Danny’s room sans wasps, but overnight all the wasps miraculously come back and sting Danny. And of course, there’s the REDRUM scrawled in blood on the walls that only Danny can see at first.
Soon, Wendy begins to hate the hotel. She can feel it’s evil and speaking to Danny who is scared all the time, is only making it worse. She begs Jack to leave, but Jack has already gotten caught up in the hotel’s nonsense. Even when Danny comes downstairs with bruises on his neck, Jack still won’t admit that something else is in the hotel with them.
Eventually, Jack gets taken over by the hotel completely and he goes after Wendy and Danny. What can I say, this story just satisfies me a lot more than than the original movie. This one even makes me cry at the end.
Other good things: I love Steven Weber, inside and out. Miguel Ferrar, kick ass Miguel Ferrar, is the voice of Jack’s dad on the CB. And Dick lives in this one, which we find very important.
Bad things: the effects weren’t great when it came to the hedge animals. And the little boy is annoying. Courtland Mead is just not who I would have cast for this (or for anything else really).
Still, this mini-series gets a combined 56 points more than the Kubrick movie. My score: 84. DJ’s score: 67.
I suppose I could list my favorite movies here, but instead I'll give you a strange glimpse into what makes me TaraRomero.
1. I met George Romero. He was the kindest and sweetest man. He talked to me for longer than he should have with the line getting longer. He also held my hand. And when he noticed the ladybug I have tattooed on my wrist, he said he liked it and asked me it's name. Till then, it had not had a name. Now, I call him George.
2. I love stickers. All stickers. I just adore them. I even ask for stickers for Christmas! As a matter of fact, the birthday that just past, every member of my immediate family gave me sticker packs as gifts. Affordable and extremely appreciated.
3. I have never put much stock in astrology or horoscopes, but I LOVE the magic of the MBTI. Omg. I am an INFP and it actually sounds just like me. Introverted mostly. Creative always. Heart before head and not the most logical. Totally me! For better or worse.
4. It's no surprise I count horror so high up on the list of things that make me, me. However, it's so within my soul that I was part of the Horror Club in college. Interesting bunch. And even took a Horror Lit class as an elective. I got an A.
5. Coffee always makes me happy. Always. I'm particularly fond of caramel macchiatos. But I'll drink black coffee if it's the only thing available.
6. I hate shock for the sake of shock and endings that depress me. I always mention the movies Within (2016) and the Eli Roth produced, written and starred in, Aftershock (2012), as proof of this distate I have. I abhor the idea that just because I like horror, some people think I'd actually praise a movie that lets you think the "Final Girl" just made it through the night, only to slap her in the face with a tsunami.
7. We are big time animal people. I mean, if I could, I'd have an elephant, a bear, a zebra, a penguin, an otter and a meerkat, living with me. Seriously though. We have 2 dogs right now and 2 cats. Both cats we picked up when they each came to our front door hungry. And both dogs we got from 2 different sets of neighbors. Both who, unfortunately, don't know how to care for pets long-term. But they're happy and healthy now!!
8. Revisiting my love of horror, one of the above cats, my cat, is a little black guy named Church. Because Pet Sematary. His middle name is even Pascow. To give credit where credit's due, the name was DJ's idea. But he loves horror too!
9. I'm big into art. Along with movie posters and an Anne Frank quote, I have some actual paintings on my wall. I really think Dali paints beautifully when he wants to. And if I don't get to see Michaelangelo's Pieta in person some day, I will be very disappointed.
10. Lastly, I find Emily Dickinson's poetry intriguing. I took an elective course about her as well. But do you know I injected horror even there? I was given a poem to dissect and I picked one on death, of course. Then, I researched old "Death Photos" and even printed out copies for everyone in the class. They were so interested in looking at them that it stopped them from all looking at me, and I was able to deal quite well with my stage fright. Haha
View all posts by TaraRomero
BLOOD RED REVIEWS 