How Jordan Peele pays homage to Stanley Kubrick’s ‘The Shining’ in his movies
Who would’ve thought that Jordan Peele, who rose to prominence as a comedian – finding particular acclaim with his sketch comedy show Key & Peele – would become one of modern horror’s most important names? Yet, after releasing Get Out in 2017, it quickly became apparent that Peele had made a future classic.
The film, starring Daniel Kaluuya and Alison Williams, expertly blended comedy, horror and social commentary, with Peele exploring racism with tight precision. His approach was multifaceted, looking at the different ways that racism manifests in daily life while also showing how the most ‘normal-looking’ people can harbour extremely prejudiced and oppressive views.
He followed Get Out with Us, using doppelgängers to dissect themes of race, class, and otherness. Although not as successful as Get Out, Us was still a strong addition to Peele’s filmography. Nope, meanwhile, was his third feature, an effort which saw him mix sci-fi with horror. It proved successful, earning significant praise for its storytelling, scare factor, cinematography and use of satire.
Peele’s movies often carry clear references to other classic films. With Nope, he drew from a wide range of titles, such as The Wizard of Oz and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. In one scene, the character Angel actually quotes Tobe Hooper’s 1982 movie Poltergeist. By doing so, Peele positions himself in a long line of horror legends, paying homage to cinema that inspired him and helped to shape the influential genre.
One film that Peele has referenced several times, however, is a horror staple The Shining. Directed by Stanley Kubrick and acting as his first foray into the horror genre, the film has become one of the most iconic releases of the 20th century. Starring Jack Nicholson and Shelley Duvall, it follows a struggling writer who moves into a hotel with his family while it’s closed for the winter season.
Here, supernatural happenings begin taking place, with Nicholson’s Jack Torrance turning into a psychotic monster as the hotel starts to take effect on him. He wields an axe at Duvall’s Wendy, who, in one memorable scene, tries to escape her deranged husband through the bathroom window, only to find Jack slashing through the wood panels on the door, menacingly sneering, “Here’s Johnny!”
The Shining is referenced in Get Out through the opening credits, which features blue writing over scenes of trees. In Kubrick’s film, the credits also appear in the same shade over images of trees and a big lake. Thus, by referencing The Shining, Peele was surely warning viewers that this sense of quaintness will be torn apart as the movie descends into chaos.
That’s not the only time Peele referenced the film within Get Out – you can also hear “Flight 237” being announced in the background of one scene, alluding to the important hotel room number in The Shining.
Finally, more references came in Us. When we see the main family driving to their holiday house, Peele clearly draws parallels between them and the Torrances, who drive to The Overlook Hotel at the beginning of The Shining. Before the devastation occurs, they both look like somewhat normal families, which is shown through a seemingly ordinary car journey, unaware that soon, everything will change.
Moreover, Us sees many of the characters murdered as the narrative progresses, and in one scene, two girls are seen lying dead on the floor in the exact same positions as the murdered Grady Twins in The Shining, which can hardly be a coincidence. Clearly, the film has had a massive impact on Peele, who has nodded to Kubrick’s horror masterpiece through subtle easter eggs.