Before anyone complains about the harsh lighting in my footage here. I played around a lot with the set up and loved the over-exposed look, very fitting with the title of the movie. Clips from the movie scenes are unaffected though. Hope you enjoy :)

It just occurred to me that we never see the interior of the elevators at any point in The Shining.

Absolutely fascinating. It amazes me that this many years later, people are still discovering/speculating on the many hidden horrors of The Shining.

When you mentioned how the elevators resemble an open mouth, with blood and a body coming out, i immediately made an association between the way Jack treats his son Danny and Goya’s painting ‘Saturn Devouring His Son’

Remember that "Tony" is short for Anthony, which (according to the novel) is Danny's middle name. Perhaps he's in shock because the "body" in the river of blood represents his own (via "Tony's") death, at least on a subconscious level. Just a thought.

Yeah, I'm in the camp it was just a curved object to assist the blood flow into the nearest portion of wall. The huge splash really helps the scene appear dynamic instead of the blood just spreading out evenly. When zoomed in you can clearly see a majority of the river curve to the right from the elevator, the increased build up made it explode and crash instead of just pooling out everywhere.

There is definitely an object there, and I can vaguely discern the shape of a head and shoulder. The suggestion that Kubrick intended it to be the body of Tony is quite possible in my opinion and actually makes sense as Danny literally says he "lives in my mouth". Another even more unsettling idea is that Kubrick was alluding to cannibalism. It is clear that he portrayed the ghosts of the Overlook Hotel, "all the best people" as being of the most vile and evil nature. With Kubrick, who knows? Such a fascinating jigsaw puzzle of a movie.

Still find it hard to believe that it was a miniature set, just shows what could be achieved through the use of craftsmanship and talent (in front and behind the camera) Fascinating as ever Rob, keep up the good work.

His simulation didn't even really look similar to me, he couldn't replicate what we see in the shot. There's clearly something physical there, whether it's a prop to help the flow or a body is yet to be seen but undoubtedly there's something physically there, unless I'm just hallucinating you can see the blood flow around the object. The dude seemed really hateful in his comments too, he just refuses to even see things any other way than his. 😩. I enjoyed this so much , i love learning new things ❤

Look at the painting Saturn devouring his son. The eyes are like the elevators in that painting as well. The blood, the gore... Jack is devouring his son so to speak. To me the elevators could be Danny, but also Jack.

Thank you for the update. I personally interpret the river of blood as symbolizing the native slaughter upon which the Overlook was founded. The elevator is vomiting up all the blood and probably a body as well.

You may have overlooked a small detail that supports the idea that the object represents Tony. In the scene with the psychologist, Danny talks about the little man that lives in his mouth. The teddy bear seen behind him has its eyes folded to resemble the elevator floor indicators.

I was one of the people who denied the existence of an object in the blood back on your original video. Well, you've totally convinced me that there is something there now and it looks to me like whatever it is speeds up the flow of the blood to impact against the wall to produce that fantastic geyser of blood. Great video as ever.

At first I thought the river of blood scenes were pure silliness but they are starting to grow on me, particularly the last one. Wendy is running down a red hallway we haven't seen before. It's almost like an aorta, the elevators are the heart of the hotel, as if she is deep inside its body. The hallway also makes me think of a blood-coated passageway in an abbatoir, and Wendy is an unfortunate beast about to meet its fate. I don't know if anyone here has ever been inside a place where cattle are slaughteted, there is A LOT of blood.They cut the poor animal's throat and the blood is like a waterfall. It's pretty horrific. Very intense imagery here.

Loved the ending transition! There’s definitely something there. That really makes that scene even creepier thinking that there’s a hidden dead body in there .

In my interpretation is that the scene is non other than Wendy’s miscarriage, and the object is the fetus itself: Tony, and Denny talks to him through the Shining.

So perhaps the river of blood could symbolize Danny vomiting up a demonic parasite (Tony) as he no longer needed to supress the negativity of the trauma inflicted by his father and had regained his singular self by cutting-off his father once he realized he was evil.

I looked up this scene and saw someone else suggesting it’s a “spiral liquid diffusing weir” used to push most of the blood back to create the dramatic splash effect.

Rob, you are the king of Kubrick. I enjoyed him before. But, after watching and digesting your superb analysis, that enjoyment has turned into a deep admiration for what Stanley offered to us in his films. You, sir, offer peerless analysis and insight into his works.

There are countless KZfaq channels which make movie analysis videos. Almost every single one of them just points out obvious elements, explain the basic plot, then throw in some ancient philosophers' names in order to give the video an intellectual (but actually ridiculous) tone, and that's all. This is the only analysis channel I really really like, and have been following for years. Bravo to you from Italy.

02:44 your reaction to the twins is classic literally laughed out loud 😂

i was skeptical, until i heard your theory. Tony coming out of the mouth, makes quite a bit of sense. and they technique of blowing air up to make the shape is real nice.

You are definitely one of the youtubers who inspires me to try and make video essays. Your stuff is always very eloquently worded, well put together and easy to follow your thoughts.

The idea that it's the body of Tony really resonates with me. I think it explains why Danny is so horrified in that moment. Also, the thought that this is just a mechanism for directing the blood or something is absolutely ridiculous to me considering Kubrick spent weeks reshooting that scene. He would have known every frame intimately. What I'm trying to say is even IF there was just a reflection that looked like something in the blood, Kubrick would have noticed that & left it in intentionally. What we have is an obvious APPEARANCE of an object in the final cut, therefore Kubrick wanted it to appear that way. And you can bet anything that is noticed by a reasonable percentage of viewers definitely didn't escape the notice of Stanley Kubrick who was absolutely meticulous and obsessed with details like this. Great video.

“Yeah so there’s something in the blood. So what? Big f***ing deal!” Not going to lie that made me laugh Rob. Hahaha.

I always thought eyes on the bear behind Danny at the end had been doctored to look horrified like the floor indicators on the lift also I’m reminded of Moloch from metropolis great stuff Rob!

Initially, despite multiple viewings, I couldn't see an object at all. Then finally I was sort of able to make out something which I think is the referenced image. When the tubing was shown however, that I could see it clearly and it looked, to me, exactly like an umbilical cord running down from the top right of the elevator opening almost directly to the object. With no other evidence to support it, how about if Danny was originally a twin whose sibling died in utero (as often happens) and Tony is the embodiment (so to speak) of his lost other 1/2? There are medical references to a dead twin being reabsorbed (or sometimes more crudely described as eaten by the surviving twin) which might explain why Tony lives inside Danny (in his mouth and stomach) and speaks through one of Danny's own body parts (his finger). I also heard somewhere that Danny's middle name is Anthony (Tony) which was perhaps the intended name of his twin. Hey... far fetched I know, but isn't that the fun of wild theories?

I like the idea of Tony that you mentioned because it does seem clear that the elevator is supposed to be Danny's scared face judging by the juxtapositions in the film and it would make sense that Tony would be who would fall out of his "mouth." I appreciate this video because I've never even noticed the object before, but it's very clear now!

Not to get all personal, but I read David's interesting comments on his video. He was insulting people who disagreed with him, fallaciously using his reputation and experience in the CG industry to disparage people. Directly quoting one of his replies, "What do you do, besides playing video games and living with your parents?" The guy has a big ego, and you're doing some great work in debunking his rebuttal.

Rob, I LOVE your communication skills! At 0:40 you clarify already, that you don't have a definitive interpretation. LOVE your content! Thank you!

I think it’s just a thing to make sure that the blood flows correctly instead of just falling straight to the ground. It helps the flow go down the hallway better. If you look at the floor on both sides of the hallway just outside the elevator there is what looks like 2 heater vents and those were probably used to shoot more blood up the walls

I rewatched the Shining the other day after watching your videos. I think Jack and Wendy also have the Shining was my takeaway. I also believe Kubrick purposefully filled the movie with red herrings and wanted us to be confused and leave it open to as many interpretations as possible. When Jack says he'd sell his soul for a glass of beer and then the bartender appearing for example could leave you to think they're in hell.

Love the fact your red background looks like the hotel elevators from the scene itself.

WHOA a new video! New fan - been watching your Shining videos all week dude!

There are definitely extra jets/pumps on the sides to shoot blood up. As far as the "body", there's definitely something there but it's probably plastic pouch material that popped out when the effect was activated. It was a practical effect at the time versus a CGI recreation in Ready Player One. It would really be a stretch to hope the object would be prominent AND perceived as a body. I doubt anyone even noticed it in the original release.

Love your stuff, Rob. I've purchased dozens of your videos (started shopping them last Spring) and I cannot recommend them enough to others- which I did in my latest video, which will post tomorrow morning. Thanks and please keep up the great work!

Hi Rob I just wanted to thank you for your content. I've been dealing with suicidal thoughts and depression for years now and your videos always make me drift away to a world of ideas and inspiration (as I'm an artist and writer myself). You also seem like a nice person to a have a beer with, and that adds to you videos. Thank you Rob, and keep on keeping on.

My view: The object we see is production/effects equipment. But since it made it onto the screen...it's a corpse. So we have an unintended detail added to the story.

Love how the canvas in the back also mimics the elevator look lol. Back again with a great video! It seems that “thing” appears before the elevator opens though, so I’m inclined to it being something to help the blood flow over in more directions. But, there’s that little voice in my head that knows Kubrick doesn’t make mistakes in his movies lol

I've been talking about this since I bought it on DVD early in the 2000s.. I'm glad you made this feature. Corpse fitting through the slot of the elevator door.. it's my understanding, this scene was filmed a several times, agonizing for the set creators, but the pay was good. Thanks for this video Rob. I've really enjoyed your videos over the last several years.

Could talk about Kubrick forever would never tire of it. He's the greatest filmmaker who ever lived and probably ever will live. No one will surpass him. He was a master craftsman. Never made a bad movie. Mastered most every genre of film. Terms like "legend" or "visionary" don't even begin to describe him.

Hey Rob, long-time (too many years lol) listener/watcher/reader/customer, I just rarely ever comment. That said, I just wanted to say I really rather like the new camera angle and dampening foam/background, as well as -and especially- the sound quality. Huge improvement to an already incrediblly vast amd interesting library of information. Anyway, please dont ever stop. cheers!

I am a very big fan of yours. So much that I watch the movie just to see your videos. Your work is great. You have exposed me to a whole new world of making interpretations. Thanks Rob!

Love your videos man! Especially the ones about The Shining

You’re just as meticulous as Stanley Kubrick was, with the same amazing attention to detail. Brilliant.

There is 100% something on the ground that the blood is hitting and bouncing off. The quality of your content is amazing and interesting enough to listen to for hours. I love your 2001 Space Odyssey videos as well

Love your videos, I think how you analyze these movies are so interesting

Just when I thought the rabbit hole couldn't fathom any further... Love your work, Rob!

You forgot to mention your discovery of Danny's bear pillow resembles the elevator, the eyes are crimped down or trimmed to mimic the elevator dials and the bears red mouth

Rob I love these videos I will watch you talk about the shinning for the rest of my life 😂 I’ve only seen this movie once but spend hours watching your videos about it. I’ve got more entertainment out of your videos than the actual movie itself at this point haha

This is such a huge upgrade from the original video. The additional content and theories add a lot and the HD makes it much easier to see. I'm fascinated by the theory that it could be Tony.

I’ve been watching this movie since it was released. I’ve lost count of the times I’ve seen it, and I’ve never noticed this before. As a matter of fact, I just went and saw it again in a local theater last night! Kubrick was known for including things in his movies that can only be ambiguous. Open to interpretation. And he wasn’t always keen on explaining things in detail. It could just be a way of keeping people wondering, knowing an innate quality of the mind is to explain things. Great video! Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

Was Danny's teddy bear blanket have its eyes cut to semi-circles to mimic the elevator door dials?

Its funny you mention “shining eyes” because during my last viewing i noticed a lot of scenes where the Torrances have bright shining reflections in their eyes, almost giving them an otherworldly look. Jack has it during the interview, Danny has it when hes talking to the doctor, and Wendy has it moments later when shes talking to the doctor in the living room. Oddly enough, if you watch the movie in the dark then we the viewers have the same “shining eyes” whenever theres bright light onscreen (window in Ullman’s office, window above the doctor in the living room in Boulder, the lights behind Grady and Lloyd the bartender, etc…).

You are so passionate about this dude wish you lots of long life to keep making great video material

if you notice, there is a reoccurring theme of cannibalism in the shining.

There are floor vents on the left and right sides. Could they double as additional blood jets? Great video as usual, Rob

Not to over analyze here, but I think it’s just a big sand bag or prop type object to slow the “blood” from gushing out to fast. It just happened to fall out into the shot either by accident or Kubrick was hoping it wouldn’t be noticed. I know I’m going against the grain here, but just thinking out loud.

I always love watching your videos! Love to find one of your analysis videos to watch every now and then. I hope to make analysis videos on film sometime soon, I’m still in the process of learning. Studying film angles, shot sizes, etc. right now. Excited to see more videos soon!

New subscriber here. Very interesting! I look forward to more of your stuff. Ty ty😎

It looks to me that he has taken the water in the state it immediately leaves the elevator as it does share a similarity. But yeah as soon as it makes contact with the object (which is there) and the ground it takes on a new form. He has kept the exact same form of the water in the split second it leaves. Hence the treacle look. Personally I do think it’s an devise to help the flow and effect. I want add I agree with your analysis otherwise. The idea that it’s a body isn’t far fetched. And yes the object becomes more and more obvious when watched which would imply it’s intended. The idea it’s Tony is a good lead and maybe if it is intended then the idea that Tony being dead and leaving the elevator dead may be a representation of a loss of innocence. Maybe when tied in with Jacks thoughts noted in the book and how he didn’t want to travel in the elevator it could be a representation of truth. Truth to the abuse that Jack doesn’t want to accept he is inflicting. Could this be then representative of the exposure of the abuse and Jack’s true self. I’m not sure either. My strongest thought on this all and what I thought initially was that it was an device connected to the wire / cable to assist in the effect. But it’s a interesting theory and may have some legs. You got me on one now…. Maybe a release of pain and the shining object is the “shining” which was a comping mechanism all along. The subconscious and non verbalisation of the abuse which someone like Dick Halloran who also has the shining can pick up on. Is this somthing you have already stated as I’m probably just regurgitating it without realising. I watched all of your shining videos a while back now and they absolutely influenced my views. So if it is sorry for wasting you time lol.

Playing the clip in the speed that it would have actually happened shows me a few things: *. It would be too difficult to insert and remove an object in that speed of time, and more difficult as it was a miniature. *. There are no jets blowing blood either, it is just the way it flowed. The blood on the left doesn't splash up from the side wall but rather from the corner section that sticks out in front of the elevator. This is the same for the blood on the right. The reason the splash is symmetrical is because this is the one that looked best out of the 12 takes. *. It doesn't look like there is any object, it just looks like a natural liquid flow. It's like pouring a full bath of water all at once down a funneled rigid rectangle place. The flow would be like that. The set was most likely tilted which increased the velocity too. It's a cool theory though.

Glad I found your channel love good film education and good motivation for me to work on my own films

Keep up the great content Rob

I always thought Tony was an ascended master Saint Anthony guiding Danny. Maybe dark force entities kill Tony or Tony gives his life defending Danny and Danny screaming understands the death of his spirit guide.

I saw this movie at the movies when it came out and I remember thinking that the elevator looked like a face. I noticed the eyes right away. The blood coming out of the mouth of the elevator could be regurgitating one of the many cadavers buried in the overlook hotel. Love the video.

Another absolute goldmine of an upload.

Great video Rob. You do this type of presentation well. Suits you sir.

It's laminar flow. That's why it looks so smooth. It's just a reflection.

The object does look organic, sort of like limbs attached to a lifeless body. Its possible both interpretations are true. Maybe they pushed tony out with the blood and pushing him into that position was the only way they could get the blood to spread evenly across the room. Good ol tony

enjoyed your DIY rubiks cubes & canvas 'elevator face' in the background

Love your videos Rob!

The big skeletalized ready player one character is the reenactment of the dead Tony body falling in the blood. It's right there in front of you!

In regards to the Elevator being a face, don't forget the teddy bear similarities.. those teddy bear eyes look just like the Elevator eyes.

Only halfway through, and you are saying everything I would. Great job

I'm so glad you updated this videoed. It's a worth while taking point and the video needed updated in the way we're there not enough of your awesome commentary !! And they were actually quite scary to be honest lol! Awesome video rob. Don't know if you've seen me comment this before but you've changed the way my husband and I watch movies your great , which honestly is more incredible then it sounds, I've always loved movies but the way you made me look at things have given every single one of my favorites a nother watch with a totally different point of view. Example : I love mystery science theater 3000 even when it was airing was a favorite because even though they watch cheesy movies they're riffs have alot to do with pop cultural and all genre serious film references. I went to watch one I never saw episode 'cave dwellers' and before the movie even started my jackass self is bouncing around singing the theme song of the show and it hits me that there spaceship is in the shape of a bone and I say to my husband , "say you think the bone ship reference is from 2001 ?" Having watched every video you have in the movie he's says "yeah good chance with all the movies they riff on" and no shit partway thru the film theres these cheesy cavemen and Joel says "there's a monolith outside it's a really good time" and then crow says " yeah there's an ape man throwing bones in the air and turning them into spaceships!!". Safe to say I think it's definitely a 2001 reference. I never would have had that thought it even gotten the riff reference in the first place with out you and your videos so thanks !!!

hottake: it's a middle of the road thing. it's something that exists there to direct the flow of blood, but so placed so that if it is even seen, since it is hard to spot, well, a hidden dead body coming out of the elevator wouldn't be out of place

Love the Tony idea, cause how else do you show the physical death of an imaginary friend? It’s like an invisible corpse, that can only be shown when the blood flows around it. Also, the blood comes out from the same side of the elevator as the hand that Danny uses to externalize Tony.

At first I saw a round shiny thing but on many repeated views I definitely see something that looks very angular like the bottom of a music stand or something. Great video!!!!

I love the idea that it could be Tony coming out of the elevator (Danny's mouth) - Great video Rob

When I saw your first and second video on the body in the elevator river of blood: I wasn’t very convinced there was anything there and if there was, likely wasn’t something intentionally symbolic by any stretch. I thought you honestly were reaching a bit. However, I was completely on board with all of your other Shining theories (and still am), so it’s not like I was completely skeptical either. After seeing this video however: I am completely convinced there is something in the elevator river of blood! So much so that I am even leaning to your side and thinking there might even be a symbolic reasoning behind the body being there. I do see the merit in the more mundane theory it’s just something to get the blood to flow the right way, such as the air blowers you’d mentioned as a way to get the blood so high up the walls, however, I feel like Kubrick was meticulous that he would’ve seen that “object” in the river as an error and chose a different take without it. I mean, he did shoot the elevator scene over and over and over again, so it seems rather implausible that he would leave an object in the river if it wasn’t either intentional, or a happy accident he saw as a useful symbol after the fact. He had tons of other takes he could have used, why the one that looks like there’s something in the river of blood? That’s why I’m led to suspect Rob might be onto something with the body being an intentional symbol, especially as a theoretical symbolic connection to the Danny/Tony, The Twins, Mrs. Grady, or just the historical cyclical nature of abuse theme. Thank you Rob for revisiting this topic with some fresh knowledge! It really helped me see where you were coming from! You of all people are someone I actively work to try and understand your perspective, because I simply respect how insightful your observations are. Much respect to you Rob!

Probably something that helped filming the scene/getting the flow the way kubrick wanted, not intended to be included in the story itself?

Great video Rob. Should have set up a face in your background hahaha

Nice to see you're a painting enthusiast Rob.

I think there is an object. No matter what it is, I think it registers subliminally and adds to the horror.

I always thought it was a part of the plastic bag or the container that it was held in while the "blood" was inside of the elevator

Awesome video. There is definitely something in the blood. Such an amazing shot- this film always gives up something each viewing

I've worked on fluid simulations, dynamics, cloth, hair, lighting, shading, camera work and compositing for feature films and tv commercials. The recreation is not using nearly enough particles or a fine enough mesh to recreate the original from the movie, and you should really have a better blood shader using subsurface scattering if you want to try and make it more accurate. Even though the original wasn't using real blood, the liquid they use does allow light to scatter through it. That's why Rob says the recreation looks like chocolate (it's basically opaque). I would love to see an uncompressed version of the video (especially if there is a 4k Blu-ray) because there are too many artifacts in KZfaq versions. Rob, if you have access to a Blu-ray version of The Shining, I can tell you how to extract the footage at high-res and uncompressed or close to it, and if you'd like to pass it along I'd gladly take a look. You can do the same with a DVD though it will be much smaller and the compression is worse to begin with.

Could this link in with your theory about what the man in the bear suit symbolises? While listening to that theory, I felt that Danny having a friend who lives in his tummy painted a pretty disgusting picture when you put it together with all the clues that suggest that Danny's father was molesting him. A red elevator that looks like a face unleashing a river of blood with an object in it could look a lot like the screaming face of a little boy throwing up after being made to injest something... Certainly not something pleasant to think about, but with all the clues about Jack being a molestor this was hard for me to ignore. However, knowing Cuberick, the scene likely had multiple layers of meaning.

Thanks Rob for sharing your thoughts 🙏 very interesting ..... think I going too have to watch the shining this weekend 🤪👍👍

Holy moley I can't believe this! 😳 Great video. Kubrick keeps messing with our minds all these years later. What a legend.

to me it looks like it has a curve toward the left wall that feeds the blood to splash up against the left wall for added effect. i really cant imagine it being anything more than an item they used to control the flow. in the the footage you have at 4:30 you can sort of see that this curve toward the left seems to follow the flow back up into the elevator as well. it could be some sort of bagging used to keep the blood from seeping before the door opened as well.

Kubrick's longtime assistant, Leon Vitali, recently revealed in an interview just how the shot was managed. "We spent weeks and weeks and weeks trying to get the quality and of the blood as natural as it could be," the 70-year-old filmmaker told Yahoo!. "The consistency was also quite important, because we were pouring out hundreds of gallons of the stuff," Vitali continued. "And then, of course, there were the mechanics of it, because if you have that much pressure ​inside something like an elevator, it’s going to blow if you’re not careful ... I tell you, it worked in a way we never thought it would work... It was such a violent volume of this red liquid coming at you; those of us who were in there thought, ‘My God-we’re doing to drown!'"

This analysis is a great illustration of the superiority of miniature practical effects over CGI.

The Shining is a layered film as Kubrick intended. Each viewing produces further thoughts about his intentions. He was never simple. Another great video Rob.

One thing you can be sure of-whatever the object is, Stanley Kubrick wanted it there. If it was a glorified garden sprinkler used to distribute blood, he would have insisted that the effects team reshoot the scene. He never would have settled for having a glaring mistake like that.

I got this strong feeling that it was a massive heart flopping out. The heart of the hotel? Jack's heart being swept away by the hotel?

Do u see how the pillow bear, when Dani talks about Tony, has his eyes intentionally folded to look like the Elevators!!! 😮😮😮😮

Small addition to your point but the teddy bears eyes mimic the eyes of the elevator when Danny is talking about Tony living inside his mouth.

You made the elevator with eyes in the background with the Rubik's Cubes, and other subtle stuff. Nice work, Rob! (Also, can you check your new creations account for an e-mail or two from me? Some interesting stuff I found).