4. IT’S ABOUT THESEUS AND THE MINOTAUR!
The recurrence of maze imagery throughout the film, including the hedge labyrinth on the Overlook property, has inspired many to conclude that Kubrick was filming an update of the Greek myth of Theseus and the Minotaur. In the game room when the twin girl ghosts appear — god, they’re still so effing creepy — you can see a poster on the wall that looks like a half-man, half-bull. (In reality, it’s a “Monarch” skiing poster.)
When Jack is chasing Danny through the hedge maze at the end, he’s wounded and lumbering — moving more like an animal than a man. Danny, like Theseus, outwits the monster; in Danny’s case, by retracing his own steps in the snow and trapping the beast inside. Also, what color is known to antagonize bulls? Red. And there’s juuuuust a little bit of red in The Shining.
