Movies
‘The Shining’ is Now an Opera
Stephen King’s “The Shining” is one of horror’s greatest and most terrifying novels. And, as many of you know, I’m a huge fan of Stanley Kubrick’s adaptation, which, although not exactly 100% accurate (to put it mildly), absolutely horrifies me pretty much every time I watch it. Now, that story that has struck fear into so many is coming to audiences in a brand new fashion: an opera.
Created by composer Paul Moravec and librettist Mark Campbell over the course of three years, the opera opened last week at the Minnesota Opera. Moravec explains the appeal of undertaking such a project, telling NPR, “Stephen King’s original novel is all about love, death and power. And those are the three foundational components for an opera.”
He continues, this time talking about the specters and spooks that haunt the Overlook Hotel, “I think of the Overlook as sort of this gateway into hell. And when you finally see the ghosts appearing at the end of Act One, it’s as though the gates of hell open up and they come spilling out onto the stage.”
The Shining follows a Jack Torrance and his wife and son, Wendy and Danny, as they move into the Overlook Hotel for the winter to act as caretakers.
There is no word yet on whether or not this opera will travel, although that seems to be the hope.
A contemporary reimagining of H.P. Lovecraft’s short story Herbert West: Reanimator is on the way, and Deadline has unveiled the first look at the new Herbert West and the pathologist drawn to his orbit.
The original screenplay and storyline come from Jade Sandberg Wallis.
Michael Grossman (“The Originals”, “Pretty Little Liars”) directs.
The new images introduce star Joseph Morgan (“Vampire Diaries“), who plays “brilliant surgeon and scientist Herbert West, who is obsessed with creating a serum to reanimate the dead.” Katie Cassidy (Speed Demon) stars opposite as the pathologist with a troubled past who joins his efforts.
Together, they prove that conquering death may be the ultimate sin against life itself.
The film’s official synopsis: “As a child, Herbert West watches his father Peter reanimate his dead mother Judith in a secret basement lab — only for Judith to mortally wound Peter and nearly kill Herbert before Peter shoots her. The trauma leaves its mark on Herbert, but so does one final image: his mother’s finger, twitching after death. Thirty years later, Herbert West is a brilliant, secretive surgeon still chasing his father’s obsession.
“Pathologist Kate Locke arrives in town and is drawn into his orbit — first through a spark at a hospital fundraiser, then through his secret lab, where he reveals a serum capable of reanimating severed tissue. Kate, hiding a dark past of her own, is thrilled rather than horrified, and moves into West’s mansion to work alongside him. Their early experiments on a cadaver succeed only briefly. West concludes that dead tissue is the problem — they need something fresher.”
Supporting cast includes Scott Aiello, Ira J Amyx, Randall Newsome, Emma Reinagal, James D. Bryce, Kathryn A Bentley, Jack Lancaster, Amy Holland Pennell, John Pierson, Mindy Shaw, Eric Dean White, Tristan Wilder Hallet, Adrienne Lamping, Aaron Crippen, and Drew Patterson.
Makeup artist Jeff Lewis (“Star Trek: Voyager,” “Star Trek: Enterprise”) and cousin Roger Lewis are heading the production via their newly established Woodlake Entertainment.
Lovecraft’s short story, first serialized in Home Brew magazine in 1922, is the first among his works to mention the fictional Miskatonic University. It was most famously adapted into a 1985 horror movie from Stuart Gordon, starring Jeffrey Combs as Herbert West.
Herbert West: Reanimator is set in Alton, Illinois, where production is now underway.
Herbert West: Reanimator. Photo credit: Matt Lief Anderson
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