Pass It On: ‘Grand Budapest Hotel’ Is One Axe-Wielding Psycho Away From Being ‘The Shining’

Despite their overwhelmingly twee characters and unrelenting pastel colour schemes, the films of Wes Anderson can be surprisingly dark. The Royal Tenenbaums featured a suicide attempt, the entire plot of The Life Aquatic is based on the death of a major character, and The Grand Budapest Hotel was set in the midst of a fascist dictatorship.

Not only did leather-clad Willem Dafoe threaten, chase, and straight-up murder people, he also casually dispensed of their cats.

Now, after noticing the eerily similar cinematic techniques of Wes Anderson and Stanley Kubrick, inspired YouTuber Steve Ramsden has imagined a slightly different version of the film had the violence been kicked up just one tiny notch. It is literally The Shining.

There’s every chance it just ruined both films for you. Soz.

–

h/t Slate.