Are you a fan of “The Shining” and its belated sequel “Doctor Sleep’s Awakening”? You have a soft spot for eerily abandoned properties? Then “Shelter” may be for you, now available on Amazon Prime Video subscription.
When it comes to hotel horror, “Shining” reigns supreme. The Stephen King adaptation by Stanley Kubrick (“Barry Lyndon”) still has what it takes to give its viewers nightmares today – so it’s no wonder that “Shining” tops our official FILMSTARTS ranking of the best horror films of all time. The fact that “Shining” also received a documentary with “Room 237” and a belated sequel with “Doctor Sleep’s Awakening” shows even more clearly the significance of the classic.
Shelter” was also inspired by “The Shining”. Whether the directing duo Christopher Beyrooty and Connor Martin have also staged a horror that creeps under the skin like legendary director Stanley Kubrick did in 1980 with their feature film debut? Hardly. But you can now see for yourself, because “Shelter” is now available as an Amazon Prime Video subscription.
WHAT “SHELTER” IS ABOUT
Jon (Brendan Hines) and Sara (Tatjana Marjanovic) were looking forward to their honeymoon, but then a worldwide pandemic throws a spanner in the works. They are forced to stay at the notorious Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel in Los Angeles. Due to the lockdown, they now have to stay there for the time being, as onward travel is not possible for the time being.
To make matters worse, Jon and Sara are the only guests in the hotel and are only looked after by two maids. The longer the couple is stuck in the hotel, the more the situation affects their psyche – until it becomes clear that the virus raging outside is the least of Jon and Sara’s problems…
IS “SHELTER” WORTH IT?
The mixture of hotel horror and pandemic scenario sounds quite interesting, although nowadays it is certainly not really original to relate the Corona era to the genre of horror cinema. However, it can be quite effective to treat the eerie isolation of the protagonists on several levels.
While “Shelter” (e.g. by Matthew Roe of Film Threat) is described as “uncomfortable” because, in his opinion, the film conveys very vividly how the quarantine situation can affect those affected, the reviews are on the whole rather restrained. Horror lovers can of course risk a look and enjoy the “Shining” quotes, among other things. The rest will stick to the original with Jack Nicholson, which outshines everything else.
