“Wendy, I’m home!”

Join us at the Rio Theatre as we raise a glass, dim the lights, and pay tribute to the late, great, Shelley Duvall with a screening of the performance she will undoubtedly be most widely remembered for, as the beleaguered wife and mother Wendy Torrance in Stanley Kubrick‘s iconic work of cinematic horror, THE SHiNiNG.

Ms. Duvall possessed a quietly resilient, natural tenderness that allowed her to shine as a dreamy, earthy muse in era-defining Robert Altman films including NASHVILLE and THREE WOMEN, and she will of course always claim a special cult-status in the hearts of 80s kids everywhere thanks to her sweet and utterly enchanting “Faerie Tale Theatre.” It was her complete and utter ability to parlay truthful, earnest honesty that allowed for her astounding performance as one of cinema’s most memorable “final girls” in THE SHiNiNG; for that, we will always be awestruck.

Based on Stephen King‘s 1977 novel “The Shining,” Stanley Kubrick‘s film is widely regarded as a work of true cinematic genius (although King himself, famously, does not).  Jack Nicholson and Shelley Duvall star as a husband and wife (Jack and Wendy Torrance) who ditch the city for a gig as winter caretakers at an isolated hotel. While Jack hopes to get his creative juices flowing so that he can write a book, the family (which also includes their young son Danny) instead encounters an eerie and foreboding spiritual presence. Commence cinema’s most nightmarishly creepy twins, a mesmerizing carpet, the memorable view from Room 237, a messy elevator, REDRUM, psychic visions, a Big Wheel that keeps on turnin’, and a chaotic descent into a spiraling maze of violence. Also starring Danny Lloyd and Scatman Crothers.

Of note: This particular edition of THE SHiNiNG was remastered in 2019 for the film’s 40th Anniversary, using a new 4K scan of the original 35mm camera negative at Warner Bros. Motion Picture Imaging. The color grading was done by Janet Wilson with supervision from Kubrick’s former personal assistant, Leon Vitali.

“The Gothic heroine, the woman trapped in the menacing haunted home, must exhibit courage in the face of danger, remaining resolute while also being susceptible to the evil that lurks around every corner. Without that tension, we wouldn’t be kept in suspense. In the film, Duvall is waifish, eyes wide, hair flat and scraggly, and it’s hard not to believe she’s going to die. Her only objective is to save her son, Danny, from his father, who — we learn early on — previously broke Danny’s arm in an alcoholic rage. This evil she is fighting is malevolent and abusive and real, a threat she has seen in action before, only now it carries an ax.

… Her work in “The Shining” has grown in critical esteem in recent years; today it can feel as if detractors simply weren’t expecting how unsettling it would be to witness her performance of abject terror. There’s a strangeness to it: Her eyes are both huge and heavy-lidded, her mouth equally able to draw into a rosebud or spread wide for a shriek. Throughout the film, her affect is almost that of a china doll, terrified of being shattered. She appears afraid to breathe, barely able to speak.

But plenty able to scream. Speaking with the critic Roger Ebert in 1980, Duvall revealed nuanced feelings about the shoot, likening the experience to primal scream therapy. “In my character I had to cry 12 hours a day, all day long, the last nine months straight, five or six days a week,” she explained. But “I went home very contented,” she added. “It had a very calming effect. During the day I would have been absolutely miserable.” (New York Times)

Tuesday, July 23
Doors 8:50 pm | Movie 9:15 pm *Please arrive on time. Start time subject to change.
Advance tickets HERE

Sunday, August 4 Encore Screening!
Doors 9:15 pm | Movie 9:45 pm *Please arrive on time. Start time subject to change.
Advance tickets HERE

THE SHINING (Stanley Kubrick, 1980 / 144 mins / 14A) Jack Torrance becomes winter caretaker at the isolated Overlook Hotel in Colorado, hoping to cure his writer’s block. He settles in along with his wife, Wendy, and his son, Danny (Danny Lloyd), who is plagued by psychic premonitions. As Jack’s writing goes nowhere and Danny’s visions become more disturbing, Jack discovers the hotel’s dark secrets and begins to unravel into a homicidal maniac hell-bent on terrorizing his family.

*Minors OK. Must be 19+ w/ID for bar service.
*Rio Theatre Groupons and passes OK for any single film only. Please redeem at the door.
*We recommend purchasing your tickets in advance at www.riotheatretickets.ca. If a screening or live event is not sold out, the remaining tickets will be available for in-person purchase at the Rio Theatre’s Box Office prior to showtime (subject to availability).
*Our box office is typically open 30 minutes before showtime. All seating is General Admission; please arrive 20-30 minutes prior to showtime to ensure great seats, and time for treats at concession.
*If you are looking to redeem either a Rio Theatre gift certificate or Groupon to any regular Rio Theatre screening: You can either email us in advance <[email protected]> and give us a “heads up,” or do it at the box office prior to showtime.

*All Rio Theatre tickets are final sale.