The worlds ofThe ShiningandSuper Mario Bros.collide in a trippy new crossover video that turns the Overlook Hotel into a video game level. Released in 1980, Stanley Kubrick’sadaptation of the Stephen King novelof the same name is now a horror classic, chronicling Jack Torrance’s (Jack Nicholson) descent into madness while looking after a haunted hotel with his family. The film couldn’t be any more different from the child-friendlySuper Mariofranchise, which includes dozens of Nintendo games and multiple movie adaptations, includingThe Super Mario Bros. Movie(2023).
Now,Mark Cannataro Filmson Instagram imagines what a crossover betweenThe ShiningandSuper Mario Bros. would look like, and the result is quite strange. The video opens with Mario defeating Bowser before hacking his way through the door of Overlook Hotel room 237, with the scene edited together with shots of Shelley Duvall screaming and cowering in the bathroom as Wendy Torrance.The rest of the video features a number of other moments fromThe ShininginSuper Marioform, including Jack’s encounter in the room 237 bathroom. Check out the video below:
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After that opening sequence of Mario breaking the door down, which actually mirrors theend ofThe Shiningwhen Jack has fully gone mad, the video puts a uniqueSuper Mariospin on what transpires in room 237. In the film, Jack embraces and kisses a nude woman who steps out of the bathtub before she then turns into an old woman with rotting flesh.The video, however, replaces the younger nude woman with a clothed Princess Peach, with theSuperMarioprincess then transforming into Toad.
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From there, the video features a greatest hits ofmoments fromThe Shining. Mario hops onto a recreation of Danny’s tricycle and witnesses a recreation of the movie’s iconic elevator scene, with blood pouring out into the hallway toward the camera. The video then includes a more comedic take on one particularly haunting moment fromThe Shiningin whichWendy witnesses a man in a dog costume performing oral sex on another man. In the crossover, however, it’s Mario in a dog costume and he’s seemingly using a vacuum.
The last moments of the video featuretwin Princess Peaches as stand-ins for the Grady sisters, telling Mario to “Come and play with us.“In the movie, it’s revealed thatDelbert Grady murdered his family, including his twin daughters, after going mad, but theSuper Mariovideo doesn’t include this backstory. After Mario agrees to play with the twins, unlike Danny, who never did, the trio are seen playing a game as the camera zooms in on an old photo of Mario at the Overlook, with the video ending just asThe Shiningdid.
The world ofMariowill return to the big screen with theconfirmedThe Super Mario Bros. Movie 2.
Our Take On The Shining & Super Mario Bros. Crossover
Why A Real Crossover Will Never Happen
A crossover betweenThe ShiningandSuper Mario Bros. is an odd one given the vastly different audiences for the two franchises. WhileThe Shiningis rated R for the inclusion of strong language, violence, and nudity, all elements of theSuper Mario Bros.franchise have been aimed at audiences of all ages. This is part of what makes certain elements of the crossover video so jarring and so comedic. While it’s certainly amusing in a bite-sized Instagram video, audiences shouldn’t expect a real-life crossover withThe Shiningin aSuper Mario Bros.game anytime soon.
