10 ways The Shining was tributed by The Kill from Thirty Seconds to Mars

Thirty Seconds to Mars is a rock band comprising the brothers, Jared Leto and Shannon Leto. The band was formed in 1998 and is known for fusing different genres, using philosophical lyrics, and having concept albums. In The Kill music video, which is from the album—A Beautiful Lie, the band pays a direct tribute to the classic horror movie by Stanley Kubrick, The Shining. Here are 10 ways in which the music video has easter eggs from the movie.

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The lady in the shower, the man in a bear suit, and other ways in which The Kill music video plays a tribute to The Shining

1. The first look at the eerie hotel

From the very first scene, The Kill music video highlights that it is a homage to The Shining. The band members arrive at a hotel that has the same towering but ominous vibe as the hotel in the movie. The music video captures how The Shining shot this scene, making it similar.

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2. When it is mentioned that the hotel is empty and perfect for inspiration

In the music video, Jared Leto mentioned that they will have the whole place to themselves and no one will be living there, so they can concentrate on making music. This is thematically similar to The Shining, as Jack Nicholson’s character also tells his family that they will have the whole hotel to themselves and that he can concentrate on writing a new book.

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3. The similar split-screen visuals

The music video showcases vast and expansive shots of the hotel’s lobby and other areas, which are completely isolated. It also features some narrow shots of the hotel room’s hallways. This is similar in style to how Stanley Kubrick shot The Shining. Both the movie and the video, therefore, employ split-screen visuals.

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4. The typewriter scene

Another manner in which the music video pays tribute to The Shining is when Jared Leto sits down in front of a typewriter placed centrally in the hall. In the movie, Jack Nicholson’s character also begins to write a script for his new book using a typewriter while sitting in the middle of the hotel.

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5. When the typewriter has the same words printed over and over

In another shot, it is briefly shown that a stack of papers written by Jared Leto contains the same sentence repeated over and over – “This is who I really am.” This mirrors Nicholson’s character in The Shining, who types out a stack of papers with the phrase “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy” repeatedly.

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6. The bar scene

Matt Wachter goes to the empty hotel’s bar, which appears littered, and sits down. This is similar to how Jack Torrance, Nicholson's character, sits down for a drink at an empty bar in The Shining. However, in another shot, a bartender magically appears and hands Matt a drink, just as a bartender appears and serves Nicholson a drink in the movie.

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7. The lady in the shower scene

In another scene, Shannon Leto showcases another famous shower scene where, in the movie, Torrance enters an unlocked room in the hotel—which he should not go into—and encounters a woman taking a shower. In the music video, the room number is changed from 237 to 6277, and Leto enters the room to find a woman in a towel, who kisses him, just as in The Shining.

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8. The man in the animal suit scene

Towards the end of The Shining, there is a scene where Shelley Duvall’s character comes across a man in a bear suit and a hotel staff member in a room. As Shelley encounters them, the two individuals look at her. In the music video, this mysterious scene is recreated as one of the band members comes across a room and sees the same man in an animal suit, along with a hotel staff member, looking at him.

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9. The similar subliminal images

Apart from the similar storyline employed in The Kill music video, which pays homage to The Shining, the music video is also stylistically shot in a manner similar to Kubrick’s direction in the movie. The video includes subliminal images that appear briefly and depict various people covered in blood. This technique resembles the one Kubrick uses in The Shining to unsettle viewers.

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10. The ballroom homage

Towards the end of The Shining, it is revealed that Nicholson’s character was once part of the hotel staff, as shown in an old photograph in the hallway depicting him at a ball. At the end of the music video, all the band members participate in a ballroom-style party at the hotel, where the guests turn toward the camera—reminiscent of the film’s final scene.