10 Exact Moments Horror Movie Villains Knew They’d Lost
8. Trapped Forever (And Ever, And Ever, And...) - The Shining
Not just an all-time horror movie, but an all-time movie, period, Stanley Kubrick's The Shining is an utter masterpiece.
Plot-wise, we have Jack Nicholson's Jack Torrance moving his family into the Overlook Hotel for a winter caretaking job. Of course, all is not that simple, for Jack's son Danny's telepathy comes to the fore, Jack gets driven to madness by the building and its spirits, and the result is the Torrance patriarch trying to kill his wife Wendy and their son.
When Jack fully snaps, it's an unhinged cocktail of supernatural eeriness and sinister undertones, amped up by the inherent horror of someone looking to harm their loved ones. Even worse, it's young Danny who ultimately has to confront Jack, with a chase sequence leading them through the grounds' sprawling maze - as Jack follows Danny's snowy footprints.
Ever the smart kid, Danny stops in his tracks and retraces his steps so as not to create new prints, which causes Jack's trail to go dead and gives Danny time to manage an escape from the maze. For Jack, he's not so lucky, and his screams of anguish and anger echo ring loud when he realises he's lost, destined to freeze to death.