Stephen King is understood for his works of horror, however from time to time, he strays exterior of his established style. His anthology e book “Totally different Seasons” forgoes the supernatural for extra grounded tales like “The Physique” (tailored to the display as “Stand By Me”) and “Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption” (which, in fact, turned the movie “The Shawshank Redemption”). One among King’s more moderen non-horror books was “Billy Summers,” a drama-thriller revealed in 2021. At occasions, “Billy Summers” reads as if King binged a bunch of episodes of the nice HBO collection “Barry” and stated, “Let me attempt that, however with out the jokes.”
The story follows a Marine sniper-turned-hitman, the titular Billy Summers, who is able to get out of the “killing folks” enterprise. He agrees to take one final job, and this job requires some prep work, together with creating a canopy story. The quilt story Billy concocts has him posing as a author penning a e book, and to assist promote the phantasm, he begins writing for actual. And would not ya comprehend it? Billy finally ends up having a knack for the printed phrase, and finds the act of writing to be therapeutic (you possibly can see the “Barry” connections right here, proper? “Barry” was a few hitman who poses as an actor and discovers he has the performing bug; “Billy Summers” is a few hitman who poses as a author and discovers he enjoys it, and many others.).
Billy ultimately finds out he is being arrange by the mobster who employed him and he has to enter hiding. Whereas in hiding, Billy befriends Alice, a younger lady who was the sufferer of sexual assault. The 2 type a detailed bond and find yourself happening the run to Colorado, the place they shack up with certainly one of Billy’s solely mates, a man named Bucky. It is through the Colorado part of the e book that King decides to have somewhat enjoyable and drop an Easter egg reference or two to certainly one of his most well-known horror novels.
Billy Summers goes to the Overlook Resort
Stephen King revealed “The Shining” in 1977 and it went on to develop into certainly one of his most beloved books (I ranked it at quantity 2 on my listing of the very best Stephen King books). The story follows a household that strikes into an empty resort through the winter low season — however the resort, the Overlook, seems to be not so empty in spite of everything. It is a haunted place. King’s e book was famously tailored to the display by Stanley Kubrick in 1980, though it is most individuals know by now that the e book and the film are a lot completely different (and King has spent years speaking about how a lot he hates all these modifications). As an example: if you happen to’ve solely seen the film, chances are you’ll be shocked to know that on the finish of the e book, the Overlook blows up (Kubrick’s movie leaves it standing).
King returned to the world of “The Shining” together with his sequel e book “Physician Sleep,” revealed in 2013. Then he determined to briefly return to it once more with “Billy Summers.” Whereas Billy and Alice are spending time in Colorado, Bucky tells them concerning the Overlook. At one level, Bucky and Alice go to a spot that appears out at the place the Overlook as soon as stood. Bucky feedback that the Overlook burned down years in the past, and that it was rumored to be haunted. Later, Alice feedback that she had a imaginative and prescient of the Overlook, to which Bucky replies: “You are not the one one that’s seen that. I am not a superstitious man, however I would not go anyplace close to the place the Overlook Resort used to face. Dangerous stuff occurred there.”
Cue the ominous music.
The haunted hedge animals from The Shining make a cameo look in Billy Summers
However wait, there’s extra! Later within the story, Billy goes to a home close to the place the Overlook as soon as stood to work on his e book. On one of many partitions inside the home is a portray of topiary hedge animals. At one level, Billy seems up and swears that the animals within the portray have moved locations. “The hedge canine is on the correct, the hedge rabbits on the left. Weren’t they the opposite manner round earlier than?” King writes.
The transferring hedge animals are one other reference to King’s “The Shining” novel. Within the e book, the topiary animals coming to life is only one of a number of inexplicable supernatural occurrences that happen on the Overlook. When Kubrick tailored the e book to the display, he removed the hedge animals and changed them with a hedge maze as an alternative. Nonetheless, the animals did lastly make an on-screen look in Mick Garris’ 1997 miniseries adaptation of “The Shining,” a way more book-accurate tackle the fabric which King wrote the screenplay for himself.
All in all, the “Shining” references in “Billy Summers” do not quantity to a lot. Fact be informed, they’re barely distracting, as they take you out of the extra grounded, non-supernatural total story King is telling. Nonetheless, if you happen to’re a King fan, it is a enjoyable little reminder that whereas the Overlook Resort could also be lengthy gone, it is not forgotten. As for “Billy Summers,” a restricted collection adaptation of the e book was first introduced in 2022. Then in 2023, it was revealed plans had modified and the variation was now going to be a characteristic movie. We’ve not heard something concerning the mission since then, although, however I think about that it will head to the display sooner or later. Whether or not or not the movie retains “The Shining” references is one other query.