The Simpsons continues with the tradition of bringing its “Treehouse of Horror” special every year, and while the writers have been doing their best to parody some of the most famous titles in the horror and sci-fi genres, only one segment stands as the absolute best: “The Shinning”, part of “Treehouse of Horror V”. Matt Groening’s animated sitcom The Simpsons is still very much alive and enjoying its 31st season, with a 32nd one already confirmed, even if many viewers feel like it’s time for the notable citizens of Springfield to say goodbye.
The quality of the episodes has been in decline for years, but The Simpsons still has a pretty solid fanbase that hasn’t let the series die. More seasons mean more “Treehouse of Horror” episodes and with that new segments with parodies of films from the horror and sci-fi genres. The segments from the “Treehouse of Horror” episodes have shown a bit of everything – from dolphins taking over the world, to Homer crossing to the three-dimensional world – and there have been some genius ones over the years, from "Nightmare on Evergreen Terrace" to "The Devil and Homer Simpson".
The best segment by far, however, is a parody of Stanley Kubrick’s Treehouse of Horror V” along with “Time and Punishment” (a parody of A Sound of Thunder) and “Nightmare Cafeteria” (a parody of Soylent Green). In “The Shinning”, the Simpsons are hired as caretakers of Mr. Burns’ summer estate, and the episode goes straight into mirroring Kubrick’s film but in a very Simpsons-way: Homer has to drive back twice as he forgot to lock the front door and then the back door, only to leave Grampa behind, but as they always do, they choose to ignore his absence. Once at the mansion, Mr. Burns explains it was built on an ancient Indian Burial Ground and was the setting of Satanic rituals, witch burnings, and five John Denver Christmas specials. Unlike Stuart Ullman, Mr. Burns was very straight forward.
Very much like Danny Torrance, Bart has “the shinning”, as well as Willie, who tells him to use this power to call on him if his father goes insane. Mr. Burns and Smithers are later shown to cut the power cable and take all the beer from the house – it’s the lack of TV and beer that end up driving Homer insane, with the ghost of Moe telling him he will only let him have a beer if he kills his family. “The Shinning” manages to sum up the film in 7 minutes, with some of the most iconic scenes from it fitting the style of the series and characters (the blood coming from the elevator, the twins, and “Here’s Johnny!” with a couple of variants) but without feeling like a cramped up episode. It’s a pitch-perfect parody injected with Simpsons’ humor, some disturbing riffs on Kubrick's movie, and a believable plot... within the realm of The Simpsons’ "Treehouse of Horror" segments, at least, because Homer going full Jack Torrence makes a lot of sense.
The Simpsons. The three segments offer humor, suspense, and even some graphic scenes, like when the fog turns the Simpsons inside out at the end of “Nightmare Cafeteria”. Given that the series lost its touch many years ago, it’s unlikely (though not completely impossible, as hope does last) that the Halloween segments will be superior to “The Shinning”, but hopefully they will be more entertaining than some of the latest ones.