Save the Cat rankings

THE SHINING script analysis

THE SHINING script - Save the Cat beat sheet analysis

Jack Torrance takes a caretaker job at the isolated Overlook Hotel, moving in with his wife Wendy and psychic son Danny. Danny’s visions and the hotel’s sinister history test the family as Jack slowly unravels. A ghostly B‐story emerges in cook Halloran’s warnings and Danny’s encounters with spirits. The climax sees Jack fully possessed, leading to a deadly cat‐and‐mouse chase in the snowbound hotel.

85 Save the Cat fit score 30% analysis confidence / 60 parsed scenes

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1

Opening Image

Scene 1 / Page 1 / 1% target

25%

Introduces Jack arriving at the ominous Overlook Hotel, setting tone and isolation.

Hi, I've got an appointment with Mr. Ullman. My name is Jack Torrance.
2

Theme Stated

Scene 2 / Page 1 / 5% target

28%

Danny and Tony express dread about wintering at the hotel, hinting at fear and unseen danger.

Do you really want to go and live in that hotel for the winter?
3

Set-Up

Scenes 1-6 / Pages 1-2 / 10% target

30%

Establishes Jack’s caretaker job offer, family dynamics, Danny’s "shining" visions, and the hotel’s dark backstory.

4

Catalyst

Scene 4 / Page 2 / 12% target

32%

Danny’s vision of blood in the hotel forewarns supernatural danger and upends the family’s optimism.

5

Debate

Scenes 5-7 / Pages 2-3 / 20% target

30%

Wendy worries over Danny’s psychic episode while Jack tours the grounds, debating whether they’ve made a mistake.

No. It's the little boy that lives in my mouth.
6

Break into Two

Scene 7 / Page 3 / 25% target

30%

The family moves into the hotel and begins winter caretaking, leaving the familiar world behind.

7

B Story

Scene 16 / Page 5 / 30% target

30%

Chef Halloran mentors Danny about his psychic gifts (“shine”), introducing the supportive B‐story.

I can remember when I was a little boy, my grandmother and I could hold conversations entirely without...
8

Fun and Games

Scenes 8-20 / Pages 3-7 / 40% target

30%

Danny explores the hotel’s corridors, sees ghosts, and Jack settles into writing, showing the Overlook’s haunting attractions.

9

Midpoint

Scene 25 / Page 7 / 50% target

30%

Danny encounters the Grady twins in the hallway, a point of no return in the supernatural threat.

Hullo, Danny. Come and play with us. Come and play with us, Danny.
10

Bad Guys Close In

Scenes 31-32 / Pages 8-9 / 65% target

30%

Jack interacts with ghostly bartenders and Grady in the Gold Room, showing his growing possession by the hotel.

God, I'd give anything for a drink? My goddam soul, just a glass of beer. Hi Lloyd. A...
11

All Is Lost

Scene 50 / Page 12 / 75% target

30%

Wendy discovers Jack’s manuscript of repeated deadly typing (“All work and no play…”), realizing his complete break.

What are you doing down here?
12

Dark Night of the Soul

Scene 53 / Page 13 / 80% target

30%

Ghost Grady urges Jack to kill his family, deepening his despair and isolation.

I and others have come to believe... that your heart is not in this, that you haven't the...
13

Break into Three

Scene 51 / Page 13 / 85% target

30%

Wendy locks the unconscious Jack in the food storage, galvanizing her to fight back.

Wendy, listen. Let me out of here and I'll forget the whole goddam thing. It'll be just like...
14

Finale

Scenes 55-59 / Pages 14-16 / 95% target

30%

Jack’s axe assault on the bathroom, Danny’s escape into the maze, and Halloran’s arrival climax in a rescue attempt and tragic showdown.

Little pigs, little pigs, let me come in!
15

Final Image

Scene 60 / Page 16 / 99% target

30%

Jack frozen in the maze—a chilling echo of the opening isolation image and the hotel’s triumph.