In The Shining, there are twelve shots of The Twins in the hallway across from the Torrence’s Overlook apartment. Eight of the shots feature The Twins standing, four of the shots feature The Twins covered in blood and lying down. Four doubled is eight, so like magical number 42, we have an instance of something big next to something small, or macrocosm-microcosm … all ties into the essential, oedipal conflict between father and son.

∆  1: We first see The Twins in the hallway as part of Danny’s bathroom vision at the Boulder Apartment. Note the glass-framed fire hose to the right.

∆  2: Danny has a second vision of The Twins in the hallway after touching the doorknob to Room 237. Note the slightly darker tone compared to the previous shot.

∆  3: On his third and final Big Wheel ride, Danny is seen in the same frame as The Twins for the first time. 

∆  4: In the second shot of Danny and The Twins together, note that Danny has moved slightly to the right. Note the framed artwork on the left has lost its shine from the previous shot.

∆  5: In the third and final shot of Danny and The Twins together, Danny has moved even further to the right. Note how his right hand has cleared the blue carpet. Danny’s overarching narrative of movement to the right is noted in kdk12 essays Tony Speaks and The Games Room.

∆  6: The first shot of the The Twins covered in blood and lying down. Note only The Twin’s left arms are visible. The axe and the 3-leg chair also point left. 

∆  7: The first of three shots of The Twins standing without Danny in the hallway. Note fire alarms to the left and exit sign to the right. Note the double carpeted paths to the left. Note also the faint outline of a framed artwork directly to the left of the Twins.

∆  8: Second shot of the bloody Twins. Note the framed artwork to the left, shifted counter-clockwise (or left) from its hanging. Note also the fire hose to the right, taller than the framed artwork. 

∆  9: Second shot of The Twins alone in the hallway. The framed artwork on left and the fire hose on the right are now clearly viewed, as well as the blue carpet running left. Note the cream molding running left along the ceiling. 

∆  10: Third shot of the bloody Twins. Note how the left-pointing 90º angle of the upper molding clearly breaks the superficial symmetry of the hallway sequence. All the shots of the bloody twins are virtually identical, but as Kubrick decoder Rob Ager has noted, The Twins are breathing in the sequence of shots.

∆  11: Both the third and final in the ‘zooming’ sequence shots of The Twins standing alone , and the third and final almost identical shot of The Twins as seen in Danny’s previous two visions of the girls in the hallway, except for the fact they are talking and the twin on the right now has her right hand covering the twin on the left’s left hand, when in the previous visions it was the other way around. Note that the framed artwork previously on the left has now disappeared.

∆  12: Third and final shot of the bloody Twins, and final shot of The Twins in the hallway, and final shot of The Twins altogether.

The subliminal message of the Twins sequence is clear: left is death.

Artwork on the left disappears and darkens; in the bloody shots, the weapon and the carpeting points to the left; The left-handed Twin is dominant, smiling with her hand covering the right-handed twin, frowning.

Danny moves to the right. In the final standing Twins vision, the right-handed girl dominates. The exit sign is on the right. The fire hose is on the right. Danny exits the Hotel into the cool blue of night, surrounded by water in ice, snow and mist formation.