The Thing / The Shining
Shankweiler's Drive-In Theatre - Orefield, PA
Tonight was our second visit to the oldest operational drive-in theater in the world for their screening of two horror films that take place in a cold and snowy climate: John Carpenter's 1982 masterpiece, The Thing, and Stanley Kubrick's incredible 1980 adaptation of Stephen King's novel, The Shining.
It was 30 degrees with a thin layer of snow coating the ground when we pulled onto the lot. The chill in the air made for an immersive experience while we watched R.J. MacReady and his colleagues fight to survive in Antarctica and Jack Torrance stalk his family with an axe through the blizzard that surrounded the Overlook Hotel.
The concession stand had hot cocoa and warm cinnamon rolls with cream cheese icing that helped us keep warm, and both were really freaking good!
They also had some fun movie-themed toys available at the concession stand, including The Thing Infection Detection Kit.
Speaking of which, the first movie of the night was The Thing. This was our second time seeing this movie at a drive-in theater after having been in attendance for a Tunnel Vision Tuesday screening at the Mahoning Drive-In Theater in September 2022. This is one of those horror classics that I've grown to appreciate more every time that I see it.
The second half of the double feature was The Shining. This is another horror classic that I saw at The Mahoning when it was screened four months ago for Thread-Up Thursday. The 35mm print that we saw that night in September was in pretty rough shape, so I was happy to have a second opportunity to see it on the big screen.
I mean no disrespect intended to the Mahoning with that statement. If a film print is in reasonably good condition, I'll always prefer to see a movie on 35mm than to see it digitally. The occasional pops and scratches or dropped frames add more to the experience than they take away. However, when a 35mm print has degraded to where the picture is in sepia tone throughout the entire movie instead of the full color that it was meant to be seen, I believe that you have reached the point that the negatives outweigh the positives and the 35mm print should be shelved.
We sat in our nice warm car with the heater on throughout both movies, so thankfully, we did not look like Jack Torrance at the end of The Shining by the end of the double feature.
And that's a wrap on our second annual winter screening at Shankweiler's Drive-In Theater. This is a nice place and I appreciate the work that Matt and Lauren go through to keep the place open. Eastern Pennsylvania has a thriving drive-in theater scene that includes the Mahoning Drive-In Theater in Lehighton, Becky's Drive-In Theater in Walnutport, the Garden Drive-In Theater in Hunlock Creek, the Circle Drive-In Theater in Scranton, and several others. The Mahoning is always going to be my favorite, and the place where you'll find me in the front row nearly every night throughout their season, but I'm very happy to see this tradition of movies under the stars being continued in so many places in our area. With all of the changes that we've seen over the years, many of which that have not been for the better, it's nice to have a place to escape the world for a little while and enjoy good films, good food, and good company.
