As an aside, it’s worth noting that when Raymond Clark is discovered, his eyes are completely frozen over, suggesting he’s been blinded by the sub-zero temperatures. Blindness, especially in one eye, is one of the most salient examples of symbolism in “Night Country,” representing characters’ abilities to interact with the dead and the spiritual realm. Here, both Clark’s eyes have been blanked out by the blizzard, signaling his full immersion in the spiritual realm.
This isn’t entirely insignificant in relation to why Issa López made such an obvious allusion to “The Shining.” That is to say that “Night Country” is a somewhat personal project for López, and the overt references to her inspirations, I think, tie into that. Much like the “Seven” homage in episode 2, the image of Clark frozen in the snow is a pretty unmistakable tribute to “The Shining” when López could have easily just tried to emulate the tone of Kubrick’s work and left it at that.
For instance, the showrunner mentioned how certain camera moves were in part inspired by John Alcott and Garrett Brown’s camera work in “The Shining.” There’s also the fact that “Night Country” relies on practical lighting in many scenes, specifically those shot on the ice, which are often illuminated only by the characters’ flashlights or headlamps. As Alcott told American Cinematographer, the lights in “The Shining” were “wired as actual practicals. They were part of the hotel.” The final sequence in the hedge maze was also, as mentioned, lit using the practical lights fitted in the maze itself. In that sense, “Night Country” does indeed emulate the style of “The Shining,” even before the obvious homage to Jack Torrance’s demise. So why include said homage?