The Shining

[Smith John]

This film is an absolute classic. Alot of people say they find it boring, but they're usually the type of people whose idea of horror is sh*t like Hostel and Saw. I don't know about your taste in horror, but The Shining is one of the scariest films I have ever seen. It's just the whole isolation thing, where your in the middle of nowhere stranded in a big creepy hotel.

 

That along with the music and Nicholsons performance make the film some experience to watch late at night with all the lights off.

 

I just recently started reading the book after hearing it was so much scarier than the film (which I didn't think was possible).

 

I'm only on chapter 18, and so far I have to agree. The film has left out so much from the start, things that would have been terrifying in the movie. Really looking forward to finishing it.

 

Has anyone else read the book? What did you make of it? Please no spoilers.

Edited August 14, 2012 by niko bellic half brother

[Robinski]

My favourite thing about the relationship between the book and the movie is how Stephen King reacted to it. He said it was the only adaptation of his writings that he actively hated. Then he supervised and produced his own version for TV, which was a bit sh*t, and eventually conceded that Kubrick's version was pretty good.

 

As for myself, I think it's a beautiful film but it's not that scary. Although, I think that is probably in part due to the effect it had on the genre anyway. A lot of psychological horror films since have drawn inspiration from The Shining, as as such watching it thirty years later (I first saw the film last year I think) makes it feel, technically, a lot like what I've seen before.

 

It's certainly a great example of thoughtful film making though. The attention to detail is crazy, even if you only look at things like the interior of the hotel not corresponding to the exterior, making it even more of an unreal setting.

[Smith John]

I had heard about Stephen King not liking the movie very much, which at the time, surprised me as I thought it was great. But after reading the first few chapters of the book, I can understand his comments. There has already been a few things that are pretty important to the story which were completely ignored in the film.

 

I can understand you not finding it scary if you just watched it for the first time last year. I'm 27 now but I was like 10/11 when I saw it for the first time. So it will always be a terrifying experience for me.

 

Good find on the interior/exterior thing. That is definitely Kubricks touch to The Shining. Totally adds to the weird creepyness of the whole thing.

[John The Grudge]

I've read the book and seen the film. The film is superior. Stephen King made a faithful adaption of The Shining and it was garbage. Kubrick's film is perfect. It's a really good book though. But there's a lot of drivel in it. Kubrick cut it down to it's rawest form. It should be noted that Kubrick rejected a script by King for this film. That could also explain King's dislike for the film.

 

There's actually two cuts of the film. After the film's initial US release Kubrick took it back to the editing room and cut out a few scenes. So in the UK we have a slightly shorter cut of the film. This was Kubrick's preferred version. I've seen both and the shorter cut is definitely better. The extended scene at the beginning of the film buggers up the pacing. The scene tacked on at the end just ruins the ending. Basically it's a hollywood friendly happy ending. Please avoid the longer cut and get the UK release. Kubrick himself cut those scenes for a reason.

Edited August 15, 2012 by John The Grudge

[Vercetti27]

If you search some blogs on the net you'll notice Kubrick intentionally mirrored the book, almost every detail was opposite. I think Kubrick created a fantastic film, even if King couldn't understand it. I enjoyed the book but still, it was a book. I was imagining a film the whole way through...

[Smith John]

Yeah, I know what you mean about the drivel, like when Jack is in the boiler room reading the "scrapbook" about all the previous owners career history. I had to skim through all that as it was sending me to sleep, although the mafia segment at the end was interesting; and gives me the impression it has something to do with the story? Lets see

[WF the Hobgoblin]

I've read the book twice. I really like it but I much prefer Kubrick's film and consider it to be one of the greatest horror movies of all time. I like how the film focuses more on the ideas of cabin fever and insanity and less on ghosts. I haven't seen King's own adaption yet but I'm not too bothered.

 

I actually do find the film to be pretty scary and I'm not often scared by films. There's at least a couple of scenes where I still get goosebumps everytime I watch it. I can understand people not finding it scary though, everyones different. For instance, people bang on about how scary The Exorcist is. Personally, while I do think it is a really good film, I've never found it to be scary.

Edited August 18, 2012 by WF the Hobgoblin

[Tyler]

This film just works in every aspect that it was trying to work in. I consider this the apex of psychological horror for film. The levels of detail taken by Kubrick to make this film unsettling in every single facet is absolutely stunning, and through multiple viewings it's come to be one of my favourite films, across all genres.

 

The facade of the film is the increasing instability of Jack Torrence's grasp on reality. It introduces us to a standard horror film trope, and from there it expands upon itself into very intricate patterns that, due to the nature of the film, purposefully leave us wondering if we can trust our own memory of what we just saw. Rob pointed out the complex and indeed impossible layout of the hotel the family is staying in, but on another level, every single scene where Jack is talking to an apparition that is in his head, (supposedly) we see the chairs in that room before and after. Before, they're all neatly stacked or pushed in or lining the wall as they should be, but after Jack's various ghostly monologues finish, the chairs are pulled out and irregular.

 

But it's useless to describe every single trick Kubrick used, that would just kill the pure apprehension the film delivers to the steady viewer. A far different point of the film that I enjoy is the reoccurring themes that kind of compound on themselves. It's never explicitly shown or said that Jack sexually abused Danny, but through the scene in 237 and it's surrounding fear in Danny's mind, we can completely construct when it happened.

 

Anyway, I'll stop the Kubrickjerking and end on the fact that this film cannot be fully enjoyed in just one sitting. That, and it's truly the only film to genuinely scare the f*ck out of me. And I love that about this film.