The Shining was one of the greatest movies made, in my personal opinion. I can recall watching it for the first time as a 15 year old with my father and brother. It was the first book I ever read by Stephen King, who ended up being one of my favorite authors. In fact, when I took a road trip through Utah and Colorado, I stopped in Estes Park so that I could stay at the Stanley Hotel, which is the Hotel that inspired the book, The Shining. Although the movie deviated quite noticeably from the book, The Shining is one of my favorite movies, and one of Stanley Kubrick’s best movies, as it was a major departure from most horror movies made at the time. Deviating from the normal tropes of most horror movies made before it that relied on external fears, The Shining provides a new and effective internal source of fear in the form of Jack Torrance’s transformation from normal father to insane psychopath; this transformation is associated with a general feeling of dread, created by unique filming techniques, an increasing feeling of isolation, and an undefined border between reality and imagination.
The Shining is a film directed by Stanley Kubrick, which made its theatrical debut in 1980. Based off the 1977 novel of the same name, The Shining tells the story of Jack Torrance, a writer who accepts a caretaker position at the Overlook Hotel, during the hotel’s inactive season in the winter. Jack Torrance takes his wife and son, Wendy and Danny, respectively, with him, and plans on writing while he’s taking care of the hotel. The hotel is closed during the winter months and becomes snowed in during the summer. Over the duration of their stay, Jack Torrance slowly spirals into delusion and becomes increasingly violent. Haunted by visions of the hotel’s past and ghosts who persuade him to kill his family, Jack Torrance attempts to murder his family, who escape, leaving Jack to freeze in the snow. This movie was received fairly well, but has gained critical acclaim in the years following its release, as it did not rely on cheap shock or gore to appeal to its audience.
The Shining was the forerunner of a paradigm shift towards horror movies that placed a greater emphasis on psychological horror and had taken emphasis away from cheap scares. The Shining was filmed around the same time that the Friday the Thirteenth, Nightmare on Elm Street, and Halloween franchises were made. These movies placed a large emphasis on gore and shocking scares, providing very little focus on the psychological elements of horror, which had taken away from the longevity of the fear. The Shining differs from this, because it focuses on psychological horror and the fear maintains over a longer duration of time. This increased longevity of fear and dread that is intimately tied in to psychological horror movies, is a goal that Stanley Kubrick accomplishes, using different filming elements.
The Shining was a fundamental film in establishing a shift from horror movies placing a focus on cheap thrills to horror movies that placed a focus on psychological fear. One element that helped aid this paradigm shift was the filming techniques used by director Stanley Kubrick. Stanley Kubrick focused on creating an environment of discomfort, especially when shooting specific scenes. For example, when shooting the scenes in which Danny is bicycling around the hotel, his route does not make physical sense, according to the layout of the hotel. After making four left turns, Danny would end up in a completely new hallway or room. Although this is never obviously noted while watching the movie, it is mentioned in the extras. The lack of attention drawn to the fact that Danny’s route didn’t make any sense created a feeling of discomfort for the viewers, as it skewed any feeling of direction and stability. Another element that increases the feeling of dread is the use of isolation as a conduit for basic fears. Because the movie takes place in an old hotel over it’s off-season months in the winter, there are very few options for the protagonists to escape. The fact that the protagonists cannot escape the hotel and have very little contact with the world outside of the hotel adds to the audience’s discomfort by evoking a feeling of claustrophobia, which is a common fear among many. This sense of isolation is made increasingly evident throughout the film, as empty hallways and heavy snowfall surrounding the hotel are included in many shots. Isolation also aids in increasing the insanity of Jack Torrance, as he becomes more and more paranoid that his family is conspiring against him and his goal to take care of the hotel. This leads us to our last element that Stanley Kubrick uses to create discomfort and psychological horror: the blurring of the line between reality and imagination. As Jack Torrance becomes increasingly paranoid, he interacts with the previous caretaker of the hotel, who furthers Jack’s distrust toward his family and drives him to try and murder Wendy and Danny. This interaction, although seemingly real, does not take place in the reality that is shared between the three characters; it only exists in Jack’s perceived reality. Multiple visions and interactions with past patrons occur throughout the movie, with the majority of the visions shared between Danny and Jack. The fact that these visions and interactions are never explained and that they occur seamlessly with the reality created in the movie increase the discomfort of the audience and lead to the inability of the audience to discern what is real and what is imaginary.
In conclusion, Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining is a pivotal movie in the psychological horror genre, and provides discomfort and lasting fear that is well sought after in horror movies. Without relying on cheap thrills, Stanley Kubrick has created a lasting and influential film that has proven to be one of the great horror movies of our time. It may be advantageous to further evaluate The Shining on the criteria of the score and the unique scene transitions, as well as the distinct qualities and abilities of Danny, and his relationship with the groundskeeper. However, even without those additional criteria, it is safe to say that The Shining is a strong contribution to the horror movie genre and a powerful horror movie.
English Literature 