The original is so good that if youre trying to get into scary movies, this has to be one that you see. The setting and characters are influenced by kings personal experiences, including both his visit to the stanley hotel in 1974 and his struggle with alcoholism. Warning, there is some blood and the twins are no joke. Stanley pushed me and prodded me further than ive ever been pushed before.
Followed by the stand in 1978, these books cemented kings place as the preeminent. Mar 10, 2016 stanley kubricks the shining has one hell of an ending. Like the characters themselves, the viewers of the shining never entirely escape the. Essential reading for anyone who loves a scary story, the shining is a key title in the history of.
Stephen king aficionado james smythe is rereading all the horror. As ive said in the past, the shining is the most terrifying novel i have ever read, and it still scares me pretty good the third time around. Lets talk about our favorite scary stories that take us inside unusual hauntings. Dec 03, 2016 since its release more than 30 years ago, movie lovers have been obsessed with the shining. It is kings third published novel and first hardback bestseller.
In the book, king goes to great pains to stress that jack torrance is a good man. Shelley duvalls traumatic experience making the shining. The shining, while still really, really scary, is easier to separate yourself from because it happens in a place. Why kubricks the shining wasnt as scary as its marketing. Stephen king says doctor sleep redeems stanley kubricks. Dec 24, 2018 when stephen kings third novel the shining hit the shelves in 1977, it became his first hardcover bestseller. The shining is a 1977 horror novel by american author stephen king. Room 237 is a 2012 american documentary film directed by rodney ascher about interpretations of stanley kubricks film the shining 1980 which was adapted from the 1977 novel of the same name by stephen king. But that highlight didnt really exist in the film, and big bad wolf jack torrance only. The shining centers on the life of jack torrance, a struggling writer and recovering alcoholic who accepts a position as the offseason caretaker of the historic overlook hotel in the colorado rockies.
And if you havent read it this century, try it again, as it may very well scare. Its a great book, one of the better king books but i wouldnt think it would be too scary for most people to read. And him being potentially threatened is going to probably sell the scariness of this. Besides having the rare quality of being a horror film that doesnt suck, the shining has a very in depth story that really keeps you guessing and leaves you with a feeling that there was something that you missed. Jan 31, 20 as ive said in the past, the shining is the most terrifying novel i have ever read, and it still scares me pretty good the third time around. By ben sherlock updated dec 10, 2020 although stephen king, author of the novel its based on, hates it for deviating from the source material, stanley kubricks the shining might be the greatest horror movie ever made. Dec 10, 2020 the shining is packed with terrifying moments but these are the absolute best of the best. Feb 22, 2019 duvall described her experience in the shining in david hughes book the complete kubrick where she said. For others steeped in horror movie criticism, it might be the hotel itself.
A famous horror novel, the shining has the ability to scare its readers. Jan 16, 2020 despite this variance, the shining has something to scare almost everyone. But i had forgotten that there was an innocent little boy. Based on the 1977 book by the master of scares stephen king, the shining brings cabin fever to a whole new level. Stephen king has also written doctor sleep which is the shining book. Its easy to disassociate yourself from a creepy old haunted hotel. The shining by stephen king meet your next favorite book. From ghastly visions and clairvoyant children to the evil machinations of a haunted hotel, stephen kings 1977 horror classic the shining, and the 1980 movie adaptation by stanley kubrick, have inspired legions of horror books and movies. Unlike many 80s horror flicks, its truly scary and features some great performances and at least a few memorable lines. It has ghosts and telepathy and physical isolation and marital discord and a fun little trip into madness. The novel was adapted into a 1980 film of the same name.
Jun 05, 2019 the movie the shining, directed by the great stanley kubrick and starring the terrifying jack nicholson, is very different from the stephen kingpenned book from which it is adapted. Jul 30, 2014 in our regular polarisingopinion series, total film writer matt glasby asks, is it just me. A sequel, titled doctor sleep, was published in 20. Stephen king says shining sequel is real creepy scary stuff. Jack torrance, one of three main characters in the book, gets. There were many parts in the book mainly the beginning where i was bored. Stephen king says shining sequel is real creepy scary. The one where monica and richard are friends friends. Feb 04, 20 stephen king is plotting a return to balls to the wall scary in his upcoming sequel to the shining, doctor sleep. Should we go that far, considering five easy pieces.
The book is not very violent, but there are many jump scares and disturbing accounts. The shining exchanges cheap jump scares and instead contains much surrealist and bizarre imagery, as well as a very strong sense of dread and suspense and psychological terror. Nov 05, 2019 stephen king famously doesnt care for director stanley kubricks 1980 adaptation of his classic horror novel the shining, about a family threatened by supernatural spirits and the father. Jun 22, 2012 the shining is two stories, both the same, but somehow very different. Aug 18, 2020 release poster for the shining but what exactly is so scary about this masterpiece of horror. For many people, the ghosts are the scariest part of the shining.
Based off of stephen kings 1977 novel of the same name, there is no movie that frightens me more. We watch a man turn into an abusive father and husband, he then goes insane and tries to kill his family. The film includes footage from the shining and other kubrick films, along with discussions by kubrick enthusiasts. Yes, stanley kubricks adaptation is memorable, but stephen kings book is better. The ghosts and situations at the overlook certainly have their moments, but what struck home for me was the relationship between jack and his wife and son. From may until october i was really in and out of ill health because the stress of the role was so great. Ghosts and vampires and zombies arent real, jack torrance might be. Before doctor sleep, there was the shining, a classic of modern american horror from the undisputed master, stephen king. The book includes a lot of little hints and details that come together at the end of the book. The true story behind the legendary lost ending of the. Dr the shining gets a lot of mentions as a great horror novel because its creates suspense and fear a lot of different ways, that make it appealing to a wide audience level 2. The shining is without question one of the most beloved and best regarded horror movies of all time.
The 1977 novel the shining, set in the haunted overlook hotel and following the. With ghosts, visions and psychological horror, the shining by stephen king is a very good horror story, i would say one of his best, right up there with the likes of salems lot which is another sk novel that i recommend if you enjoy horror. The books second chapter, red rum, focuses on kubricks 1980 classic the shining. There was no tension for me, personally, and nothing i can recall that was really scary. The book was followed by a sequel, doctor sleep, published in 20. Stanley kubricka family heads to an isolated hotel for the winter where an evil and spiritual presence influences the father into. Jan 28, 1977 if you had not read the shining already, the 20 publication of doctor sleep, the sequel, presented an opportunity to revisit one of the best ghost stories of our time, a perfect justification for stepping through those batwing doors for the first time. There is also a version that was made for tv that follows the book better that version is not scary at all, but i hate the fact that ive seen it.
The shining too scared showing 150 of 101 goodreads. It is seen as one of kings scariest novels, and the author has said that after a run of less frightening books, he is keen to terrify his readers once. Its not really terrifying, but its very unsettling since it deals heavily with themes of abuse, alcoholism and death. I dont personally think the shining is all that bad. May 14, 2018 so in the shining, there are a lot of scary things that are going to happen, i remember that.
Stanley kubricks muchpraised but razzienominated chiller is. But in it, what really scared me the first time i read it early age, probably or so, is that the story takes place everywhere. I enjoyed it then for its effectiveness in telling a scary, no, a very scary story. This book is a classic in the horror tradition, and its not hard to see how stephen king became the master of horror. The book is dark and the movie captures the required essence, but the book gets. Mar 28, 20 after seeing room 237, the shining seems less like a horror movie than a movie designed to inspire vertigo. Despite this variance, the shining has something to scare almost everyone. But kubricks original version of the film included another scene inserted between these two iconic. Release poster for the shining but what exactly is so scary about this masterpiece of horror. Here is what the twins from the shining are up to today.
The shining uses fictional horrors the supernatural ghostly presence in the overlook hotel to explore real horrors like murder and child abuse. What i am finding scary is the hopelessness of the situation, and the feeling of someone you love completely turning on you in a murderous way while youre both. Bbc news entertainment shining named perfect scary movie. Most people would think that the shining is one of the scariest horror movies out there, but its really not. The book was followed by a sequel, doctor sleep, published in 20, which was adapted into a film of the same name. Heres whats actually the scariest part of the shining. Eclipsed perhaps only by its 1980 film adaptation, the novel is one of the most popular and enduring horror stories of all time. I would say it is as frightening as you are a visual reader. The shining is two stories, both the same, but somehow very different. The shining, gothic horror novel by stephen king, first published in 1977. We delve into the underlying theme of stanley kubricks horror classic. It has layers of terror some real, some imagined, some that occupy the gray area in between.
Actually probably the scariest story ive ever read, or ever will read. How to completely injoy the masterpiece of stephen king the shininghow to really get into the shining. Kubricks unrealized project about the holocaust, aryan papers, suggested to another critic that the shining is really about that genocide. Oct 29, 2019 from ghastly visions and clairvoyant children to the evil machinations of a haunted hotel, stephen kings 1977 horror classic the shining, and the 1980 movie adaptation by stanley kubrick, have inspired legions of horror books and movies. Multiple adaptations exist, but the one that easily comes to everyones mind is the 1980 psychological horror film starring jack nicholson, shelley duvall, scatman crothers, and danny lloyd. There is no paranormal or supernatural stuff like we saw in the exorcist. Aug 22, 2020 the book s second chapter, red rum, focuses on kubricks 1980 classic the shining.
The film has nine segments, each segment focusing on a different. The unraveling of jack is the element that makes the shining more memorable than other horror novels. Parents need to know that the shining is the classic 1980 stanley kubrickdirected film based on the stephen king novel about a man hired to be the caretaker of a hotel deep in the mountains of colorado who develops severe dementia from a combination of cabin fever and the dark and haunted past of the hotel. This is an epic war between good and evil, a gory, glorious story that will thrill the. She bolsters her theory by pointing out that there is no maze in the original book and that an earlier kubrick film, killers kiss, was made for minotaur productions. The scariest part of the shining isnt what you think. Stephen kings the shining is a classic horror tale, but the 1980 stanley kubrick. Apr 19, 2019 scary things in movies can be split into two categories. Stephen king has also written doctor sleep which is the shining book two. The true story behind the legendary lost ending of the shining.
Blood flows throughout this film literally in several notorious scenes. The shining is a gothic horror novel by stephen king, first published in 1977. May 22, 2019 the shining is without question one of the most beloved and best regarded horror movies of all time. Right from the beginning, kubrick did not want to make any traditional horror flick. Shelley duvall as wendy is really one of the most misogynistic characters ever. Stephen king returns to the characters and territory of one of his most popular novels ever, the shining, in this instantly riveting novel about the now middleaged dan torrance the boy protagonist of the shining and the very special 12yearold girl he must save from a tribe of murderous paranormals. The scariest moments in the shining, ranked screenrant. I agree though that the shining is the best horror film, it certainly is my favourite.
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