Tiffany Garza

THEA 1023
Blair Sterrett
14 August 2019
The Shining

After viewing the nail-biting film directed by Stanley Kubrick, The Shining, I was both

horrified and relieved. Throughout the entire film, I was either on the edge of my seat, or hiding

under a blanket. Jack Nicholson did an outstanding job playing an isolated, alcoholic maniac.

One of my favorite scenes is when Jack is chasing his wife Wendy up the stairs, and he keeps

repeating “Give me the bat Wendy”. That scene alone will keep you up at night. The overall plot

itself is well thought out, and gives you the creeps from the beginning.

Based on the novel by Stephen King, The Shining portrays the story of a writer turned

homicidal; all because of total isolation in a hotel during one long, harsh winter. Jack Torrance, a

stunted writer, takes an offer to watch a ski resort in Colorado. Along with his wife Wendy and

his son Danny. However, Danny has been acting strange, with his imaginary friend speaking of

events to happen in the future. While the family stays in the resort, Jack loses his sanity trying to

write a book, and is later convinced by the hotel and it’s demons, that he needs to kill his family.

As far as casting goes, Jack Nicholson was most likely the best possible choice for this

role. Between his facial expressions and devotion to convincing the audience he was an actual

maniac, there’s no one better to play the part of Jack Torrance. His acting alone creates an eerie

feeling while watching The Shining. Another key role is Danny’s character, because of

imaginary friend in his finger, that leads to Danny being psychic. He adds to the eeriness of his

father, and the hotel situation itself. I haven’t read the novel before, but I’m certain both Jack

Nicholson and Danny fit the parts perfectly.

 The theme of this movie is the story of a desperate family trying to stay together, but

eventually fall apart at the weak spot: Jack’s alcoholism and temper. Watching the hotel is their

last chance to stick together as a family, and to forget the past mistakes. However, isolation only

made things worse for them.

Kubrick’s choice of using lengthy tracking shots and small changes in shot sizes

throughout the film helps separate the hotel from those living in it. Almost establishing the hotel

as a separate, evil entity. For example, when Danny Torrence sees the twins in the hallway. In

another scene, when Jack is trying to write, Wendy keeps talking to him, causing Jack lots of

frustration. The director shows this frustration by positioning the camera low and close to

Wendy’s face, giving a grotesque shot; this portrays Jack’s frustration with Wendy. One of my

favorite edits in the film is when Wendy discovered what Jack had really been writing while

sitting at that desk for days on end. When Wendy picks up the paper, the camera only shows

Wendy’s horrified face as she reads the writing, leaving the audience in suspense. This

eventually makes the reveal of the writing even more horrifying.

The score for this movie leaves the audience feeling on edge, especially with the

beginning song being a choir creepily singing without meaning. When I first watched the film,

that song alone gave me the chills. The director continues to use these types of songs throughout

the film, keeping the audience on edge and biting their nails. Overall, the soundtrack alone got a

nine out of ten rating, which is impressive for the score of a horror movie.

As mentioned before, I have not read the novel by Stephen King. However, according to

an article by Hugh Scott, there are several differences between the novel and the film itself. One

of the main differences is in the book, the hotel is obviously haunted; but in the film, it is

portrayed as all of it being inside of Jack’s head. In fact, the famous twins from the film aren’t in
the book. Considering that the twins were a key part in the film, it is weird to imagine them not

being present in the film. Another difference is the Jack in the movie is writing a book, while

Jack from the novel is a playwright. Their motivations to write are different as well. Jack from

the movie only struggling with writer’s block; meanwhile Jack in the book gets an idea from a

scrapbook he found. Despite the differences, I believe the movie is still a classic horror film.

Overall, The Shining is a must watch for a good scare. The editing style and shots help

create an eerie, psychologically terrifying film. Casting plays a huge role in the film, and

personally I believe the film wouldn’t be the same without Jack Nicholson. His performance

alone will give an audience a good scare. Stanley Kubrick put together a classic horror, that

many viewers still enjoy today.

Citations:

Hugh Scott, The Shining: 10 Big Differences Between the Book and the Movie. Features,

14 June 2019. From https://www.cinemablend.com/news/2474408/the-shining-10-

big-differences-between-the-book-and-movie