Stanley Kubrick had taken on quite the task when adapting The Shining to the big screen. Hailed as one of the best directors of all time, Kubric left his stamp on many genres, one most importantly being horror. This week, I viewed The Shining, a supernatural horror that takes place in the haunted Overlook Hotel in Colorado, which still stands today. Although King was critical of Kubric’s adaptation, The Shining was a very important contribution to the the new presence of genre films, as it helped carve out a specific template for what should be considered horror. The film was a success, raking in 44 million and arriving at the 12th spot of the most successful movies for 1980. The success of the film for some may be enough evidence that the artistic direction Kubric took with the film was warranted.

Similar to other disturbing movies that came before it like A Clockwork Orange, Kubric helps us visualize some of the more sinister themes that King had installed into the story. For instance, the scene with the man in the bear costume performing oral sex on the older man. I will be completely honest in that I did not pickup on this or understand what the bear represented the first time I watched this. I now know that Wendy is probably coming to terms with the fact that Danny has been sexually abused by his father. Whether or not she knew about this we do not know as a viewer. Personally, I believe she could be confronting some inner demons, and the hotel is helping her visualize this through shining. Below is an excellent video further discussing the recurring bear-theme in the movie, and what it is supposed to represent. These themes are what help set this film apart from other genres. Themes like sexual abuse are prevalent in many of the more disturbing and adult-oriented horror films that have been made sincethe 1980’s.

One unfortunate thing I found in my research of this film is the current state of Shelley Duvall aka “Wendy” is not the best. Currently she is suffering from mental health issues, and It makes me wonder if she always had some of these issues which is why she was able to produce such an excellent performance for Kubric. I know it sounds a bit insensitive, however Wendy does have that unstable heir about her, and I think part of that may have come from Duvalls actual struggles with mental health. Here is an interview of Duvall today.

In his review, Roget Ebert, argues that the film is actually not about ghosts, and rather the madness of Danny’s father and how it was aggravated by the isolation and situation they were in. I agree with this in part, however there are a few things that stick out to me that poke holes in Ebert’s idea. One main scene is when Jack is stuck in the freezer and seemingly gets let out by the ghost on the other side. This is a very confusing scene, as you can clearly see the presence of a bolt lock on the outside of the door, and a safety release handle on the inside. If there was truly zero supernatural presence at the hotel, then there would be no way for Jack to escape the freezer and he would have died. You can see the bolt lock is locked by Wendy, and Danny would not be able to reach it barring the use of a chair or something. This leaves me to believe that the only way for Jack to have been released would have been for a ghost to let him out, another human to let him out which he would have murdered immediately, or finally Wendy would have to had set him free. It was heartbreaking to read the quote from Shelley about feeling left out of the spotlight, when considering the youtube video above. You have to wonder how the lack of attribution affected her mental state moving forward from the film. Shelley never really got her chance to shine like Stanley.

Ultimately Kubric’s adaptation of The Shining  can be seen as a success. Based on this film he deserves to be mentioned among the masters of horror. The film itself can leave a viewer with many questions, and certainly requires some analysis. Kubric was notoriously hard to work with during this film and caused his actors/actresses alot of stress. Checkout the video below for some behind the scenes footage of The Shining.

I believe Kubric’s ultimate goal was to push the boundaries of the genre given to him, and the result is a film that certainly carves its own place into the genre. It has been said to have influenced powerful films that have come after it, including the more recent Get Out. I personally have a newfound dilemma after watching The Shining, as the thought about what truly happens to Jack and his soul looms in my head thanks to the discovers of the deleted scene. Ebert’s article contends that it was wise of Kubric to delete that scene as it would leave the audience with too many questions. I personally support the ending of the missing body and think it would have tied up the film in a much better way. Understanding that Jack is now absorbed into the hotel ties into seeing him in the black and white photo on the wall. However, I do understand how it could cause confusion as the hotel is not famous for these instances with disappearing bodies. Also, it could lead the viewer to think Jack did actually escape.