His hands had a firm grasp on the axe. One placed at the top of the wooden handle, near the slightly rusted blade, to steady his strikes and the other near the bottom, ready to provide the power. He pulled the axe back and swung it hard. The blade rushed past his head and collided with the large door, causing chunks of poorly painted wood to fly across the room. His balding head and menacing facial expression, accompanied by a crazed look in his eyes, appeared through the splintered hole.
"Heeere's Johnny!... D'oh!"
Stanley Kubrick's film adaptation of The Shining has become so recognisable since its release in 1980, that if you type 'The Shining parodies' into YouTube, the first result is a four-minute long video dedicated to the famous, and astonishingly improvised, "Here's Johnny" scene. The first clip features the illustrious yellow-animated family, The Simpsons, with Homer taking on the role of Jack Torrance but comically misinterpreting the room his family are in when he pokes his head through the door. Other clips also range from children's TV shows such as Fairly Odd Parents to an advert for Premier Inn. The Shining, first written by Stephen King in 1977, is regarded as one of the most acclaimed and ingenious horror films ever made, with The Internet Movie Database (IMDb), the most respected movie and TV information website, ranking the film 61 within their 250 Top Rated Movies. British film magazine, Empire, also included it within their 100 Greatest Movies, positioning it at number 35. As a result, The Shining has joined the elite in being considered as a 'classic' within the film industry, joining titles such as Psycho and Jaws.
The recognition in which The Shining enjoys today, however, was not replicated upon its initial release. Much like Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo, the film was universally dismissed with reviews vastly criticising Kubrick's work. Variety magazine commented that he teamed up with actor Jack Nicholson "to destroy all that was so terrifying about Stephen King's bestseller" and The Guardian claimed it was "far from Kubrick's first or best horror film". Adding to its already disappointing start, The Shining also received two nominations from the Golden Raspberry Awards (more commonly known as the Razzie's), a mock award in recognition of the worst in film, the following year: Worst Actress (Shelley Duvall) and Worst Director (Stanley Kubrick). As if this wasn't bad enough for poor Kubrick, The Shining was also his first post-1960s film to be ignored by the Oscars and Golden Globes.
For those who are unaware of the story, The Shining focuses on the destruction of the Torrance family. Jack (Nicholson) becomes a caretaker for the secluded Overlook Hotel in Colorado during winter. As an aspiring author, he hopes the isolated resort will cure his writer's block and takes his wife Wendy (Duvall) and their son Danny (Danny Lloyd) with him. The family begin to settle into their new home for the coming months, but with Danny's psychic premonitions increasing and Jack starting to suffer from cabin fever, beginning his slow descent into madness, it leaves you questioning the Overlook's power over the Torrance's.
Nicholson's deranged portrayal as Jack has been highly praised by critics in recent years, with many now considering it to be one of his most iconic roles. Adam Robitel, director of the 2014 horror, The Taking of Deborah Logan, told entertainment media company Uproxx "The movie wouldn't have worked without Jack Nicholson... I think it was right for Kubrick to cast Jack. He was able to inhabit that role". Taking on characters such as McMurphy in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and The Joker in Batman, it is clear to see that Nicholson has a talent for playing crazed individuals. King, however, has been very open about his dislike for the decision of casting Nicholson. In an interview with The Guardian, he mentioned “The character of Jack Torrance has no arc... absolutely no arc at all” sharing the critic’s viewpoints of Nicholson's performance at the time of release. King also commented on the film to Rolling Stone magazine. “It's so misogynistic, I mean, Wendy Torrance is just presented as this sort of screaming dishrag” and according to her Razzie nomination, critics must have agreed.
While the movie follows the same premise as King’s novel, many consider it is a poor representation of his bestseller, even King himself, who is known for not only criticising the acting but movie as a whole. In the same interview with Rolling Stone, he stated “The book is hot, and the movie is cold, the book ends in fire, and the movie in ice” a likely resentful reference to the book and film's different endings. There are numerous differences between the two, which could be the reason for King's distaste of the adaptation. Before filming commenced, Kubrick refused to read King's screenplay, on account of King's 'weak' writing and teamed up with Dianne Johnson, an American novelist, to produce one instead.
With The Shining being one of the only film adaptations King has addressed with such bitterness, many Kubrick fans have suggested that he is jealous, as Kubrick's rendition outshone his. They have also implied that with King's autobiographical connection with the story, more specifically with Jack Torrance and his struggle with alcoholism, King is biased towards any changes to the material. With autobiographical elements appearing in a lot of King's work, such as substance abuse, The Shining is likely to of come from a personal place in King's life. When speaking to Rolling Stone, however, King mentioned how he has never really been a fan of film adaptations. "The movies have never been a big deal to me. The movies are the movies. They just make them. If they’re good, that’s terrific. If they’re not, they’re not."
The Shining's longevity has had an enduring impact on many people's lives, despite King's dislike, and has paved the way for many psychological thrillers. Award-winning director and horror fanatic, Jordan Peele, named The Shining as one of his main influences in filmmaking. With references to the Overlook's hedge maze, where the climax of Kubrick's film takes place and the famous hotel's room number 237, The Shining is the most referenced film in his newest motion picture, Get Out. Throughout the years The Shining has crept into numerous films such as the unlikely children's trilogy, Toy Story. Similar to Get Out, there are several references to the number 237 as well as featuring the same carpet design from the Overlook. In Toy Story 3 the janitor's name tag reads Mr Tony, sharing the same name as Danny's imaginary friend. Coincidence? Maybe. But with Toy Story's director, Lee Unkrich, having a very open obsession with The Shining, even running its most famous fan site (www.theoverlookhotel.com), and telling entertainment website Vulture "It was the film that inspired me to become a filmmaker myself", it is very likely these were not accidents.
Since its release over three decades ago, it is easy to see the influence The Shining has had on its audience, from inspiring people to become filmmakers to television shows parodying its most famous scenes for universal comical effect. It is clear the movie has formed an extensive following and fans will be pleased to hear that its sequel, Doctor Sleep, which centres around a grown-up Danny Torrance, has started the process of being adapted for the big screen. As executive producer, Doctor Sleep could hopefully be the chance that allows King to fall in love with an element of The Shining but with it now rightfully classed as a masterpiece and one of Kubrick's best films ever made, Doctor Sleep is going to have some big shoes to fill. If in 30 years, we’re talking about Doctor Sleep in the same way we talk about The Shining, then we know it will have lived up to its famous predecessor. Only time will tell.
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