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Stanley Kubrick, “The Shining” and inside “Room 23
From leaky blood elevators to ghost twins to typewriting solitude, Stanley Kubrick’s “The Shining” seems to be one of the most frightening horror films of all time. But Why?
When horror comes to mind you may think of films like “The sixth sense,” “Halloween,” “Friday the 13th” and “Nightmare On Elm Street”. But let’s not forget Kubrick’s masterpiece “The Shining,” what makes it so horrifying is the suspense. Kubrick’s film adaptation from Steven King’s novel of the same name was not only unfaithful but changed to show the audience something else. Stephen King, outraged by this, went on to make his adaptation of his book in the ’90s: But why would Kubrick do such a thing? To spite Stephen King? To tell a hidden story? To admit filming the moon landings? Well, the documentary “Room 237” further explores these suspicions and adds a dimension of suspense.
During the filming of The Shining, Kubrick wanted to be as authentic as possible that means getting genuine reactions from his actors. This is why Kubrick would constantly have them do retakes sometimes in the triple digits. This would drive Shelly Duvall and Nicholson’s characters to slip into genuine madness. Slowly over time, the editor noticed that take after take Nicholson’s and Duvall’s actions were becoming more unhinged. The later takes would mostly be used. This authentic…
