What Makes ‘The Shining’ So Scary?
“It’s just the story of one man’s family quietly going insane together.” — Stanley Kubrick: A Biography (Lobrutto, Vincent)
Stanley Kubrick’s iconic psychological horror film is regarded as one of, if not the best, horror movies in existence. Based off of Stephen King’s 1977 novel of the same name, there is no movie that frightens me more. Sure, there are tons of horror films out there that make me crawl closer towards the edge of my seat than this one.. Hundreds of films exist in the horror genre that do a much better job in these areas in terms of execution, but there is something about Kubrick’s film that genuinely disturbs. As a horror movie fan, I have seen almost every cliche, every trick in the book that has been used time and time again. From Eli Roth’s ability to execute shock value with finesse to James Wan’s knack for emphasising the film’s soundtrack to further unnerve the audience. I have watched overrated blockbuster horrors to 80’s cult classics, and yet none reach the degree of execution and subtle artistry that “The Shining” does.
But what exactly is so scary about this masterpiece of horror?
Ambiguity
Right from the beginning, Kubrick did not want to make any traditional horror flick and instead wanted to hold himself to a higher standard.
So what makes ‘The Shining’ stand above most? Why do so many people regard it as a masterclass of not just the horror genre, but filmmaking in general? Is it because of the score or the abundance of terrifying imagery?
Well… yes, but not exactly.
It has less to do with the abundance of terrifying imagery and more with the choice to suppress its intensity. Instead of choosing to frighten you with keen suspense, Kubrickinstead makes the majority of the viewing experience as creepy as possible. He chooses to prioritise ‘creepy’ over ‘terrifying.’
What is the difference between something that is creepy and other kinds of fear?
In a study from Knox College during 2016, they state,
“…creepiness is anxiety aroused by the ambiguity of whether there is something to fear or not and/or by the ambiguity of the precise nature of the threat that might be present” (McAndrew, Koehnke, 2016).”
Kubrick did not choose to rely on jump scares for the same reason why any good horror director chooses not to use them: Because they’re cheap.
A jump scare is an impulsive reaction. Sure, you may be frightened for that one millisecond where you jump out of your seat, but true horror genuinely frightens and stays with you long after you finish the film. It makes you think about it even as you go to bed.
A horror filmmaker who relies on jump scares to make you scared is like a comedian who tickles you to make you laugh.
One of the most disturbing scenes the film has to offer is where Danny suddenly encounters two little girls while biking along the hallway. When they appear, they are at a distance that makes it difficult to read their faces. As the scene continues, it quickly cuts to little snippets of the same hallway, except it is now riddled with blood and bludgeoned bodies. The cut is absolutely random, and only shows up for half a second, emphasising the film’s tone of ambiguity.
The little girls’ presence indicates that they want something from you, yet they are perfectly still and their faces portray nothing.
This study from Knox College also gives us the following example:
Let us pretend that you are alone walking along a dark alleyway and you suddenly hear a rustling noise from behind you. Right away, your brain’s first response is to assume that the source of that sound, whatever it is, intends to harm you. This is due to the fact that the amygdala, which is the emotion centre of our brain, places emphasis on the emotion that is fear. Fear is the most vital emotion in terms of survival. We are evolutionarily programmed to assume danger in ambiguous situations.
The filmmaking in “The Shining” activates the same primal reactions through different ways, such as the choice to keep the intentions and spirits of the Overlook Hotel as vague as possible.
The Inclusion and Lack of The Score
With this film, Wendy Carlos Elkind created one of the most unsettling and unpredictable scores in modern cinema. There are moments within the film where sudden, musical slams (the ones typically associated with jump scares) are heard when nothing has happened. At other times, the opposite occurs: with disturbing imagery playing on the screen, but the music would remain unresponsive. One example of this is where Danny Torrence first sets eyes upon the creepy twin sisters. In the average horror flick, the score would be responsive to this scenario by becoming more intense. However, in the case of “The Shining”, this does not happen. Instead, the camera chooses to linger on the expressionless spirits in absolute silence.
We are so accustomed to high pulse and vigorous music blasting away while a fear-inducing scene plays before us. However, Kubrick deliberately gets rid of this cliche to catch us off guard. Once we see those two little ghost girls, we expect the film to hit us with one of the more unnerving tracks they have to offer. But they don’t. This is not normal. Something is wrong.
The music, or lack thereof, signals to the audience to constantly be on their guard. It is the noise we hear in the corner of the dark alley that makes us assume that danger is present.
The Set-Up
One major difference between ‘The Shining’ and other horror films is how they set up the film for what is about to happen. Instead of shrouding the beginning of the movie in mystery, they instead directly indicate the dangers to come early on. Rather than giving the audience reasons to doubt that Jack would ever hurt his family, you are immediately informed that he was a former alcoholic and has hurt Danny before by injuring his arm.
Additionally, you are told early on that the previous caretaker of the Overlook Hotel went crazy and murdered his whole family with an axe, which is the exact same thing Jack will try to do to his own family during the climax of the film. Kubrick gives us every reason to suspect that something horrible is going to happen to the Torrence family. Lastly, the supernatural aspect of the movie was revealed to the audience early on by having Richard Halloran discuss what it means to have “the shining” to Danny. He explains that he too can communicate with the dead just like Danny and elaborates on what it means to have this gift.
The context is made clear to us right away, removing any kind of confusion in the narrative. All of this information is given to us as early as possible, blatantly telling the audience what is going to happen within the duration of the film’s runtime.
We are not going to be frightened by what is going to happen, but by how it is going to happen.
Once he provides the information the audience needs to comprehend the narrative, he can then begin the film’s descent into madness.
The Setting
Visually, the Overlook Hotel looks inviting and warm, blithely lit with natural light. This is not at all the stereotypical horror environment, adding to the theme of unease and ambiguity the film attempts to embody. In a sense, it is hiding the horror that resides within the hotel’s wooden floorboards and stone walls.
In one of the more iconic scenes of the film, Danny walks down the hallway and peeks into Room 237. He sees a brightly lit room, the area he was warned not to go inside early in the film, allowing the audience to associate a luminous and welcoming area with a cryptic and threatening mood.
The clash of both implied danger and the lack of an obvious threat creates an apprehensive tone of unease that can be felt throughout the majority of the film.
The Psychological Abuse of Shelley Duvall
While Kubrick is regarded as one of the greatest directors of our generation, he is also thought as one of the most controversial.
Shelley Duvall, who plays Wendy Torrence in the film, hated her experience during the shoot. Production was running way over schedule, forcing Duvall to spend more than a year away from her family. Kubrick constantly stressed Duvall on set, pushing her to the absolute limit to get a better performance out of her. He intentionally abused and tormented her psychologically to get the “best” result.
The Shelley Duvall you see in the final cut of the film is an exhausted and hurt Shelley Duvall.
Kubrick insulted her acting abilities and even ordered the production team to ignore her as much as possible, making the duration of the shoot a living hell for the actress. Certain scenes were filmed again and again to the point that some actors were on the verge of tears.
The iconic baseball bat confrontation scene between Nicholson and Duvall took a world-record 127 takes not because it was difficult to shoot, but because Kubrick wanted the most stressed and panic-inducing performance possible from Duvall.
“Going through day after day of excruciating work was almost unbearable,” Duvall told Roger Ebert in an 1980 interview. “Jack Nicholson’s character had to be crazy and angry all the time. And in my character I had to cry 12 hours a day, all day long, the last nine months straight, five or six days a week. I was there a year and a month, and there must be something to Primal Scream therapy, because after the day was over and I’d cried for my 12 hours … After all that work, hardly anyone even criticised my performance in it, even to mention it, it seemed like. The reviews were all about Kubrick, like I wasn’t there.”
Kubrick took every opportunity to punish Duvall, making the actress feel utterly alone and friendless during one of her most challenging roles.
In the video above, Duvall shares her thoughts, somewhat unconvincingly, on Kubrick’s sick method of directing.
“If it hadn’t been for that volley of ideas and sometimes butting of heads together, it wouldn’t have come out as good as it did. And it also helps get the emotion up and the concentration up because it builds up anger and you get more out of yourself. He knew that and he knew he was getting more out of me by doing that. So it was sort of like a game.”
The mistreatment of Duvall, although highly unethical, only adds to the mysterious and notorious reputation of the film.
And if that wasn’t enough, tons upon tons of theories have been made regarding this one film attempting to uncover its’ ‘hidden secrets’, adding to its overall obscurity.
Over four decades worth of them have been made and are still being discussed until now.
It’s a secret apology for faking the moon landings. An allegory for the invasion of the Native Americans. A parable for Theseus and the Minotaur. The film is meant to be viewed backwards and forwards simultaneously. All of these are actual theories regarding this one movie, adding to its ambiguity
Final Thoughts
It is the abstruse, slow burn that truly separates ‘The Shining’ from the stereotypical horror blockbuster. The mystery and unease that surrounds the film both internally and externally gives it a legendary status in the horror genre. It is a great example of how film can access the viewer’s psyche and manipulate it unconsciously. With this film, Kubrick is able to show that the greatest kind of fear one can illustrate does not come from a vicious creature on a screen, but from within our own imagination. It is the obscure, insidious horrors we make up in our mind that makes this film truly horrifying. Well done horror films merely give us a blueprint, allowing us to supply it with our own nightmares.
Kubrick shows us how great filmmaking can take any situation or context, as simple as it may seem, and use it to trigger our primal fears. Again, as he stated in his biography,
“It’s just the story of one man’s family, quietly going insane together.”