How we perceive horror movies is what makes them memorable or forgettable, and The Shining gave most people the subliminal perception that things had definitely changed. The only problem was that due to this The Shining met with very mixed reviews upon its release. It changed the landscape for the average horror movie in a way that was so profound that nothing was ever bound to be the same again and the bar was raised once more in an effort to inspire others to do something great. In some ways The Shining managed to drag horror movies out of the B zone that they’d been languishing in for some time at that point.
If you’re asking how then you might not have watched the movie yet or you might not have been paying attention. There are many ways that The Shining changed the horror scene for the better. One of those is the use of sound, or lack thereof. Think of every horror movie you’ve ever watched, and then think of how the background music tends to change when the level of danger begins to mount higher and higher. The moment that things start to seem their scariest or the protagonist, or victim, is about to close in on the killer or whatever there is to be afraid of, the music reaches a crescendo and you simply know that something’s going to happen. Sometimes it’s a giant fake out that might lead towards something else, but many other times it means the killer is about to jump out and hack down whoever’s in their path. In The Shining however the lack of background music at times or the lack of any change makes it that much more terrifying since there’s really no idea when something is going to jump out at the audience.
Another factor that made a big difference is that this movie was not driven by gore. Now if you’ve seen it you might be raising your eyebrows as you recall the elevator scene when a tidal wave of blood came pouring out. But really that was purposeful as it was meant to symbolize that the Overlook Hotel, the true monster of the story, was finally revealing itself to Wendy and was in a sense getting ready to pounce. At that point Jack had already slipped over the line from sanity into madness and was no longer the man that he’d been when coming into the Overlook. He’d finally succumbed to the hotel’s advances and had in effect began the destruction of his family in a stunning show of how the duality of humanity is a fragile but very real thing. It takes so little for some people to become the demon that resides within, and the temptations for Jack began the moment he entered the hotel.
Stephen King and Stanley Kubrick didn’t really see eye to eye on this film since Kubrick decided to make a few changes that King didn’t really agree with. But despite his interpretation being off from the book somewhat Kubrick still managed to terrify people in his own way.
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