Also, I hope you'll consider also doing a reaction to the sequel "Doctor Sleep" which came out only a few years ago - it's the rare sequel that manages to be 1) a really good film, 2) a worthy continuation of the characters/world, and 3) its own unique flavor that's not just a retread of the original.
"Not things that _anyone_ can notice, but things that people who *Shine* can see..." There are *SO* many details in this that *only* hit your subconscious, unsettling you but you don't _quite_ see - the impossibly laid out hotel, background characters out of focus, Jack + mirrors, cans on shelves, extra doors, etc, etc, and etc. To quote you, CasualNerd, "we often remember how something made us feel and not the details." But nevermind my reaction. *You're* the reactor, CasualNerd. You've _always_ been the reactor.
As someone who's father is a recovering alcoholic, this movie always fit what it's like living with what is called a "dry drunk", As a child if I did something to upset my dad he could go off in a rage that was at best irrational. Even tho he had been sober since I was born, he was an angry drunk. So it was like a drug addict having a flashback. His anger triggered him to react like he did when he drank even tho he was sober. So even tho Jack didn't have real alcohol, and only had visions of drinking, he would act and react like he might when drunk. Of course the Overlook would max that by 100.
It really comes through in the book as well, King himself having struggled with alcoholism and other substance abuse problems since he was about 18. An example he has given about how far it went is that he barely had any recollection of writing _Cujo._
Agree 100%. My dad was an alcoholic who stopped drinking and stayed clean about a year before I was born, but he could blow up and really show an almost irrational temper. We used to joke he could make a mountain out of a flat piece of ground, no molehill necessary.
One of the genius things that Kubrick did in this movie, through clever editing, was to make the hallways impossible. If you try to plot out the floor plan from what is shown on film you'll find the hallways and rooms coexist in the same space and even go outside the possible structure of the hotel. Sub consciously we create maps of where we've been so we can find our way back, it's instinctive, and here those mental maps are impossible adding to a subconscious dread of something as ordinary as a hallway or a room.
Thanks for putting yourself through the wringer for our entertainment Chris. Really enjoyed your reaction to this. And I must admit I had a few laughs at your terror. It is a great film, Jack Nicholson is terrifying in this but I can't watch this film without thinking of the Simpsons "Treehouse of terror" homage to the film. Thanks again, Stay well.
One of the reasons I watch your videos is you are very good company. The second reason is it gives me a look at some movies I have heard a lot about but never seen. I don't watch horror movies. At best they make me laugh and at worst they bore me. So thank you for the peek at "The Shining." I don't think you are supposed to understand what's going on. I think there is no explanation. The audience is to be very frightened and very confused and left to speculate endlessly. BTW my uncle had an imaginary friend. He was a very nice boy.
"I wonder what the real Jack was like before coming here.." - I think its implied he was an abusive drunk. In the early scene Wendy displays all the signs of a gaslighted abuse victim, she makes excuses for jack hurting danny and always has a subtle 'fake happiness' thing going on, from the start she's clearly terrified of setting jack off.
When I watched The Shining as a kid, I thought Shelley Duvall was just a bad actress and was hamming it up too much. Once I watched it again as an adult with some not-so-great relationship experience under my belt, her performance hit me like a sledgehammer. Absolutely brilliant. She NAILED what walking on eggshells around an abusive partner is like.
According to Kubrick's film version of the Shining, The evil spirits that inhabited the Overlook Hotel would eventually drive Jack insane by way of drowning him in his alcoholism, past trauma, and fears of becoming as abusive as his father. As for the ending where we see a 1921 photograph of Jack, The photo at the very end suggests the reincarnation of Jack.That means that Jack Torrance is the reincarnation of a guest or someone on staff at the Overlook in 1921 "When i came here for my interview, it was as though I'd been here before" Grady to Jack: "you've always been here"
I only saw bits and pieces of this movie for 30 years. About 10 years ago I finally sat down and watched it fully and I was surprised how much I loved it! Wish I'd done it sooner.
I love this movie. A hallmark in psychological horror. That being said, I also really like the book. We get into all the character's heads. Understanding how they all feel. And we also see Jack's slow descent into madness. How the overlook slowly pulls at the threads of his frayed mind.
I've compared the two over the years and I really think the book terrifies me more than the movie, but I agree that the movie is a classic. Jack Nicholson does a great job here, but he plays the father as a guy who already has one screw loose and who really only tolerates his wife and son, so it's not a big leap for him to go stir crazy in a creepy hotel and start killing people. The father in the book is a flawed man who deeply loves his son and is trying to mend his fractured relationship with his wife, but he ends up being gradually driven insane by the evil in the hotel until he loses himself and tries to kill his family. I feel so much empathy for book Jack that I don't feel for movie Jack and it makes what comes later so much more horrific.
You know, I would love to see your reaction to the Swedish film Let The Right One In (Låt Den Rätte Komma In). It's one of my favourite thriller/horrors and not to spoil anything but the way it's paced resembles this style of slow paced creepy and raw.
I think part of what is making the movie so impactful for you is that it is, in part, about isolation, and that's something a lot of people have been through recently because of the pandemic.
Fascinating film with all sorts of details in the mise-en-scène. The hotel is its own sinister being and selectively consumes the souls of the most vulnerable to it. What I find most interesting is that the camera itself personifies the evil spirit of the Overlook as if it's constantly following as if chasing after those two most vulnerable, Danny and Jack and ultimately begins to control Jack like when Wendyvis reading Jack's "novel" and the camera moves behind her and Jack appears as if it is guiding him or when he's hacking into the bathroom door the camera follows Jack's swing of the axe so precisely as if the personified camera representing the Overlook is going, "I've got you! Kill! Kill:" There's an interesting documentary called ROOM 237 in which a lot of people theorize what the film's about. Some theories are quite engaging and some are quite bonkers Great reaction, Chris. Now you have to watch the sequel, DOCTOR SLEEP.
ROOM 237 is ....just insane crap. Lol To call it a documentary is being kind. It is someone's drung indiced fever dream. Lol I bought it without seeing it and.......now I own it. Lol
In the Stephen King Universe, Dick Holloran (the cook) survived Pennywise the Clown 50 years prior, in the fire at the Black Spot, to being axed by Jack.
I saw this theatrically with my parents when I was 12. The lady in the bathtub destroyed my brain. It’s a classic for a reason. Doctor Sleep is incredible.
In the novel, Tony is actually Danny’s middle name. His shine presents itself to him as Tony. It’s like his inner monologue. Dr. Sleep is the sequel and also worth the watch and read.
Thank you, Chris! Fantastic reaction. I love when Wendy taps into her own Shining, seeing the ghosts and terrors of the past. Jack Nicholson, Selly Duvall, Danny Lloyd, Scatmman Crothers, and the supporting cast members were all just spot on, and stellar.
Tony is really Danny's spirit guide. He helps Danny when Danny doesn't understand something. Danny having the "shining" means he has a particular or more than one psychic ability.
The music was done by Grammy Award-winning composer Wendy Carlos. In addition to "The Shining," she worked with Kubrick on "A Clockwork Orange," and also did the music for the original "Tron" film. She's a pioneer of electronic music and helped develop the Moog synthesizer, which had an enormous impact on music in the late 1960s and throughout the '70s. Your reaction to her outstanding work in this film is so satisfying to watch because I agree that the sound design (not merely the music) is crucial to making "The Shining" what it is.
@@BubbaCoop Wendy Carlos also created "Rocky Mountains", the piece heard when the family is motoring to the hotel (i.e., Donner Party chat). Really effective music that adds to the film's mounting tension.
Ghosts and psychic phenomena exist outside of time and outside of normal cause and effect. The hotel seduced Jack and Jack died there, so his soul now remains at the hotel; he is now one of the spirits. Since he is now part of the hotel, the photograph shows that he has always been part of the hotel. Jack states that during his job interview he felt comfortable and knowledgeable about the hotel. Psychic phenomena do not obey the linear a true of normal time; an event from the past can manifest in the present, and an event in the present can ripple through to the past.
This movie is a masterpiece. I watch it every October and it gets better with every viewing. Though I have to say, watching this movie in 2020 really made this movie hit differently, with the lockdowns and isolation we all had to deal with. You wondered during the reaction if Danny knew how creepy it was...he actually didn't. Danny Lloyd said in an interview years later that he didn't see the movie until he was a teenager and that's when he found out it was a horror film. I guess Kubrick took great care to shield him from the darker elements...which is odd then that he was such a jerk to Shelly Duvall...but he was nice to the kid, so that's good. Also, my favorite piece of trivia from this movie is that the doors they built for Jack to tear down were made of a more flimsy wood, to make it easier for him to break down. But Jack Nicholson had trained as a volunteer firefighter before he became famous, and he tore them down too quickly with that ax...so, they had to build stronger doors! The ghosts in this movie are so creepy! The fact that they don't blink is so unsettling...so, even though Lloyd the bartender is pleasant and polite, something about him is always off. *and 90's kids, prepare to have your minds blown, cause I sure did...if you've seen the classic Boy Meets World episode "And then there was Shawn", the creepy Janitor is played by none other than the actor who played Lloyd!*
When Jack lost his mind he joined the party. He was not in the photo before he was integrated into ghost history, where time is quite flexible. He was not around in 1921, he simply joined the ghost party. 101 years ago!
Your reaction to this movie was priceless!!! I loved when just the scene to Tuesday with that blast of sound effect and you literally jumped… Didn't blame you one bit on that
This movie had a lot of production problems: Shelley Duvall lost most of her hair due to the stressful reshoots of her scenes involving swinging the bat at Jack Nicholson, which took 127 takes. Nicholson slept on the set between scenes. Duvall would get into arguments onset with Kubrick on how her scenes should be filmed. Scatman Crothers, whom played Dick Halloran, broke down crying after Kubrick filmed his scene in the kitchen 88 times and asked "What do you want from me Mr Kubrick!?" A fire broke out near the set where they were filming The Empire Strikes Back The hedge maze scene was the difficult and brutal as most of the crew would get lost in the maze. It would have taken them an hour to get out. Stephen King watched the film and hated the final cut as thought that Kubrick butchered the movie and removed some subplots that were in the novel, but in the script. King would never work with Kubrick ever again.
Your jump at 'Tuseday' killed me, lmao. Great reaction, it's awesome that you enjoyed it (if that's even the right word that can be used haha)! Your experience with this movie mirrors my own. I've always been a movie buff and I love horror movies but for some reason I never got around to seeing The Shining and a few other classics. I knew some references here and there but I didn't know the plot or the characters and when I finally watched it, MAN. It was a rollercoaster, lmao. I couldn't stop thinking about the movie for at least two weeks after seeing it. The acting, the sounds/music, the cinematography, the unanswered questions, the tension. I love how it's not like a lot of other horror movies that are primarily focused on running from an outside threat for most of the movie, but it still has you on the edge of your seat for most of it after making you care about these characters because you want to see what happens but you also don't. And then the ending - what a trip. :D
I see the Overlook as similar to the one ring from the Lord of the Rings in that it should be treated as another character. It is able to find weakness and exploit it so as it can add to its eternal staff. Jack has a temper and doesn't take responsibility for it. He blames others when he lashes out and the hotel amplifies and empathises his shortcomings to drive him mad
That scene at 22:52 with Danny's conscious "Tony" saying "Danny's gone away" reminded me of the 2005 movie "Hide and Seek" or the other way around when Robert De Niro's character told his Daughter Emily " Daddy's gone now, Charley wants to play." Difference was, Robert De Niro's character was a lot like Jack and Emily ( Dakota Fanning) was a lot like Danny.
"Tell me they don't have the power..to...open .....the door" Tosses pencil as the hope runs out . great reaction, when you can you should definitely follow this up with 'Dr. Sleep' it's a really good sequel.
The part of the movie that freaked me out the most was Jack's pages of "all work and no play make Jack a dull boy" and the look on his face when he was frozen in the snow.
The blood in the elevator represents all the bloodshed that ever happened on that property, from the attacks between builders and Native Tribes , to all the deaths that happened in the hotel over the decades. The kid that played Danny was not told he was to be in a horror film, instead Kubrick told him it was a "drama", although the kid was a bit unnerved by it , so much so that he vowed to never act in a movie again... until Doctor Sleep the sequel was produced :O Amazing movie!!!! Kubrick was one of the best director / producers of all time, for many reasons (most of which are the impeccable cinematography, the actors, theiconic musical score , attention to detail but especially subliminal symbolism and esoteric secrets and confessions) Thanks for doing a reaction to it!!! Much respect, sir.
As a non-fan of horror, I really appreciate your reaction; it was like a replay of my initial reaction to it. lol Unnerved, hands over eyes, a driving desire to get up and walk away, freaked out by Tony, jumped at Tuesday...yep. There is a TV mini-series of this story, and while many don't like it as much, it does explain the concepts a bit better, and has a different ending. I look forward to more of these wonderful Halloween reactions!
31:45 well the first one was they built it on an Indian burial ground one of the care takers killed themself, the Grady guy killed his family then blew his head off, then they temporally made a camp there and every Friday the 13th a guy called Jason comes to visit, and month after that they made a room for zombie orphans... And vampire puppies.
I really enjoyed your reaction. Great spooky choice for the Halloween season! Also, don’t overthink the ending with timelines etc. For whatever reason, Jack fits right in with the damned spirits in the Overlook, and always has.
This is such a hard movie to explain the premise for (imagine that it was directed by Stanley Kubrick and it is hard to explain, who would ever think?). Imagine a funnel. At the wide end you have time and at the narrow end you have the Overlook Hotel. The hotel kind of reaches out through time and pulls whoever it can grab down through the funnel and into itself wherein the hotel kind of becomes a world in itself. It also warps the personalities and the identities of its victims. The personality that was Charles Grady at the wide end of the funnel becomes Delbert Grady when it goes through the narrow end of the funnel. The personality that was Jack Torrance at the wide end of the funnel more than likely has a different name in the photograph since it has now gone through the funnel. It's like the hotel turns people into funhouse images of themselves on a psychological level when it consumes them.
Thanks for this; it was a very enjoyable watch. I liked seeing your take on a thriller that I have always held in high esteem. The Shining is so unsettling, and just keeps bubbling up with tension. Kubrick took a solid horror novel and jettisoned certain things but added some sensational ones. This is a movie that I go back to now and again because it is made so well in many respects. Like "The Exorcist", it's just quality cinema. Also: I like the entire soundtrack, from the esoteric classical stuff to the nightmarish electronic creations to "Midnight, The Stars and You" by Ray Noble and His Orchestra (vocals by Al Bowlly). As to the mysterious photograph at the final scene, I personally like to leave that ambiguous. Maybe the hotel wanted Jack and finally claimed him, I don't know. I can't get into trying to figure it all out; I just like this movie a lot because I enjoy being frightened and I appreciate film techniques. I'm subscribing to your channel.
There are tons of theories and extremely subtle bits to this classic . Many feel the hotel trips the souls of the people it controls and ultimately kill. Now that it has Jack, he really has ALWAYS been the caretaker so you see him in a photo from far in the past.
Before anyone else starts leaving comments about how "The Shining destroyed Shelley Duvall", take her own words from Fangoria 2011: "Oh, Stanley really gets a bad reputation sometimes but he was a perfectionist. We had our moments when we laughed and joked around on set, but then there were times that we just exploded at each other! I’m a very stubborn person and don’t like being bossed around and told what to do, Stanley pushed and pushed to get the performance out of me that he wanted." Shelley has said time and again that Kubrick was kind to her and they simply had her moments because she was stubborn and didn't like to be bossed around. Does that excuse how he treated her? No. But Shelley always talks about him warmly, even as recent as a year ago. This movie didn't ruin her, or her career. She thrived 22 years after this film and won awards for her performances and her children's programming and retired in 2002. She currently lives in Texas with her partner Dan and is very happy with herself, her career, and her life and has gotten much better in recent years. And for people who say she's aged horrible? She's 73, people age, they don't stay young forever. She's a beautiful woman inside and out and people really need to stop spreading misinformation about her.
Thank you for that. Every time this movie comes up, it's like there's this flood of certain topics that rise up instantly, one of them being Shelley's poor treatment at the hands of a sadist. People have verbally crucified Stanley enough over this nonsense. There's also the wackadoo conspiracy theories about this movie; many Americans seem to feast on stuff like that, sadly. It's something of a rabbit hole with this film. Kind of scary that people believe such things.
@@eduardo_corrochio Stanley did treat her horribly, and I do very much believe it SHOULD be brought up when it's relevant but the fact that people just make up things about it and don't listen to Shelley herself is so frustrating :(
That is a good comment. It is so disrespectful to Shelley Duvall to say 'Oh she wasn't acting, she was genuinely traumatized,' as if Kubrick could have dragged some random woman off the street and got the same performance just by mistreating her. Duvall was a very skilled actress.
I hope that you decide to see all of Kubrick’s films (not including Spartacus, since he doesn’t include it in his work)…in any event, *they’re all classics*
Love the Tuesday jump scare lol I saw this movie a long time ago and then recently my daughter had to watch it for a school project and I watched it with her and noticed and understood a lot more then
Love your reaction. I always classify this movie as more of a psychological/metaphysical horror movie than true horror. It’s perfectly crafted to ratchet up tension, confusion, and unease! 😈
I've been watching this movie for more than 30yrs and not once have I questioned why Wendy felt comfortable enough to take a nap after locking Jack in the pantry🤣😂; hilarious. This was an excellent reaction. Thank you!
The lady in the bathtub was his former wife that he strangled. That’s why she strangles people that come in there. That’s the marks on Danny’s neck. It was her. Not Jack. I read the book. It goes into more detail. The book is terrifying!
The director tormented Shelly Duvall during the filming because he wanted her to be highly emotional at all times and even told the crew to never comfort her, she said in a more recent interview that she had days where she cried for 24 hours straight and this movie is thought to have triggered her mental health problems and eventually caused her to walk away from her successful movie career and she now lives in poverty and is almost unrecognizable. The book goes into a lot more detail about the people who have died in the motel, from what I remember it explains who the old lady in bathtub was and how she died. Kubrick was known for filming scenes over and over like the stair scene that was filmed 125 times, Scatman Crothers almost didn’t take the role because he had heard what Kubrick was like and he was an old man and didn’t think he could handle the constant filming of scenes. He was very concerned about filming his death scene over and over so Jack Nicholson spoke to Kubrick and got him to agree to a maximum of 10 takes of the scene. Apparently the kid who played Danny had no idea they were making a scary movie because he was shielded from all the scary stuff and didn’t find out until the movie premiered. Conspiracy theorists believe Kubrick left a lot of clues in this film that prove that he helped the U.S government fake the moon landing by directing it for them, they point out things like Danny’s Apollo 11 sweater and various other things and there is a documentary on RUclips about the whole theory. I noticed in a more recent viewing of the movie that there is actually a door in Jack and Wendy’s bedroom that leads out into the hotel hallway so really Wendy could have just waited for Jack to break through the other door and then she and Danny could have ran out into the hallway and ran from Jack.
I mean how did the kid not realise he was starring in a horror movie? He had to act scared in like, 70% of the scenes he was in? Not to mention having to grab a knife to write “redrum” with his own blood on a door... the dialogue with him asking jack if he’d ever hurt him... shelly dragging him into the bathroom crying and screaming as jack axes down a door? 💀
It never caused her to walk away, she 20+ year career after the Shining and was very successful. She's also said despite everything she enjoyed that movie and Kubrick was nice to her, they just had their moments. Shelley looks like an old woman who aged normally, not "unrecognizable" she's 73 cut her some slack. I will admit she had a few years where she wasn't good financially but she's now a lot better in that department and is getting along fine. Please don't spread misinformation about her, thank you.
I'm not sure if there was any music composed specifically for this movie, I think not. Some of the creepiest music was composed by Bela Bartok in the 1930s. Technology was available at the time that would allow prerecorded music to be altered to fit the cadence of the dialogue/action of the scene.
1:42, interestingly enough, Ridley Scott used footage from this movie, in other words, the opening scene, that would be used in the BLADE RUNNER ending credits.
If anyone here is interested, Grimmlifecollective recently posted a video where they hung out with Shelley Duvall and asked her some questions. It was a pleasant surprise and I was glad to see Shelly seems to be doing well.
This whole movie DID have me confused. I don't remember what, but I've read the book explains things a little more. And this is another movie where the director was harsh with the lead actress. I've read Kubrick wanted Shelley Duvall's reactions to be authentic, so, if I remember right, he didn't tell her how Jack was going to get to her and Danny in the bathroom before they filmed that scene. So her reaction when the axe breaks through the door was genuine terror. I think she may have had a nervous breakdown after the movie wrapped.
When it comes to horror, this epitomizes it for me. It's not about jump scares, or gore (although there was a bit of both), it's about the ambiance and the stifling environment.
Congrats... I think Danny was using the maze exactly as HE needed, and Jack's refusal to go in made it the perfect death-field. The book is fairly different and worth reading. I think most folks lose the concept for hallucinations being used so often... or were they hauntings? Either way...
My biggest complaint is that, IF there's a lot to unpack (yes there is), it's because Kubrick wanted them OR was unable to complete his film sufficiently for a better explanation. In that way, it's probably a sucky film - a film terribly unrealized.
If I have learned anything from watching horror films, it’s to never build anything on top of an Indian burial ground. Or any type of burial ground actually.
King wrote this while having sobriety issues. "Write what you know" is a famous writing tool that every teacher preaches, and this is one of the best examples of using what you have. I'd have been terrified to be his wife when the book was released. Hopefully he sat her down and explained it all before it went to print.
Since you asked: the book says that the woman in the bathtub was a wealthy socialite, possibly a politician's wife, who frequented the Overlook and brought a different young man with her every time. She drank heavily, and was eventually found by hotel staff -- she was drinking in the tub, passed out, and drowned.
The only one that had it easy filming was the kid. Kubrick treated the kid better than the adults. Scatman cruthers admitted that he needed therapy for a while afterwards due to how Kubrick treated them. But the worst was poor Shelly Duvall. Last part of the movie Wendy wasn't 'acting' Kubrick treated her worse than crap. Insults threats ignoring her on set and he got all the cast and crew to do it too. She didn't recover from the ordeal and still has mental issues. Not to mention how many times they made jack Nicholson fall down those stairs
I don't know if Steven King or Stanley Kubrick intended this, but the story can be seen partly as an allegory about domestic abuse fueled by alcohol. Jack has a history of abuse, which he partly denies. Wendy is beaten down, and is also in denial. Neither has really addressed Jack's behavior, so when there's nothing to keep him in check, he reverts and becomes even worse than he was before. One thing that not many reactors comment on is that Wendy does all the work of caring for the hotel. Jack just types. He gets really angry about fulfilling his responsibilities, but then, he doesn't fulfill his responsibilities. Wendy does that for him. Kubrick was very hard on Shelley Duvall during the filming. He shot over a hundred takes of the scene on the stairs to get the terror and confusion that he wanted in her performance. She said later that the stress was so great that her hair started to fall out. In the scenes where Jack is chopping through the doors, Kubrick originally used flimsy prop doors. But Nicholson had training as a firefighter, and his blows were so forceful that he broke the doors to pieces too quickly. Kubrick switched to regular solid doors to get the effect he wanted. I agree that the sound design had a lot to do with the terror and suspense of this movie. So did the visual design. For instance, the low-angle shots of Danny riding his big wheel tricycle through the halls looked really creepy.
I'm getting my taco's overseas now and "you don't know how amped I am for this". Been busy, bout to watch the stuff I missed on your channel. let's go!,
At the end, when Jack was in the picture, it probably supernaturally changed from Grady to Jack. Of course, the mysteries of this movie are probably mostly supernatural. Things don't make sense, but somehow it adds to the horror of the film. I believe that Jack only liked the hotel in the beginning and became what he was because he was inherently prone to becoming that way. The true nature of the families characters was just highlighted as the movie progressed. Some things will be mysteries, but it makes for good horror. Thank you.
"Is this the story he's writing? That is precisely what I think, with the actual events woven into it. I think Kubric jumps back and forth without letting us know when that happens in order to confuse the audience.
I buy the theory that the scene where Jack is writing and Wendy interrupts him is where the story becomes what he is writing. There are continuity inconsistencies in Jack's appearance that point to him yelling at his wife, and everything afterward, is just something he wrote. So in my head canon at that point we're watching the best seller Jack wrote, and in reality they were all fine.
aw sweet. cheers chris, one of my favourite films here. there was also a miniseries made in the 90s, i think it was about 3-4 hours long which isnt as high quality, but its truer to the book and focuses a lot more on jack's alcoholism and his slow mental breakdown if youre interested. i'm not telling you what to react to but if you like this then maybe give it a go in your own time. now, onto the show *clicks play* cheers mate
The hotel manager told Jack the overlook was built on a Indian burial ground. The hotel was very old and alot happened in it over the years. Parties, Furrries, maybe debotchery.
Fun fact: Nicholson worked as a volunteer firefighter, and discovered that the prop doors were not withstanding his axe, so they finally had to build stronger and stronger doors just to get that scene to work.
There's a thought. I know there is nothing that would comfort me more if my house was on fire than the sight of Jack Nicholson driving up in a fire engine with an ax.
The original title of the book was "The Shine." But along the way his publisher (I think) told Stephen King that this title wasn't going to work because a "shine" was an unflattering term for an African American. King had not known this and realized he could slightly modify the title.
My interpretation of the movie is this. The horrors of the house revolve around the party of 1921. Time moves the ghosts and negative energy to this point in history. So every new caretaker is put in that position. It's a vicious cycle that feeds on itself. When Jack is promoted, Grady is demoted and if there were ever another person running it and there were to become apart of the environment, Jack would find a place.
I actually like the Overlook Hotel's interior and exterior design. I won't mind staying there if it was normal. I checked out the miniseries trailer after seeing comments about it. Looks interesting. Will watch it if I can find it.
The interior is based on the Ahwahnee Hotel in Yosemite. You are free to explore the main room which is like a cosier version of the great hall in the movie. The floors, the lights, the elevator doors. All taken from that hotel. I sadly learned this fact AFTER I was there.
"Right? No? DA HHHECK!" heehee! You said it all with that! I thought the ending of the photo suggested some kind of high-strangeness anomalous time loop phenomenon happening.
I tried reading the book during a snowstorm…one of the biggest regrets of my life lol…the book focused so much on the isolation due to the storm I couldn’t finish it….also poor Shelly she went through so much for this movie :(
So did Scatman Crothers, who broke down crying asking Kubrick what he wanted after doing countless takes of the ice cream scene, and he did over 60 takes of getting the axe in his chest until Jack Nicholson went to Kubrick and intervened. EVERYONE had a hard time on EVERY Kubrick movie. Ken Adam had a heart attack from the stress of working on Kubrick's previous film, "Barry Lyndon". On Clockwork Orange, Malcom McDowell suffered broken ribs, a ripped cornea, had to get spat in the face countless times until it landed just right....and David Prowse had to do countless takes of carrying that wheelchair (with the writer in it) over and over again until he was exhausted. Shelley Winters had a hard shoot on "Lolita". As Michael Herr says, "Everyone worked hard on Kubrick films, but no one worked harder than Stanley." The Shelley Duvall stories are way overblown and exaggerated. She bounced back fine, she played Olive Oyl in "Popeye" right afterwards and produced the groundbreaking series "Fairy Tale Theatre" throughout the 80s (unheard of for a woman). Her subsequent mental issues have nothing to do with The Shining. The thing that hurt her most about the Shining wasn't Kubrick (who she has always spoken highly of), but the reaction to her performance. It's only NOW - ie: the last ten years or so - that people appreciate her performance, it's been maligned all these years.
I've been dying to see what you thought of this one! Even though Stephen King has been very vocal about disliking this adaptation, this to me represents the kind of horror films I enjoy. Slasher horror relies mostly on the gore factor, and modern American horror in general relies on cheap jump scares. To me this is just lazy. Psychological slow burn horror takes quality writing and acting to work, and The Shining does it beautifully. Doctor Sleep is a very worthy sequel, one of the few horror sequels I feel is worth its salt.
@@CasualNerdReactions Then you need to check out more Japanese and Korean films, which use your imagination and suspense in a way if you have done since the days of Hitchcock, where the anticipation of a scare is far worse than the actual scare. Hideo Nakata was great at this with Dark Water and Ringu (The Ring), followed by others like Ju-on: The Grudge and Pulse. Most of these have been remade as American films but the originals are far better. This is the kind of horror that literally makes me full-on shudder hours after watching it. These days there are much higher budget films made in Asia, such as Train to Busan and The Host, but I kind of prefer the simpler stories with more subtle creepiness.
I thought this reaction was Cooo coo cool coooo co caaka cococoo coo cool". Jack Torrance, Dick Hallorann , and Danny all have the shinning. That's why all three could see the dead in the hotel. In the end the shining was so strong from them, Wendy was also able to see the ghost. Have an awesome day! take care..xx
I don't know why, but SO many reactors seeing this for the first time interpret Dick Halloran as a sinister person instead of the hero and protector of Danny he tries to be (let's not forget that the legendary Scatman Crothers also played Hong Kong Phooey). LOVED your reaction and how you were fitting all the pieces together.
“Can he even get drunk off of imaginary alcohol?”
Of course, they’re spirits.
ba dum tss
.........rimshot!
😂
One of the best comments on my whole channel
Comedic gold.
“Jack is sober, and hopefully that continues throughout this movie and nothing bad happens to anyone for any reason.” Love the optimism 😊
😅 that’s some quality false optimism right there.
Lol
@@CasualNerdReactions Everything will be fine…
@@Bfdidc haha love it.
@@CasualNerdReactions or, considering this a famous horror movie based on a Stephen King novel, total denial? 😁
That "TUESDAY" jumpscare is such a delightful moment - it's like Kubrick saying "I'm already playing you like a piano." :)
Also, I hope you'll consider also doing a reaction to the sequel "Doctor Sleep" which came out only a few years ago - it's the rare sequel that manages to be 1) a really good film, 2) a worthy continuation of the characters/world, and 3) its own unique flavor that's not just a retread of the original.
Doctor sleep coming tomorrow :)
@@CasualNerdReactions Aha, duh, I totally missed that. :P Looking forward to it!
"Not things that _anyone_ can notice, but things that people who *Shine* can see..."
There are *SO* many details in this that *only* hit your subconscious, unsettling you but you don't _quite_ see - the impossibly laid out hotel, background characters out of focus, Jack + mirrors, cans on shelves, extra doors, etc, etc, and etc.
To quote you, CasualNerd, "we often remember how something made us feel and not the details."
But nevermind my reaction. *You're* the reactor, CasualNerd. You've _always_ been the reactor.
Cue photo of me in 1966 black and white tv still reacting to 1930s cinema.
@@CasualNerdReactions Lol
😄
For me, it was the score, atmosphere and vibe that made this movie memorable (also Jack Nicholson’s performance).
@@CasualNerdReactions Is Dracula showing on the late show?
As someone who's father is a recovering alcoholic, this movie always fit what it's like living with what is called a "dry drunk", As a child if I did something to upset my dad he could go off in a rage that was at best irrational. Even tho he had been sober since I was born, he was an angry drunk. So it was like a drug addict having a flashback. His anger triggered him to react like he did when he drank even tho he was sober. So even tho Jack didn't have real alcohol, and only had visions of drinking, he would act and react like he might when drunk. Of course the Overlook would max that by 100.
It really comes through in the book as well, King himself having struggled with alcoholism and other substance abuse problems since he was about 18. An example he has given about how far it went is that he barely had any recollection of writing _Cujo._
Agree 100%. My dad was an alcoholic who stopped drinking and stayed clean about a year before I was born, but he could blow up and really show an almost irrational temper. We used to joke he could make a mountain out of a flat piece of ground, no molehill necessary.
Thanks for watching! Watch My Doctor Sleep reaction here: ruclips.net/video/iOVvPsw5zjg/видео.html
One of the genius things that Kubrick did in this movie, through clever editing, was to make the hallways impossible. If you try to plot out the floor plan from what is shown on film you'll find the hallways and rooms coexist in the same space and even go outside the possible structure of the hotel. Sub consciously we create maps of where we've been so we can find our way back, it's instinctive, and here those mental maps are impossible adding to a subconscious dread of something as ordinary as a hallway or a room.
oh nice! glad you are checking out Doctor Sleep as well!!
@@gallendugall8913 there's a documentary, Room 237 that covers that among other things
What did you think about the little furry kink scene there? 🤣
Thanks for putting yourself through the wringer for our entertainment Chris.
Really enjoyed your reaction to this. And I must admit I had a few laughs at your terror.
It is a great film, Jack Nicholson is terrifying in this but I can't watch this film without thinking of the Simpsons "Treehouse of terror" homage to the film.
Thanks again, Stay well.
One of the reasons I watch your videos is you are very good company. The second reason is it gives me a look at some movies I have heard a lot about but never seen. I don't watch horror movies. At best they make me laugh and at worst they bore me. So thank you for the peek at "The Shining." I don't think you are supposed to understand what's going on. I think there is no explanation. The audience is to be very frightened and very confused and left to speculate endlessly. BTW my uncle had an imaginary friend. He was a very nice boy.
"I wonder what the real Jack was like before coming here.." - I think its implied he was an abusive drunk. In the early scene Wendy displays all the signs of a gaslighted abuse victim, she makes excuses for jack hurting danny and always has a subtle 'fake happiness' thing going on, from the start she's clearly terrified of setting jack off.
When I watched The Shining as a kid, I thought Shelley Duvall was just a bad actress and was hamming it up too much. Once I watched it again as an adult with some not-so-great relationship experience under my belt, her performance hit me like a sledgehammer. Absolutely brilliant. She NAILED what walking on eggshells around an abusive partner is like.
According to Kubrick's film version of the Shining, The evil spirits that inhabited the Overlook Hotel would eventually drive Jack insane by way of drowning him in his alcoholism, past trauma, and fears of becoming as abusive as his father.
As for the ending where we see a 1921 photograph of Jack, The photo at the very end suggests the reincarnation of Jack.That means that Jack Torrance is the reincarnation of a guest or someone on staff at the Overlook in 1921
"When i came here for my interview, it was as though I'd been here before"
Grady to Jack: "you've always been here"
Or as Jack died in the service of the Overlook, the hotel absorbed him into it's own history and thus making him "always been part of the hotel".
@@Henrik_Holst I agree with your comment. Grady was talking to the energy possessing Jack when he said that, not to Jack directly.
I only saw bits and pieces of this movie for 30 years. About 10 years ago I finally sat down and watched it fully and I was surprised how much I loved it! Wish I'd done it sooner.
Yes! There’s several movies I’ve felt that way about.
I love this movie. A hallmark in psychological horror.
That being said, I also really like the book. We get into all the character's heads. Understanding how they all feel.
And we also see Jack's slow descent into madness. How the overlook slowly pulls at the threads of his frayed mind.
I've compared the two over the years and I really think the book terrifies me more than the movie, but I agree that the movie is a classic. Jack Nicholson does a great job here, but he plays the father as a guy who already has one screw loose and who really only tolerates his wife and son, so it's not a big leap for him to go stir crazy in a creepy hotel and start killing people. The father in the book is a flawed man who deeply loves his son and is trying to mend his fractured relationship with his wife, but he ends up being gradually driven insane by the evil in the hotel until he loses himself and tries to kill his family. I feel so much empathy for book Jack that I don't feel for movie Jack and it makes what comes later so much more horrific.
@@Kayjee17 Agreed. I felt the mini-series did a good job with showing Jack's struggles & his descent into madness.
You know, I would love to see your reaction to the Swedish film Let The Right One In (Låt Den Rätte Komma In). It's one of my favourite thriller/horrors and not to spoil anything but the way it's paced resembles this style of slow paced creepy and raw.
such a great movie
Hey I don't know that one, but thanks for the tip.
Had to watch it again this year. So good.
Love that movie :)
I think part of what is making the movie so impactful for you is that it is, in part, about isolation, and that's something a lot of people have been through recently because of the pandemic.
Fascinating film with all sorts of details in the mise-en-scène. The hotel is its own sinister being and selectively consumes the souls of the most vulnerable to it. What I find most interesting is that the camera itself personifies the evil spirit of the Overlook as if it's constantly following as if chasing after those two most vulnerable, Danny and Jack and ultimately begins to control Jack like when Wendyvis reading Jack's "novel" and the camera moves behind her and Jack appears as if it is guiding him or when he's hacking into the bathroom door the camera follows Jack's swing of the axe so precisely as if the personified camera representing the Overlook is going, "I've got you! Kill! Kill:"
There's an interesting documentary called ROOM 237 in which a lot of people theorize what the film's about. Some theories are quite engaging and some are quite bonkers
Great reaction, Chris. Now you have to watch the sequel, DOCTOR SLEEP.
Yes! The camera work is absolutely incredible. As for doctor sleep, stay tuned! Full length will be posted tomorrow and the edit coming soonish.
ROOM 237 is ....just insane crap. Lol
To call it a documentary is being kind. It is someone's drung indiced fever dream. Lol
I bought it without seeing it and.......now I own it. Lol
the documentary is really cool
In the Stephen King Universe, Dick Holloran (the cook) survived Pennywise the Clown 50 years prior, in the fire at the Black Spot, to being axed by Jack.
Well he survives in the book.
I saw this theatrically with my parents when I was 12. The lady in the bathtub destroyed my brain. It’s a classic for a reason. Doctor Sleep is incredible.
I agree, Dr. Sleep is amazing.
@@GaryLBlakeley Respectfully disagree.
I would feel bad for any kid that saw that scene. Nothing good could come from that. Serious.
That scene in the book sent me to continue reading in a room where I wasn't alone. Few books do that.
The naked old lady in the tub scared the crap out of me. The Bavarian triggered my ptsd caused by the old lady from this movie
In the novel, Tony is actually Danny’s middle name. His shine presents itself to him as Tony. It’s like his inner monologue. Dr. Sleep is the sequel and also worth the watch and read.
Exactly it's how a 5 year old experiences ESP
Doctor sleep reaction tomorrow!
And the real Dany appears too. Just in case, he is the guy praising the baseball player.
What do you mean by the real Danny?
@HuntingViolets the guy at the baseball game played Danny in the first movie
Thank you, Chris! Fantastic reaction. I love when Wendy taps into her own Shining, seeing the ghosts and terrors of the past. Jack Nicholson, Selly Duvall, Danny Lloyd, Scatmman Crothers, and the supporting cast members were all just spot on, and stellar.
Tony is really Danny's spirit guide. He helps Danny when Danny doesn't understand something. Danny having the "shining" means he has a particular or more than one psychic ability.
The music was done by Grammy Award-winning composer Wendy Carlos. In addition to "The Shining," she worked with Kubrick on "A Clockwork Orange," and also did the music for the original "Tron" film. She's a pioneer of electronic music and helped develop the Moog synthesizer, which had an enormous impact on music in the late 1960s and throughout the '70s. Your reaction to her outstanding work in this film is so satisfying to watch because I agree that the sound design (not merely the music) is crucial to making "The Shining" what it is.
Most of the music was pre-existing music such as Ligeti, Penderecki, and of course Bartók. Carlos did the main title though, based on Berlioz.
@@BubbaCoop Wendy Carlos also created "Rocky Mountains", the piece heard when the family is motoring to the hotel (i.e., Donner Party chat). Really effective music that adds to the film's mounting tension.
Ghosts and psychic phenomena exist outside of time and outside of normal cause and effect. The hotel seduced Jack and Jack died there, so his soul now remains at the hotel; he is now one of the spirits. Since he is now part of the hotel, the photograph shows that he has always been part of the hotel. Jack states that during his job interview he felt comfortable and knowledgeable about the hotel. Psychic phenomena do not obey the linear a true of normal time; an event from the past can manifest in the present, and an event in the present can ripple through to the past.
"They're talking now...cool cool cool cool" 😂😂😂
Nervous rambles 🤣
This movie is a masterpiece. I watch it every October and it gets better with every viewing. Though I have to say, watching this movie in 2020 really made this movie hit differently, with the lockdowns and isolation we all had to deal with.
You wondered during the reaction if Danny knew how creepy it was...he actually didn't. Danny Lloyd said in an interview years later that he didn't see the movie until he was a teenager and that's when he found out it was a horror film. I guess Kubrick took great care to shield him from the darker elements...which is odd then that he was such a jerk to Shelly Duvall...but he was nice to the kid, so that's good.
Also, my favorite piece of trivia from this movie is that the doors they built for Jack to tear down were made of a more flimsy wood, to make it easier for him to break down. But Jack Nicholson had trained as a volunteer firefighter before he became famous, and he tore them down too quickly with that ax...so, they had to build stronger doors!
The ghosts in this movie are so creepy! The fact that they don't blink is so unsettling...so, even though Lloyd the bartender is pleasant and polite, something about him is always off. *and 90's kids, prepare to have your minds blown, cause I sure did...if you've seen the classic Boy Meets World episode "And then there was Shawn", the creepy Janitor is played by none other than the actor who played Lloyd!*
When Jack lost his mind he joined the party. He was not in the photo before he was integrated into ghost history, where time is quite flexible. He was not around in 1921, he simply joined the ghost party. 101 years ago!
Your reaction to this movie was priceless!!! I loved when just the scene to Tuesday with that blast of sound effect and you literally jumped… Didn't blame you one bit on that
9:39 The trike going over carpet.... wood floor .... carpet.... wood floor...
Sounds a bit like a heart beat. Kubrick was a trip
This movie had a lot of production problems:
Shelley Duvall lost most of her hair due to the stressful reshoots of her scenes involving swinging the bat at Jack Nicholson, which took 127 takes.
Nicholson slept on the set between scenes.
Duvall would get into arguments onset with Kubrick on how her scenes should be filmed.
Scatman Crothers, whom played Dick Halloran, broke down crying after Kubrick filmed his scene in the kitchen 88 times and asked "What do you want from me Mr Kubrick!?"
A fire broke out near the set where they were filming The Empire Strikes Back
The hedge maze scene was the difficult and brutal as most of the crew would get lost in the maze. It would have taken them an hour to get out.
Stephen King watched the film and hated the final cut as thought that Kubrick butchered the movie and removed some subplots that were in the novel, but in the script. King would never work with Kubrick ever again.
Wow Indeed! I knew King hated the film, but didn’t know all the rest. Bonkers.
And that's why I'm not a fan of Kubrick. Sadistic director 🙁
Tuesdays are always terrifying!
Your jump at 'Tuseday' killed me, lmao. Great reaction, it's awesome that you enjoyed it (if that's even the right word that can be used haha)! Your experience with this movie mirrors my own. I've always been a movie buff and I love horror movies but for some reason I never got around to seeing The Shining and a few other classics. I knew some references here and there but I didn't know the plot or the characters and when I finally watched it, MAN. It was a rollercoaster, lmao. I couldn't stop thinking about the movie for at least two weeks after seeing it. The acting, the sounds/music, the cinematography, the unanswered questions, the tension. I love how it's not like a lot of other horror movies that are primarily focused on running from an outside threat for most of the movie, but it still has you on the edge of your seat for most of it after making you care about these characters because you want to see what happens but you also don't. And then the ending - what a trip. :D
The scariest day of the week.
It got every reactor if you watch the compilation of them with 'tuesday'
I see the Overlook as similar to the one ring from the Lord of the Rings in that it should be treated as another character. It is able to find weakness and exploit it so as it can add to its eternal staff. Jack has a temper and doesn't take responsibility for it. He blames others when he lashes out and the hotel amplifies and empathises his shortcomings to drive him mad
That scene at 22:52 with Danny's conscious "Tony" saying "Danny's gone away" reminded me of the 2005 movie "Hide and Seek" or the other way around when Robert De Niro's character told his Daughter Emily " Daddy's gone now, Charley wants to play." Difference was, Robert De Niro's character was a lot like Jack and Emily ( Dakota Fanning) was a lot like Danny.
"Tell me they don't have the power..to...open .....the door" Tosses pencil as the hope runs out . great reaction, when you can you should definitely follow this up with 'Dr. Sleep' it's a really good sequel.
Doctor sleep reacting dropping in less than 24 hours! Glad you enjoyed this one. :)
The part of the movie that freaked me out the most was Jack's pages of "all work and no play make Jack a dull boy" and the look on his face when he was frozen in the snow.
The blood in the elevator represents all the bloodshed that ever happened on that property, from the attacks between builders and Native Tribes , to all the deaths that happened in the hotel over the decades. The kid that played Danny was not told he was to be in a horror film, instead Kubrick told him it was a "drama", although the kid was a bit unnerved by it , so much so that he vowed to never act in a movie again... until Doctor Sleep the sequel was produced :O
Amazing movie!!!! Kubrick was one of the best director / producers of all time, for many reasons (most of which are the impeccable cinematography, the actors, theiconic musical score , attention to detail but especially subliminal symbolism and esoteric secrets and confessions) Thanks for doing a reaction to it!!! Much respect, sir.
As a non-fan of horror, I really appreciate your reaction; it was like a replay of my initial reaction to it. lol Unnerved, hands over eyes, a driving desire to get up and walk away, freaked out by Tony, jumped at Tuesday...yep. There is a TV mini-series of this story, and while many don't like it as much, it does explain the concepts a bit better, and has a different ending. I look forward to more of these wonderful Halloween reactions!
Btw: the layout of the hotel is impossible: floors switch, carpets re-orient themselves, doors open in different directions.
31:45 well the first one was they built it on an Indian burial ground one of the care takers killed themself, the Grady guy killed his family then blew his head off, then they temporally made a camp there and every Friday the 13th a guy called Jason comes to visit, and month after that they made a room for zombie orphans... And vampire puppies.
I really enjoyed your reaction. Great spooky choice for the Halloween season!
Also, don’t overthink the ending with timelines etc. For whatever reason, Jack fits right in with the damned spirits in the Overlook, and always has.
This is such a hard movie to explain the premise for (imagine that it was directed by Stanley Kubrick and it is hard to explain, who would ever think?). Imagine a funnel. At the wide end you have time and at the narrow end you have the Overlook Hotel. The hotel kind of reaches out through time and pulls whoever it can grab down through the funnel and into itself wherein the hotel kind of becomes a world in itself. It also warps the personalities and the identities of its victims. The personality that was Charles Grady at the wide end of the funnel becomes Delbert Grady when it goes through the narrow end of the funnel. The personality that was Jack Torrance at the wide end of the funnel more than likely has a different name in the photograph since it has now gone through the funnel. It's like the hotel turns people into funhouse images of themselves on a psychological level when it consumes them.
Thanks for this; it was a very enjoyable watch. I liked seeing your take on a thriller that I have always held in high esteem. The Shining is so unsettling, and just keeps bubbling up with tension. Kubrick took a solid horror novel and jettisoned certain things but added some sensational ones.
This is a movie that I go back to now and again because it is made so well in many respects. Like "The Exorcist", it's just quality cinema. Also: I like the entire soundtrack, from the esoteric classical stuff to the nightmarish electronic creations to "Midnight, The Stars and You" by Ray Noble and His Orchestra (vocals by Al Bowlly).
As to the mysterious photograph at the final scene, I personally like to leave that ambiguous. Maybe the hotel wanted Jack and finally claimed him, I don't know. I can't get into trying to figure it all out; I just like this movie a lot because I enjoy being frightened and I appreciate film techniques.
I'm subscribing to your channel.
Welcome to the channel! I love what you said an out not trying to figure it all out. Some things can and should just be enjoyed .
There are tons of theories and extremely subtle bits to this classic . Many feel the hotel trips the souls of the people it controls and ultimately kill. Now that it has Jack, he really has ALWAYS been the caretaker so you see him in a photo from far in the past.
So interesting to contemplate.
yeah that is my take as well, the hotel absorbs the souls of the people who dies there and makes them part of it's own history.
The Shining is definitely an endurance test and you acquitted yourself admirably sir. Cheers.
Before anyone else starts leaving comments about how "The Shining destroyed Shelley Duvall", take her own words from Fangoria 2011:
"Oh, Stanley really gets a bad reputation sometimes but he was a perfectionist. We had our moments when we laughed and joked around on set, but then there were times that we just exploded at each other! I’m a very stubborn person and don’t like being bossed around and told what to do, Stanley pushed and pushed to get the performance out of me that he wanted."
Shelley has said time and again that Kubrick was kind to her and they simply had her moments because she was stubborn and didn't like to be bossed around. Does that excuse how he treated her? No. But Shelley always talks about him warmly, even as recent as a year ago.
This movie didn't ruin her, or her career. She thrived 22 years after this film and won awards for her performances and her children's programming and retired in 2002. She currently lives in Texas with her partner Dan and is very happy with herself, her career, and her life and has gotten much better in recent years. And for people who say she's aged horrible? She's 73, people age, they don't stay young forever. She's a beautiful woman inside and out and people really need to stop spreading misinformation about her.
Thank you for that. Every time this movie comes up, it's like there's this flood of certain topics that rise up instantly, one of them being Shelley's poor treatment at the hands of a sadist. People have verbally crucified Stanley enough over this nonsense.
There's also the wackadoo conspiracy theories about this movie; many Americans seem to feast on stuff like that, sadly. It's something of a rabbit hole with this film. Kind of scary that people believe such things.
@@eduardo_corrochio Stanley did treat her horribly, and I do very much believe it SHOULD be brought up when it's relevant but the fact that people just make up things about it and don't listen to Shelley herself is so frustrating :(
That is a good comment. It is so disrespectful to Shelley Duvall to say 'Oh she wasn't acting, she was genuinely traumatized,' as if Kubrick could have dragged some random woman off the street and got the same performance just by mistreating her. Duvall was a very skilled actress.
I hope that you decide to see all of Kubrick’s films (not including Spartacus, since he doesn’t include it in his work)…in any event, *they’re all classics*
Love the Tuesday jump scare lol I saw this movie a long time ago and then recently my daughter had to watch it for a school project and I watched it with her and noticed and understood a lot more then
Love your reaction. I always classify this movie as more of a psychological/metaphysical horror movie than true horror. It’s perfectly crafted to ratchet up tension, confusion, and unease! 😈
By FAR one of the most fun reactions to this I've seen! :D Thank you!!
Haha thanks, Lea!
I've been watching this movie for more than 30yrs and not once have I questioned why Wendy felt comfortable enough to take a nap after locking Jack in the pantry🤣😂; hilarious. This was an excellent reaction. Thank you!
This is only my second reaction video from you, and can already tell this is my favorite!
😅 thanks for watching!
The lady in the bathtub was his former wife that he strangled. That’s why she strangles people that come in there. That’s the marks on Danny’s neck. It was her. Not Jack. I read the book. It goes into more detail. The book is terrifying!
The director tormented Shelly Duvall during the filming because he wanted her to be highly emotional at all times and even told the crew to never comfort her, she said in a more recent interview that she had days where she cried for 24 hours straight and this movie is thought to have triggered her mental health problems and eventually caused her to walk away from her successful movie career and she now lives in poverty and is almost unrecognizable.
The book goes into a lot more detail about the people who have died in the motel, from what I remember it explains who the old lady in bathtub was and how she died.
Kubrick was known for filming scenes over and over like the stair scene that was filmed 125 times, Scatman Crothers almost didn’t take the role because he had heard what Kubrick was like and he was an old man and didn’t think he could handle the constant filming of scenes. He was very concerned about filming his death scene over and over so Jack Nicholson spoke to Kubrick and got him to agree to a maximum of 10 takes of the scene.
Apparently the kid who played Danny had no idea they were making a scary movie because he was shielded from all the scary stuff and didn’t find out until the movie premiered.
Conspiracy theorists believe Kubrick left a lot of clues in this film that prove that he helped the U.S government fake the moon landing by directing it for them, they point out things like Danny’s Apollo 11 sweater and various other things and there is a documentary on RUclips about the whole theory.
I noticed in a more recent viewing of the movie that there is actually a door in Jack and Wendy’s bedroom that leads out into the hotel hallway so really Wendy could have just waited for Jack to break through the other door and then she and Danny could have ran out into the hallway and ran from Jack.
I mean how did the kid not realise he was starring in a horror movie? He had to act scared in like, 70% of the scenes he was in? Not to mention having to grab a knife to write “redrum” with his own blood on a door... the dialogue with him asking jack if he’d ever hurt him... shelly dragging him into the bathroom crying and screaming as jack axes down a door? 💀
@@sarads7877 + good questions. But at least in the movie, he didn't write it in his own blood. He wrote it in red lipstick...
It never caused her to walk away, she 20+ year career after the Shining and was very successful. She's also said despite everything she enjoyed that movie and Kubrick was nice to her, they just had their moments. Shelley looks like an old woman who aged normally, not "unrecognizable" she's 73 cut her some slack. I will admit she had a few years where she wasn't good financially but she's now a lot better in that department and is getting along fine. Please don't spread misinformation about her, thank you.
This is a Kubrick film - that should have been your warning from the beginning. Loved your reaction. Happy Festivus.
I'm not sure if there was any music composed specifically for this movie, I think not. Some of the creepiest music was composed by Bela Bartok in the 1930s. Technology was available at the time that would allow prerecorded music to be altered to fit the cadence of the dialogue/action of the scene.
True, it was mostly Penderecki, Ligeti, Bartók, and some others, but the synth version of Berlioz's take on the Dies Irae was new.
1:42, interestingly enough, Ridley Scott used footage from this movie, in other words, the opening scene, that would be used in the BLADE RUNNER ending credits.
That was the studio, not Ridley Scott. Note that it was removed in the later Director's Cuts.
If anyone here is interested, Grimmlifecollective recently posted a video where they hung out with Shelley Duvall and asked her some questions. It was a pleasant surprise and I was glad to see Shelly seems to be doing well.
The Shining and The Omen from the 70s hold up so well amongst 1000s of horror films. They are classics. Glad you enjoyed it.
I loved the fact that your background matches the color red from the bathroom where Jack talks to Grady.
This whole movie DID have me confused. I don't remember what, but I've read the book explains things a little more. And this is another movie where the director was harsh with the lead actress. I've read Kubrick wanted Shelley Duvall's reactions to be authentic, so, if I remember right, he didn't tell her how Jack was going to get to her and Danny in the bathroom before they filmed that scene. So her reaction when the axe breaks through the door was genuine terror. I think she may have had a nervous breakdown after the movie wrapped.
When it comes to horror, this epitomizes it for me. It's not about jump scares, or gore (although there was a bit of both), it's about the ambiance and the stifling environment.
Congrats... I think Danny was using the maze exactly as HE needed, and Jack's refusal to go in made it the perfect death-field. The book is fairly different and worth reading. I think most folks lose the concept for hallucinations being used so often... or were they hauntings? Either way...
My biggest complaint is that, IF there's a lot to unpack (yes there is), it's because Kubrick wanted them OR was unable to complete his film sufficiently for a better explanation. In that way, it's probably a sucky film - a film terribly unrealized.
Congrats on almost 10k subscribers, Chris! 🎉
Thanks, John! I cant believe we’re almost there. It’s been a fantastic year.
If I have learned anything from watching horror films, it’s to never build anything on top of an Indian burial ground. Or any type of burial ground actually.
I LOVED your reaction. Made me smile the whole time. ❤️
I’m so glad to hear it ☺️
King wrote this while having sobriety issues. "Write what you know" is a famous writing tool that every teacher preaches, and this is one of the best examples of using what you have. I'd have been terrified to be his wife when the book was released. Hopefully he sat her down and explained it all before it went to print.
Since you asked: the book says that the woman in the bathtub was a wealthy socialite, possibly a politician's wife, who frequented the Overlook and brought a different young man with her every time. She drank heavily, and was eventually found by hotel staff -- she was drinking in the tub, passed out, and drowned.
The only one that had it easy filming was the kid. Kubrick treated the kid better than the adults. Scatman cruthers admitted that he needed therapy for a while afterwards due to how Kubrick treated them. But the worst was poor Shelly Duvall. Last part of the movie Wendy wasn't 'acting' Kubrick treated her worse than crap. Insults threats ignoring her on set and he got all the cast and crew to do it too. She didn't recover from the ordeal and still has mental issues. Not to mention how many times they made jack Nicholson fall down those stairs
Absolutely wild.
Filming began in 1978 but didn't finish until 1980, one month before the film's premiere.
I don't know if Steven King or Stanley Kubrick intended this, but the story can be seen partly as an allegory about domestic abuse fueled by alcohol. Jack has a history of abuse, which he partly denies. Wendy is beaten down, and is also in denial. Neither has really addressed Jack's behavior, so when there's nothing to keep him in check, he reverts and becomes even worse than he was before.
One thing that not many reactors comment on is that Wendy does all the work of caring for the hotel. Jack just types. He gets really angry about fulfilling his responsibilities, but then, he doesn't fulfill his responsibilities. Wendy does that for him.
Kubrick was very hard on Shelley Duvall during the filming. He shot over a hundred takes of the scene on the stairs to get the terror and confusion that he wanted in her performance. She said later that the stress was so great that her hair started to fall out.
In the scenes where Jack is chopping through the doors, Kubrick originally used flimsy prop doors. But Nicholson had training as a firefighter, and his blows were so forceful that he broke the doors to pieces too quickly. Kubrick switched to regular solid doors to get the effect he wanted.
I agree that the sound design had a lot to do with the terror and suspense of this movie. So did the visual design. For instance, the low-angle shots of Danny riding his big wheel tricycle through the halls looked really creepy.
I'm getting my taco's overseas now and "you don't know how amped I am for this". Been busy, bout to watch the stuff I missed on your channel. let's go!,
Here we go! Can’t wait to watch this❤.
At the end, when Jack was in the picture, it probably supernaturally changed from Grady to Jack. Of course, the mysteries of this movie are probably mostly supernatural. Things don't make sense, but somehow it adds to the horror of the film. I believe that Jack only liked the hotel in the beginning and became what he was because he was inherently prone to becoming that way. The true nature of the families characters was just highlighted as the movie progressed. Some things will be mysteries, but it makes for good horror. Thank you.
"Is this the story he's writing? That is precisely what I think, with the actual events woven into it. I think Kubric jumps back and forth without letting us know when that happens in order to confuse the audience.
I buy the theory that the scene where Jack is writing and Wendy interrupts him is where the story becomes what he is writing. There are continuity inconsistencies in Jack's appearance that point to him yelling at his wife, and everything afterward, is just something he wrote. So in my head canon at that point we're watching the best seller Jack wrote, and in reality they were all fine.
Ooh I dig the theory!
Cool theory!
aw sweet. cheers chris, one of my favourite films here. there was also a miniseries made in the 90s, i think it was about 3-4 hours long which isnt as high quality, but its truer to the book and focuses a lot more on jack's alcoholism and his slow mental breakdown if youre interested. i'm not telling you what to react to but if you like this then maybe give it a go in your own time. now, onto the show *clicks play* cheers mate
The hotel manager told Jack the overlook was built on a Indian burial ground. The hotel was very old and alot happened in it over the years. Parties, Furrries, maybe debotchery.
The hotel Shines, and your watching past events replaying themselves out with Jack.
Ever notice the only time you see Jack typing is when he's wearing green? Green Jack is the writer and Red Jack is the character being written.
That was such an awesome reaction Chris! 😁
Fun fact: Nicholson worked as a volunteer firefighter, and discovered that the prop doors were not withstanding his axe, so they finally had to build stronger and stronger doors just to get that scene to work.
There's a thought. I know there is nothing that would comfort me more if my house was on fire than the sight of Jack Nicholson driving up in a fire engine with an ax.
@@88wildcat Right? Supposedly the finished scene features shots of at least three different doors... ahh the magic of editing.
I ALWAYS jump at “Tuesday” too. Lol. Great reaction to a wonderfully unsettling movie. One of the best movies ever. 👏 👏
12:08 I believe this sound to indicate The Shining
The original title of the book was "The Shine." But along the way his publisher (I think) told Stephen King that this title wasn't going to work because a "shine" was an unflattering term for an African American. King had not known this and realized he could slightly modify the title.
just found your channel love it
Bravo, my friend. BRAVO!!
My FAV film ever!!!! Glad you watched my friend!!!!!!!!!!!!
My interpretation of the movie is this. The horrors of the house revolve around the party of 1921. Time moves the ghosts and negative energy to this point in history. So every new caretaker is put in that position. It's a vicious cycle that feeds on itself. When Jack is promoted, Grady is demoted and if there were ever another person running it and there were to become apart of the environment, Jack would find a place.
"Heeeere's Johnny" was the famous cheery intro line for Johnny Carson's late night show for decades. Now, it's a famous psycho intro line.
This movie ranked at #6 in the 100 scariest movie moments on Bravo
I actually like the Overlook Hotel's interior and exterior design. I won't mind staying there if it was normal. I checked out the miniseries trailer after seeing comments about it. Looks interesting. Will watch it if I can find it.
The interior is based on the Ahwahnee Hotel in Yosemite. You are free to explore the main room which is like a cosier version of the great hall in the movie. The floors, the lights, the elevator doors. All taken from that hotel.
I sadly learned this fact AFTER I was there.
A lady sitting behind me in theater screamed at the bear suit scene
And the man sitting next to the lady: "Hey, honey, i think i've found a New fetish".
Best reaction! So fun. love your humor. 10:40 LOL
"Right? No? DA HHHECK!" heehee! You said it all with that! I thought the ending of the photo suggested some kind of high-strangeness anomalous time loop phenomenon happening.
It definitely throws me for a loop.
@@CasualNerdReactions Heehee!
I tried reading the book during a snowstorm…one of the biggest regrets of my life lol…the book focused so much on the isolation due to the storm I couldn’t finish it….also poor Shelly she went through so much for this movie :(
Timing is everything! And I was sad to learn about what Shelly experienced.
So did Scatman Crothers, who broke down crying asking Kubrick what he wanted after doing countless takes of the ice cream scene, and he did over 60 takes of getting the axe in his chest until Jack Nicholson went to Kubrick and intervened. EVERYONE had a hard time on EVERY Kubrick movie. Ken Adam had a heart attack from the stress of working on Kubrick's previous film, "Barry Lyndon". On Clockwork Orange, Malcom McDowell suffered broken ribs, a ripped cornea, had to get spat in the face countless times until it landed just right....and David Prowse had to do countless takes of carrying that wheelchair (with the writer in it) over and over again until he was exhausted. Shelley Winters had a hard shoot on "Lolita". As Michael Herr says, "Everyone worked hard on Kubrick films, but no one worked harder than Stanley." The Shelley Duvall stories are way overblown and exaggerated. She bounced back fine, she played Olive Oyl in "Popeye" right afterwards and produced the groundbreaking series "Fairy Tale Theatre" throughout the 80s (unheard of for a woman). Her subsequent mental issues have nothing to do with The Shining. The thing that hurt her most about the Shining wasn't Kubrick (who she has always spoken highly of), but the reaction to her performance. It's only NOW - ie: the last ten years or so - that people appreciate her performance, it's been maligned all these years.
Some of that comes through in Vivian Kubrick's behind the scenes footage.
Loved your reaction! This movie was more disturbing and creepy than horror or thriller
I've been dying to see what you thought of this one! Even though Stephen King has been very vocal about disliking this adaptation, this to me represents the kind of horror films I enjoy. Slasher horror relies mostly on the gore factor, and modern American horror in general relies on cheap jump scares. To me this is just lazy. Psychological slow burn horror takes quality writing and acting to work, and The Shining does it beautifully. Doctor Sleep is a very worthy sequel, one of the few horror sequels I feel is worth its salt.
Agree! I’d take psychological of jump scares any day.
@@CasualNerdReactions Then you need to check out more Japanese and Korean films, which use your imagination and suspense in a way if you have done since the days of Hitchcock, where the anticipation of a scare is far worse than the actual scare. Hideo Nakata was great at this with Dark Water and Ringu (The Ring), followed by others like Ju-on: The Grudge and Pulse. Most of these have been remade as American films but the originals are far better. This is the kind of horror that literally makes me full-on shudder hours after watching it. These days there are much higher budget films made in Asia, such as Train to Busan and The Host, but I kind of prefer the simpler stories with more subtle creepiness.
A truly hilarious moment occurs when Grady says: "I've always been here." and Chris is just taking notes like: "Hmmmmmmm." LOL
Subsequent viewings induce less anxiety, giving you the opportunity to better appreciate the filmmaking decisions and techniques.
My best take is Danny awoke everything when his shining talents showed up.
I thought this reaction was Cooo coo cool coooo co caaka cococoo coo cool". Jack Torrance, Dick Hallorann , and Danny all have the shinning. That's why all three could see the dead in the hotel. In the end the shining was so strong from them, Wendy was also able to see the ghost. Have an awesome day! take care..xx
I don't know why, but SO many reactors seeing this for the first time interpret Dick Halloran as a sinister person instead of the hero and protector of Danny he tries to be (let's not forget that the legendary Scatman Crothers also played Hong Kong Phooey). LOVED your reaction and how you were fitting all the pieces together.