1. The Shining Film
Theory Assessment
Movie Breakdown/Underlining: The shining(movie) isa1980 horror filmbasedonStephen
King’s1977 novel The Shining.The storyrevolvesaroundJackTorrance,an aspiringwriterand
recoveringalcoholic,whoreceivesandacceptsapositionasan off-ski seasoncaretakerata Hotel
highup inthe mountains.The filmalsofeaturesJack’swifeandson,WendyTorrance andDanny
Torrance.Danny the youngboypossesses“the shining”,thisallowshimtosee the horrificpastof
the Hotel,the previouscaretakerandwhateventstookplace.There isanothercharactercalledDick
Hallorann,the hotel’scookwhoalsohas“the shining”buthisabilityisdifferenttoDanny’sashe can
telepathicallycommunicatewithotherswhohave “the shining”. The oldcaretakerforthe Hotel off-
seasonwentcrazyand killedwife,twodaughtersandthenhimself. The plotforthe filmis,Jackthe
off-seasoncaretaker,wifeandsonmove tothe Hotel asa familytoavoidbeingapartfor sucha long
periodof time,thisisdue to the fact that inoff-seasonitsnows somuchtheyare isolatedfromthe
restof the worldnot knowthe previouseventsthathadoccurredbefore hand.Duringthisperiod
the familylive anormal life until Danny,Jackssoncomesacrossthe two deaddaughter’sghosts.This
iswhenthe supernatural startsto appear.The supernatural forcesare sostrong that itcausesJack
to lose hissanityandprogressivelybecomesadangertohis wife andson. Jackendsup wantingto
kill hiswife andson,chasingthemaroundthe hotel eventuallyleadingoutside intothe maze where
Jack getslostfollowinghissonsfootprints,losinghiswayresultinginJackfreezingtodeath.
Scene Analysis
The scene I have chosento lookat is at 0:49:18 till 0:51:16 inthe movie.The scene consistsof Danny
ridinghistricycle downahallway,turningrightatthe endthenturningleftaroundanothercorner
endingupina long corridorwiththe twodaughterghosts.The scene thenshowsfacial expressions
slowimageryandhorrificgore.
Camera work/some editing:[Shot1] At the beginningof the scene youhave Dannyridinghistricycle
downthe hall way,the camera is trackingfrombehindbutisslowerthanDannymakingit seemas
thoughthe camera isscared to follow.Thishelpscreate tensionandintensifiesthe factthat you
don’twant toknowwhat’saround the cornerfrom a viewer’spointof view. [Shot2] AsDanny
reachesthe endof the corridorhe turnsthe corner outof the cameras view butthe camerakeeps
movingforwardat the same pass.This givesasuspense tothe nextscene asthe camera angle jump
cuts and turnsintoan overthe shouldershotwhilststill trackingDannyfromcloserbehind.Thisis
usedso the audience cansee whatDannyis seeingbutfrombehindhimwhichmakesitfeelas
thoughyouare withhim.
[Shot2, differentview] Afterturningthe corner,youare presentedwithalongshot,still over
shoulderbutverysymmetrical.Ibelieve thisisusedtodistance Dannyandthe audience fromthe
ghostsand to letthemknowthatsomethingiswrong. [Shot3] The nextshotisa close upof Danny’s
face.Thisallowsthe audience tounderstandhow Dannyisfeelingonanemotional level.Thisisa
useful shotasit will setthe tone forthe scene andwill make the audience feel aneedtohelpDanny
eventhoughtheycan’t. [Shot4] The nextshotis anotherlongshot shouldershot whichisbasically
refreshingwhatyouare actuallylookingatandbeginstoreveal a pattern. [Shot5, 6] The nexttwo
shotsare reverse shotsbetweenDanny’sface andthe longshotover the shouldershothallway,
Kubrickisdoingthisto conditionthe audience togetthemusedtothe quickreverse shotstosetup
a quickshot where we see the firstmurderscene. [Shot7] Inthe murdershot youcan see the two

2. girlslyingdeadonthe groundwithan axe lyingnexttothem.Thisletsthe audience piece together
whatmighthave happenedbutbecause the murderscene came outof nowhere it’sbelow the
contentcurve meaningthatyoudon’thave enoughtime toreact to the shotcreatingdiscontinuity
causingthe audience tobe astoundby whattheyjustsaw.
Throughoutthe scene the camerahas slowlybeengettingclose andclosertothe girls,thiscreates
layersof fearin the audience assupernatural phenomenon canbe scarierup close,thislinks with
the nextshot[Shot8] where Kubrickusesa quickcut to show the nextseenmakingitobviousthat
youare gettingclosertodanger.In thisshotyou are leftwitha full shotshowingthe hallwayinfront
of Danny’sviewwiththe girlsstoodinfront atthe endof the corridor. Thisissomewhatscaryas
Dannyis nowgone fromthe shotand youare leftalone facingthe creepygirls. [Shot9,10] The next
shotis a jumpback to the murderscene creatingmore discontinuitythenquickcuttingbackto
Danny’sface gettinghisfull expressionshowingthathe ishorrifiedbywhathe hasjust seen.AsI
saidbefore the camerais progressivelygettingclosertothe girlswhichhappensinthe nextshot
[shot11] as youhave a full shotshowingjustthe twogirls inthe middle of the screenmakingthem
the centre of attentionwiththe hallwaysurroundingthem. [Shot12] Anotherquickcutback to the
murderscene,bythistime the audience willknow whatisgoingonas theyhave beenfedglimpses
of informationeverytime the murderscene isshowingallowingthemtocollectand piece the
puzzle. [Shot13] The nextshotisa mediumshotof the twogirls,like Isaidthe camera isnow
exceptionallyclose tothe girlsfillingyouwithevil presence andfear. [Shot14] Anotherjumpshotto
the murderscene,thisisthe last time the murderscene isshownwhichshowsthatKubrickhas
givenenoughinformationtothe audience. [Shot15] The nextshot isa close up to Danny’sface
reactingto the horror coveringhiseyeshopingthe girlsleave.Thisshotis12 secondslongwhich
allowsthe audience toprocesswhathasjusthappened. [Shot16] The nextshotisa cut back to the
hallway,the shotisa full shotshowingthe emptyhall,the horrorhaspassed. [Shot17] The nextshot
isa reverse shot,close uponDanny’sface againshowinghisemotion. [Shot18] The nextshotis a
quickcut back to the hallway overthe shoulderlong shotshowingthatDannyisall alone. [Shot19]
The last shotis a reverse shotbackto the close up of Danny,this isthe longestshotof the sequence
as he talksto his friendtonyandtellshimwhathashappened.
Sound/Music:The musicusedinthissequence isveryeerie astheyhave usedviolinstobuildup
tensionthentodropthe jumpscare using a drum. Thismusicisveryuseful because itsounds
extremelyscary/creepyandcanbe workedwell withalarge numberof instruments.The use of this
musicinthis sequence isgood.Forthe firstshot,as Dannyisridinghistricycle downthe hallwaythe
musicstarts to getlouderandlouder.Thisiscreate as there isa cornerat the endof the corridor so
youare worriedaboutwhatwill happenwhenDannyturnsthe corner.Butas Dannyapproachesthe
corner the musicresetsitself asif ittrickedyouinto thinkingthere wouldbe ajumpscare which
helpscatch youoff-guardforthe nextshot,shot2 whenDannyturnsthe firstcorner. Ashe rides
aroundthe firstcornerturningrightthe musicstays at the same temposo that the nextmusicjump
or loudsmash can catch the audience off-guard.Afterturningthe leftcornerwhilstthe camerais
trackingDanny,the twogirlsare revealedatthe endof the corridormakinga loudsmash noise.This
isusedfor surprise.
At thispointDannyislookingatthe girlsandknowshe’sindanger.The musicchangesto a low evil
consistentsoundof atrumpet.Thischangesa little until the girlsstarttalking.Once theysay“come
playwithus” a pianoisused.A pianocan make veryscary soundswhichare usedinthissequence.
Theyalsouse the pianotoset upfor the murder scenesto make themmore abruptwhentheyare
flashedonthe screen.Whenthe twogirlssay“come playwithusDanny” there isan abnormal pause
betweenthe twoscenes,this isuseful tosustainthe tension.Aftershowingthe firstmurderscene

3. all of the instrumentsbeginplayingagainmakingthe musicsoundmore dramaticandscary. This
keepsplayinguntilDannytakeshishandsof hisface aftercoveringhiseyesrevealing thatthe
hallwayisempty,atthispointthe musicisplayingthisone soundthatis extremelychilling.From
thenon the musiccalms downbut whenDannypullsoutTony (hisfinger) andstartstalkingtohim
the musicbuildsupa small amountbut thendissipates.
Mise on scene:The firstthingInoticedinthissequence isthe factthat Danny’stricycle hasa blue
back panel thatis shapedlike adress.Ifeelsasthoughthiswasto make Danny looklike he’swearing
a dressand that he couldbecome a ghostlike them.It’slike Kubrickishintingtothe audience what
mighthappentoDanny.
Anotherthingisthe clothingDannyiswearing.He iswearingtwojumpersone redandone blue,this
linkstothe murderscene ina waybecause of the bloodstainsonthe wall anddresses.The blood
resemblesthe redandthe girl’sdressesresemblingthe blue.Alsothe facthe iswearingthe red
jumperoverthe blue jumpershowingthathe mightbe inthe same situationlateroninthe film.
Stickingwithmurderscene we are shownthe weaponusedtomurderthe twogirls,the axe.This
letsthe audience understandhowthe girlsdiedbutalsolinkstolateronwhenthe same weaponis
usedbyJack Torrance.
Throughoutthissequence Kubrickhasusedsymmetrytorepresentthe twogirls.Youcanclearlysee
inthe longhallwayoverthe shouldershotinshot2 that the girlsare basicallymirroringeachother,
thissame symmetry isshowninthe murderscene as the girls are lyingonthe floorandare perfectly
placedto mirroreach other,one isfacingone wayand one is facingthe other,the legsare placedin
the same spot and youcan see they’ve bothbeenaxedinthe same spot.Thislinkswiththe factthat
Jack Torrance hastwo differentpersonalitiesandthatanythingwithsymmetryisdangerouslike
room 237’s doors,whichisthe onlyroom witha double door entrance. Keepingonthe topicof the
twogirls,at the beginningof the filmasJackand is familyare beingshownaroundthe hotel yousee
3 pairsof girlsleavingthe hotel,Ibelieve thishasalinktothe fact that two girlswere murdered.Not
sure though.
A verynoticeable aspectaboutthissequence isthe factthatyou can actuallyworkout the location
of the murder,as itis justdownthe hallwayfromwhere the Torrance’sare stayinginthe movie.At
0:35:23 as Wendyleavesthe elevatoryoucansee the hallwaywhere the murdertookplace inthe
background. Thislinkstothe fact that inother scene’swhenthe cameraistrackingDannyon his
tricycle as he isactuallydoinga specificcircuitoverandoveragain.The thenlinkstowhat the two
girlsare sayingandthat Dannywill be playingwiththemforeverandeverandevergoingaroundhis
circuit.
Theme Analysis
Themes:Family,FatherIssues,Violence,Supernatural,Mystery,Isolation,Mortalityand
Manipulation.
Family:The shiningfilmrevolvesaroundtwofamilies,the deadandthe living,eachfamilymember
has theirownproblemsthroughoutthe moviebutitismore focusedonJack and DannyTorrance. At
the beginningof the film,youare shownthe familyhappytogetherbutbythe endof the movie Jack
has formedissuesandthe familyhasfallenapart.Dannytriestokill hismotherbutisstoppedbyhis
motherwakingupand Jack has gone fall psychopathand triestokill bothMandyand Danny.
FatherIssues:Throughoutthe filmJackTorrance is slowlyinfluencedandmanipulatedbythe super
natural,he starts writingthe same wordsoverandover inhisbook,and becomesaggressive

4. towardsWendyforno reason.Afterdiscoveringthe womeninroom237 he decidesnottotell his
wife andkeepittoohimself.
Violence:WhenJackfullyloseshismindhe turnstoviolencetosorthimself outresultinginusingan
axe to attemptto kill WendyandDanny.A big influence onthisstate isthe fact that Jack isan
alcoholicwhichalsoplaysapart in himlosinghismind.
SuperNatural:The movie containsalarge numberof supernatural beings,the twogirls,the women
in237 and everyone atthe dinnerpartywhichwaseitherjacksimaginationorghosts.The super
natural playthe role of manipulatingJackandscaringWendyandDanny.
Mystery:From the beginningof the filmyouare leftwithmysteryastowhythe oldcare taker killed
hisfamilyandhimself.Due tothe factthat Jack wasinfluencedbythe supernatural mainly.Isolation
couldn’thave beenthe onlyfactorthatdrove the old caretakerto lose hissanity.
Isolation:Isolationisabigpart in the film, thisisshownclearlyinthe openingscenewhenJackis
drivinghiscar throughthe mountainsalone.Anotherscene where Ithinkisolationisrelevantis
whenJackis throwingthe tennisball atthe wall andcatchingit himself thisshowshe hasnoone to
talkto who can relate withhimthrowhisstruggles.
Mortality:Mortalitymeaningnumberof deathsinthe same locationisshowninthe filmwhenyou
are toldaboutthe old caretakerkillinghiswife,daughtersandthenhimself.
Manipulation:Manipulationplaysahuge role inthe movie asJack the maincharacter ismanipulated
and turnedagainsthisownfamilybythe supernatural,youcan clearlyspota problemwithJack
whenhe visitsroom237 discoversthe womenandthenliestoWendysayingthatthere wasn’t
anyone there,thisisthe pointwhenyouknow he haschosenthe wrongpath.
Auteur analysis:
Themes
The Shining Full Metal Jacket A Clockwork Orange
Morality Morality Morality
Violence Violence Violence
Manipulation Manipulation Manipulation
psychological psychological psychological
Thriller Thriller Thriller
Horror Horror
War
Mystery
Camera Work/Angles
Tracking Tracking Tracking
Panning Panning Panning
Close Ups Close Ups Close Ups
The psychological in both “The Shining” and “Full Metal Jacket” are very similar in the way
it’s created and increased. Throughout both films you have a progression of psychological

5. treatment that starts to affect the characters it’s showcasing so in “The Shining” Jack
Torrance is the main subject affected by this, this is shown as he turns crazy and tries to
murder his own family. The psychological effect on each character also happens to end with
another character being killed off.
I believe Stanley Kubrick is an auteur because of the way his films make the viewer feel and
think. Each film leaves the viewer with debates and controversy. This is shown in all his films
but mostly “The Shining” and there is a large amount of unanswered theory’s and questions
about the movie for example, was Jack Torrance (the main character) always the caretaker
or was there another caretaker.
General genre analysis:The movie ishorrorbecause itcontainsscenesthatare horrificand
terrifying.The movieisthrillerbecause of the range of feelingsitgivestothe audience,atone
momentyouwill be veryonedge withanxietyandthengofromanxioustoexcitedorterrified.The
movie ismysteryfromthe beginningtill andevenafteryouwatchthe filmasyouare still leftwitha
huge amountof unansweredordiscoveredtheory’s/questions.The movieisbasedaround
Psychological horrorwhichisbroughtonheavilyusingthe sound,imageryandcharacter.
Horror: The horror genre isgiventoa movie whenitmakesitsaudience feel fear,shockordisgustis
a bad way.Which iswhyit’sthe perfectlabel for“The Shining”.The reasonthe shiningisinthe
horror genre isbecause half of the movie putsonedge andgivesyougenuine fearmakingyou
scared.The horrordefinitelybeginswhenDanny,Jackssonencountersthe twogirlsatthe endof
the hallway,due tothe musicand atmosphere Kubrickhascreatedduringthe filmthe audience is
alreadyina worriedstate.The murderscene isdefinitelywhatcreatesthe firststepsintocallingthis
filma horroras itshowstwodeadbodieslyingonthe groundcoveredinblood.Butthat’sonlythe
beginning,afterall of the midhorror scenestake place like Jacksencounterwiththe womeninroom
237 the real horror beginswithjacktrying tokill hiswife andsonwithan axe.
In the movie alone there are multiple famoussceneswhichreallydefinedthe horrorgenre inone
piece.The mainscene iswhenJackusesthe axe to cut/smashthroughthe bathroomdoor to reach
hiswife sohe can kill her.Thisscene alone hasthe audience experience all of the emotionsthatare
includedinthe horrorgenre.Youare terrifiedwhenhe nearlybreaksdownthe doorbutrelieved
whenWendymanagestofendhimoff usinga knife,thisalsolinksinwiththe Thrillergenre asyou
are experiencingalarge amountof emotionsina single scene. Thisscene alone isdefinitelyone of
the most iconichorrorscenescreated. Anothergoodhorrorscene iswhen Jackis kissingthe women
inroom 237 butthenlooksinthe mirror seeinghertrue form, thisscene isdisgustingand
frighteningatthe same time asone momentyouthinkJack ischeatingonhiswife andthe nextyou
are infearof the monster.
Thriller:The thrillergenre isthe moodscreatedgivingviewersheightenedfeelingsof suspense,
excitement,surprise,anticipationandanxiety.Thrillerplaysabigrole in“The Shining”as the movie
createslarge amountsof suspense andanticipation. The tricycle murderscene isthe bestscene to
describe the amountof suspense andanticipation.Throughthe wholescene youhave noidea
what’sgoingto happenbutyoustart to try and predictwhat’sgoingtohappenas the suspense isso
long.Atthe beginningof the murderscene there isacamera track of Dannyridinghistricycle down
the hallwaywiththe musicgettingscarierandscarier.Atthe endof the hallwaythere isa corner.
The camera onlytracks Danny¼ of the waydownthe hallwayandkeepsfilmingeventhoughDanny
has turnedthe corner,thiscreatesan extremelylarge amountof suspenseasyouhave no idea

6. what’saroundthe corner. You alsogetmisledinthisscene asthere isanothercornerafterthe
camera changesshotback to Dannyshowingthe actual horror scene.
Mystery:Mysteryis whenyouare shownsomethingthathasa reasonbehinditthatyoudon’tknow
yetand youwant to findout.Atthe beginningof the filmwhenyoudiscover thatthe oldcaretaker
had killedhiswhole familyandhimself youare leftwithmultiple reasonsastowhy he killedhis
family creatingmystery,there isalarge numberof mysteriesleftforthe audience afterwatchingthe
filmbutmainlythe mysterybehindthe photoshownatthe endof the movie whichcontainsJack
Torrance at a dinnerpartyin 1921, there isiconographyinthis photographas Jack Torrance is
makingan devil pose fromthe TarotCard (XV) deckwhichresembleshimassome sortof devil too,
eventhoughthe filmissetin1975. Kubrickclaimsthatthe hotel hasthe powertoreincarnate some
of the oldgueststhusreincarnatingthe care takerJack, havingthe whole ordeal playoveragainbut
thistime havingJackdie insteadof himkillinghisfamilyandthenhimself again.
Psychological Horror:Psychological Horrorisa subgenre of horrorthat reliesonmental,emotional
and psychological statestofrighten,disturborunsettlethe audience.Thisgenre isheavily
implementedintothe filmwhichmakesthe filmone of the bestPsychological Horror’severcreated.
The murderscene isdefinitelyone of the mostpsychologicallyimpactful scenesinthe filmdue to
the tensioncreatedbythe suspense andsound.The scene issowell done thatitdoesn’thave touse
jumpscaresand scared monsterstoscare the livinghell outof the audience,itjustneedsalong
hallways,two creepyyounggirlsandscarymusic.Thisis a true masterpiece.Whatputsthe audience
issuch a frightenedstate ishowthe distance betweenDannyandthe twoGirlscreatestension.Evil
ismuch more scary from far awaythan itis up close because fromfarawayyou know it’scoming
whichbuildsmore tensionthenitwouldjumpscare havingashortburstof fear.If the fearis
consistentthroughoutthe scene thenthe filmisable tocontrol the audience’semotions.
Context:
The Shining was released in 1980 and was adapted from the novel of the same name by
bestselling horror writer Stephen King. Despite the love most people have for “The shining”
movie, Stephen King thinks otherwise, his point is understandable as you can actually see it
yourself. Stephen compares the book and movie as opposites, “The book is hot, and the
movie is cold; the book ends in fire, and the movie in ice”. Stephens main reason he hates
the film is the fact that from the beginning Jack Nicolson plays the role over the top and
makes Jack Torrance look like a serial killer from the start which is different to the book as
Jack Torrance in the book has an arc where you see him trying to be good and little by little
he transforms into a crazy person. He also states that “Wendy Torrance is just presented as
a screaming dishrag” that too is also understandable but for those that haven’t read the
book will not understand why Stephen hates the film.
Stanley Kubrick turned down the directing of both The Exorcist (1973) and Exorcist 2: The
Heretic (1977), one reason as to why Kubrick might have turned these offers down is the
fact that Kubrick thinks “The whole idea of God is absurd”, this can been seen as religion as
a whole is absent from Kubrick’s films.
I believe the book and movie were created in the shadow of the chaos, both political and
social, that were taking place in America in the 60s and 70s. The 1970s was a continuation of
the 60s. In the 1970s, women, African Americans, Native Americans, gays and lesbians and
other marginalized people continued their fight for equality and many Americans joined the

7. protest against the ongoing war in Vietnam. By the end of the decade, these divisions and
disappointments had set a tone for public life that many would argue is still with us today.
Due to the fact that the myth of America’s military superiority had been unmasked and the
entire concept of the American dream had been called into question. America could be seen
as a madhouse level to The Overlook Hotel in “The Shining”.