The “Masterpiece” Horror Movie That Stephen King Hated Is Making a Comeback on Streaming

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Stephen King’s books are frequently adapted into films, with mixed results. Some adaptations are excellent, like the timeless The Shawshank Redemption and Stand By Me, and more recently, The Long Walk. Others, such as Firestarter and the new Salem’s Lot movie, haven’t fared so well. Then there’s The Shining – a film widely considered a masterpiece that audiences love, but Stephen King himself dislikes. Despite his feelings, The Shining is currently very popular on streaming services.

Horror fans are still enjoying spooky season with Stanley Kubrick’s classic film, The Shining, which is currently a top 6 hit on HBO Max. Released in 1980, this adaptation of Stephen King’s novel is considered by many to be Kubrick’s finest work. Jack Nicholson delivers a memorable performance as Jack Torrance, a man who takes a winter job as caretaker at the isolated Overlook Hotel. Shelley Duvall shines as his wife, Wendy, and Danny Lloyd plays their son, Danny. The film follows their terrifying experiences as the hotel’s dark history begins to unravel.

I’ve always been captivated by ‘The Shining.’ It tells the story of Jack Torrance, played brilliantly by Jack Nicholson, who takes a job as the winter caretaker at this incredibly remote hotel in Colorado, hoping it’ll give him the peace and quiet he needs to write. He brings his wife, Wendy, and their young son, Danny, but Danny has these really unsettling psychic abilities. As Jack struggles with his writer’s block and Danny’s visions get more and more frightening, Jack starts to uncover the hotel’s terrifying history, and it slowly drives him insane, turning him into a dangerous threat to his own family. It’s a truly chilling setup.

Many consider The Shining to be one of the best movies ever made. It currently has an 84% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on reviews from critics both then and now, and an even higher 93% audience score. It’s also ranked as the 66th best film of all time on IMDb, with a rating of 8.4. Even after 45 years, the movie continues to captivate viewers. One Rotten Tomatoes user called Jack Nicholson’s performance “legendary,” and another described it as “a timeless horror masterpiece” with psychological depth and stunning visuals. Interestingly, despite its popularity with fans, author Stephen King famously dislikes the film adaptation.

‘The Shining’ Is a Bad Adaptation… According to Stephen King


Warner Bros.

I honestly don’t get the hate some people have for The Shining! I learned recently that Stephen King himself isn’t a huge fan, and it’s fascinating why. Apparently, he felt the director, who was known for being tough to work with, really took away the emotional heart of the story – the tragedy of the characters. He shared this in an interview with Deadline back in 2016, and it’s a really interesting perspective.

Stephen King described the first appearance of Jack Nicholson in ‘The Shining’ as immediately establishing a character who is profoundly disturbed. He explained that while his novel portrays Jack Torrance as a man gradually losing his mind – a tragic descent – the film presents a character who is already unstable and doesn’t undergo a significant transformation. King also pointed out a key difference in the endings: in his book, the hotel is destroyed by an explosion, whereas in Kubrick’s film, it’s consumed by freezing temperatures.

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2025-11-04 15:34