Stark Terror. I love this film for a lot of reasons, but oh god.
Danny. Playing in the middle of the carpeted hallway. The only boy for many miles.
A ball rolls in and stops just where he is playing. He looks up to see who rolled it.
The hallway is empty. Completely empty. Just Danny. And his toys. And that ball.
And the hotel.
LOVE this. 
Cartooniverse
“Stark Terror?” It’s a heartwarming family film. What’s wrong with you?
:eek:
Amazing what a touch of editing will do, eh?
I have to confess that when I originally saw the movie on its release I was disappointed, mainly because Kubrick had changed so much from the novel, jettisoning much of the supernatural element, and omitting what I considered one of the key elements in the plot structure.
I refer to the boiler, the maintenance of which the demon that possesses Danny’s father neglects, and which proves to be its downfall. The resolution that Kubrick foists on to the plot, ie Danny’s father running around the maze until he freezes, is far less satisfactory.
Having said that, however, the movie has grown on me over the years. The magnificent intro, with the aerial shots of The Overlook and the ominous music; the manic performance of Nicholson; the feeling of claustrophobia; and ultimately the genius of Kubrick, all work to make the movie a classic.
BTW did anybody see the TV version, which had King’s imprimatur (I think he produced it)? It stuck rigidly to the novel, but paradoxically, in light of what I said above, it didn’t work for me. I think the acting let it down.
This was one of the big gaps in my movie watching, but as I am no great fan of horror it was no great surprise. My brother’s family love it and have the DVD so one time recently I watched it with them. I found it tedious, not even the tiniest frisson of terror. It all struck me as predictable and very very hammy.
I saw it, and it worked very well for me. Especially since I have stayed in the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, CO, where King was struck with the idea for the novel, and where the TV miniseries was filmed. To say I was a bit squicked would be an understatement! 
We went up again as they were filming (or they had just finished- can’t remember), and it was way creepy- the sign now read “The Overlook”, the playground stuff was still below the hotel, the lobby fit the book to a “t”… creepy.
Shortly after The Shining was released, I had a business trip to Western Mass. I had to stay in the only hotel in town. A rambling Victorian monstrosity that closely resembled the Overlook. I am fairly certain that I was the only living guest in the hotel that night. 7 waiters in the dining room and me.
Just after dinner, I got a call from home. A close friend had suddenly died and my wife wanted me to know and to call several other friends and pass the word. I made the calls, crying all the while.
Later that night, I’m lying in bed with the cold New England wind whistling outside, pondering mortality and listening to the hotel creak and moan. Let me tell you, even at the age of 50, that was one long GD creepy night!
I am so jealous!
I too prefer the miniseries version to Kubrick’s, but Kubrick’s is the one I grew up with, so to speak, so it has the nostalgia factor going for it. I watched it again a few nights ago, and as always, wondered who wouldn’t want to kill Shelley Duvall and that freaky kid? Poor Jack.
A couple of months ago I taught my eight-year-old son to go up to my wife and say (in a creaky voice) “LittlePocchacco’s not here, Mrs. Pochacco,” while doing that finger-bendy thing.
Hee, hee … .
I didn’t much like the kid, and I hated, positively hated the ending.
Other than that, it was Ok I guess.
Our family does the finger thing and screams “Redrum! Redrum!” any time one of us annoys the other. It’s pure mental illness, but hey…that’s us.
Come play with us, ** Cartooniverse ** , foreveh and eveh…
We do that when we play “Cranium” and get a Word Worm question
[crooking finger]Wordworm! Wordworm![/crooking finger]
Argh. Those twins really get to me. :eek:
Easy to get to from Boulder, CO, or even from Denver. Drive up, do some window shopping and eat, spend the night and go back down the mountain the next day. They even have a pretty cool ren faire in Estes Park every year!
The hotel isn’t cheap, but even if you don’t spend the night you could still grab a meal- the kitchen is outstanding.
Another CO hotel with a King connection- The Boulderado in Boulder. Figures prominently in several books. It’s hella expensive, though.
Ah, but has anybody seen The Shining in Bun-O-Vision?
Unless events of the last ten minutes undo my plans ( talk about bizarre timing !! ), I will BE IN Boulder in September. I gotta get me up there. WITH my Steadicam.
Heeeee. That’s actually a bitchin’ idea. I wonder, is there a Maze ?
No maze, I’m pretty sure.
My parents live in Estes Park, home of the Stanley. It’s a lot less creepy when you see that it’s sitting in the middle of a cute little mountain resort town. It doesn’t seem terribly isolated, though at certain times of year you’re likely to find elk in the yard. The Kubrick film definitely trumps it in creepiness factor with that place they used in Oregon (IIRC).
Still, the Stanley is a nice stop if you’re going to be in the area, and especially if you’ve seen the mini-series. I think the Stanley has a “ghost tour” or something like that. Probably a tourist trap, but might be worth while.
Hmm. Usually the blood gets off at the second floor.
As well as Highland Games every September.
Just go have a drink up in the Mezzanine and soak up the atmosphere.
The rooms are, IMHO, not really worth it.