The Shining (1980) - Episode 131

“I feel you will have to deal with this matter in the harshest possible way, Mr. Torrance.” Our Hail to the King miniseries continues with Stanley Kubrick’s now-legendary, then-controversial 1980 adaptation of Stephen King’s 3rd novel The Shining.

Frustrated writer Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) takes his wife Wendy (Shelley Duvall) and son Danny (Danny Lloyd) to a reclusive shift as the winter caretaker of the remote Overlook Hotel, where Danny’s burgeoning gifts for telepathy are put to the test as malevolence, both internal and external, infests the rooms and hallways that the family are trapped within.

Our film picker Matt tackles another of his all-time favourites, as he takes Gali, Devlin and Patrick on a picaresque tour of how a once-terrifying, dread-soaked experience became a comfort watch of sorts. We talk the burden and bravado of creativity, the fear and fury of King, Kubrick, and their respective Jacks, and the legacy of a film overcame a muted debut to rise to the mantle of horror classic.

Head to our website for an extended introductory essay, and shop merchandise from this episode at Devlin’s webstore.

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