Woah, how was there not a supernatural undertone throughout the rest of the movie?
(Spoilers, for those who care) What about the dead bartender who unlocks the door for Jack Nicholson? What about the "Shining" that lets Scatman Crothers know that the kid is in danger? What about all the weird visions of the past?
The ending, if you're referring to the old photograph (I think that's the last shot of the movie?) doesn't really make sense in terms of logic or cause and effect. But I think it works really well in terms of showing the hotel as this vast malevolent force (the Vast Malevolent Force being the main theme of Stephen King's writing in general) that sucks people in like a vortex-- it is so corrupting that once you are a part of it, not only will you always be a part of it, but you somehow always have been as well. I think the closing shot does a great job of showing us the completion of Jack Nicholson's transformation as a character. And without any violence or dialogue, it provides one of the movie's scaries and most memorable moments.
If you didn't pick up on supernatural elements in The Shining, what then? Did you look at it as purely a psychological thriller?
I likened the "shining" ability to ESP, and just thought that Jack Nicholson (and later Shelley Duval) was going crazy, like Russell Crowe in "A Beautiful Mind," and that those weird past visions, as well as the "ghost" "letting him out" of the storage closet, were just symptoms.
Until that epilogue with the photograph, yeah, I thought it was entirely psychological. Back to bovinecomet. I didn't yet. But I will soon. I keep meaning to check, but I keep forgetting. *bad person*
(Spoilers, for those who care)
What about the dead bartender who unlocks the door for Jack Nicholson?
What about the "Shining" that lets Scatman Crothers know that the kid is in danger?
What about all the weird visions of the past?
The ending, if you're referring to the old photograph (I think that's the last shot of the movie?) doesn't really make sense in terms of logic or cause and effect. But I think it works really well in terms of showing the hotel as this vast malevolent force (the Vast Malevolent Force being the main theme of Stephen King's writing in general) that sucks people in like a vortex-- it is so corrupting that once you are a part of it, not only will you always be a part of it, but you somehow always have been as well. I think the closing shot does a great job of showing us the completion of Jack Nicholson's transformation as a character. And without any violence or dialogue, it provides one of the movie's scaries and most memorable moments.
If you didn't pick up on supernatural elements in The Shining, what then? Did you look at it as purely a psychological thriller?
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Until that epilogue with the photograph, yeah, I thought it was entirely psychological.
Back to bovinecomet.
I didn't yet. But I will soon. I keep meaning to check, but I keep forgetting. *bad person*
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