The Shining isn't the typical horror film that puts you on the edge of your seat and has multiple things pop out at you. This horror film is more psychological in nature and focuses more on using fear inside the individual to create their own specific fear on screen. Each character has something different that they are afraid of. The viewer can at least find one of the fear's to coincide with their own personal experience. Viewers find a fear in Jack that, they too, could go crazy and do something so strange and odd as him. Or they could relate better with his wife, who fears that her family would be torn apart and reverted back to the night where her husband dislocated her son's arm. And then there is a very real fear for a child, that moving to a new place can be very scary. However, because Danny has the Shining, his fears seem to be unfolding in front of him the entire time. The viewer doesn't know for sure if he is imagining things or if he really is seeing the scary things until the other characters start to see them as well. And even when they do start seeing them, we know that it is because of the power of the Shining which is allowing them to see things that aren't really there. They have either already happened or will happen in the future.
That's why this film is so successful. It isn't because the scary music leads the viewer up to a startling shot that makes you scream, it's because of the uneasiness factor. The viewer is always unsure of what is going to happen next, which makes them build the suspense up in their own mind. It's all one big mind game with complex factors.
No comments:
Post a Comment