The 1980s were a peak decade for horror. My favorite 1980s horror movie transcends the genre and has influenced it profoundly. It’s also one of the few horror movies that routinely appears on lists of the greatest movies of all time.
My favorite horror movie from the 1980s was by the best director of all time
Perhaps the most acclaimed film director of all time was Stanley Kubrick. His most famous films include 2001: A Space Odyssey, Spartacus, A Clockwork Orange, Full Metal Jacket, Lolita, and Eyes Wide Shut. Each of these films was a mainstream release that felt more like an arthouse film. These days, the Kubrick film that’s the most popular might be The Shining.
Considering it’s based on a novel by Stephen King and stars Jack Nicholson, The Shining sounds like it should be a good but conventional Hollywood movie. After all, most King adaptations are pretty straightforward. However, The Shining stands apart from most horror films by combining slasher shocks with an intriguing pop surrealism. This masterful genre fusion makes The Shining a few cuts above the rest.
King’s novel is written like every other piece of commercial fiction: it’s a decently paced sequence of build-up and pay-off. Kubrick’s film intentionally twists the original narrative, removing many of the story’s answers, leaving only uncertainty and dread. The film’s bizarre pacing and detours make it feel like a genuinely terrifying haunted house where you cannot begin to guess what’s behind each new door.
‘The Shining’ is more important than other 1980s horror films
Part of the way you can tell why The Shining aged so well is that it’s had a significant impact on recent movies. The 2010s saw the rise of a subgenre called “art-horror” or “elevated horror” that combined elements of horror and art films. The Shining was a huge influence on that movement. For that reason, The Shining is more critical to modern cinema than other 1980s horror entries like Friday the 13th or A Nightmare on Elm Street.
A lot of Internet horror draws from The Shining. Like Kubrick’s film, something like Don’t Hug Me I’m Scared or Too Many Cooks combined pop surrealism, terror, and a dose of dark humor. Kubrick’s techniques look like they will connect with Generation Z and beyond.
What went into making the world’s favorite Stanley Kubrick movie
An actor from Kubrick’s Barry Lyndon named Leon Vitali worked as the director’s assistant on The Shining. During a 2001 interview with The Digital Bits, he gave fans insight into the film’s creation. “And after Barry Lyndon, we stayed in touch,” he said. “And one day, he sent me a book called The Shining, and he asked me if I wanted to work with him on it. Which I did, or course.”
Vitali revealed what it was like to work with Kubrick. “One of the things that anyone who met Stanley — one of the things that impressed you about him — was how easy it was to work with him,” he recalled. “You know, there’s a lot of stories about how demonic he was, and how he was often temperamental. But with me, he was just so patient and willing to give me a say in the process. You know, if he was concentrating on you, Stanley could just make you feel like it was just you and him. It was almost like working with a theater director. He wanted to know what you had to say, and he really listened to you. As an actor, that’s really a wonderful thing.”
Kubrick’s approach helped him to make a masterpiece.
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