I have found The Shining so far to be suspenseful and scary, as Kubrick intended. There have been many elements that contribute to making this film this way. The one of the frightening scenes that stood out to me was "Thursday", even though it was very short. Beginning with Wendy and Danny playing in a blizzard, was an interesting way to shoot it, because it was mysterious and difficult to see them which acted as a foreshadow that something bad was going to happen. The music didn't just act as a backdrop of non-diegetic sound but contributed to the scene in revealing how isolated the family truly is. The music volume increases and we begin to see Jack Nicholson's stare as he watches his family play in the snow; the music makes this scene particularly scary as the camera zooms in on Jack's character representing the transformation in himself and the effect of cabin fever. The shining noise comes back which builds the suspense as it zooms that an action was going to occur that would make you jump. Although nothing actually happens, Kubrick does a good job in building suspense and fear with how it is filmed and by adding the shining sound and non-diegetic sounds.
I agree that this scene was particularly frightening. Another scene where Jack gets a look on his face like this one, is the very last shot of Jack. This is where Jack has froze to death, but has a similar scary grimace on his face. In the scene you described, Jack has not even begun to torture his family, mainly because the hotel has not overcome him yet. In the last scene, it's the opposite. Jack has lost the opportunity to get his family. He has failed, which explains why the face hold much more frustration. This is scary to me because it is almost as if he never died. Even though it would be impossible for him to recover, his eyes are still open, which to me provokes frightening thoughts.
ReplyDeleteI also agree that this scene was eerie and terrifying and you bring up good points about why it is. I think another scene of where the suspense is built up high (for really nothing in that particular moment) is when Danny is riding his big-wheel down the hallway past room 237 for the first time. Kubrick uses non-diegetic sound to create an eerie atmosphere and makes sure that Danny takes a long time when reaching for the door knob. Essentially, nothing happens because Danny didn't open the door in this scene, but the build up was frightening for me and suspenseful for the audience to watch.
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