The Shinning

So far, Kubrick has gone above and beyond in making the most harmless scenes seem as if there will soon be an enormous surprise around the next corner. This is the quality that makes this film extremely frightening. Kubrick accomplishes this goal by using certain techniques that build suspense in moments of building tension.

One scene in which I see this taking place is when Dick takes Wendy and Danny down to the cellar to see where the hotel stores all of their dry goods. There are two reasons why this scene is scary and they are the music and the camera angle.

The music in this scene is very high pitched as we have heard in past scenes. This sound is screechy and it crescendos over a period of time. This indicates that Danny is "shining", and when we hear Dick's voice talk about ice cream, a question that is repeated in the next scene, we can get a sense that  Dick knows about the Shining also. This music and theme that goes along with it creates fright because it builds on the fear of the unknown. We don't know much about Danny's condition, nor do we know what's coming, indicated by the crescendo in the music. These unknowns are scary to us, and that's exactly why Kubrick uses them. They make the movie scary.

Kubrick also utilizes a low angle as they are in the cellar. When Dick and Wendy leave Danny a little behind them as they talk, the camera goes down to the level of Danny's eyes. This gives the feeling that Danny is inferior, which brings along a feeling that he is scared.

This is just one example of a scene where Kubrick does an awesome job at making the audience scared of nothing.

What makes a movie scary to you?