Read the book instead! *SPOILERS WITHIN*

Rating: Null/10 (2 April 2001)

I've read many Stephen King books- this was easily the scariest. The movie was a huge disappointment if you read the book first, for many reasons. First, Wendy in the book was a strong character; in fact, her near-threat of a divorce was the whole reason they went to the hotel. In the movie, she's a total wimp. Second, the kid's imaginary friend never spoke through his wiggled finger and messed up voice- I realize it's difficult to portray imaginary friends in a movie, but they could have made a better effort than that. Third, and this was the real disappointment, some of the scariest parts of the book were totally eliminated from the movie. In the book, the hedge maze was actually a topiary (a collection of hedges shaped to look like oversized animals). The topiary comes to life and chases the child around. This was the part that truly frightened me, and was completely ignored by the movie! Kubrick eliminated some of the best parts of the book and added his own, eroding the strength of the novel. To me, this film was saved only by Jack Nicholson's (as usual) riveting performance. Unless you're a diehard Nicholson fan, just read the book- you'll be much better entertained.