The movie as compared to the book

Rating: 9/10 (21 May 1999)

This is about the movie THE SHINING as it is compared to the book THE SHINING. The book was the first King novel I'd read and it was enjoyable. It had better character development than the movie. Also Jack Torrance's insanity was much more gradual in the book. That was where the movie was weak. The movie was strong where the book wasn't. That was the ending. The book's ending was very weak and fell apart where it wasn't all that scary. In the book the the hotel was frightening up until the ending. In the movie however, the end was the most frightening and it left the viewer feeling very haunted. I don't usually say this, but I thought the movie was much more preferable over the book. It's structure remained strong throughout and the scares gradually built themselves up. One of the most chilling and scary movies I have ever had the pleasure of watching. They did a wonderful job adapting the book for screen. John Alcott's straight forward cinematography never ceases to impress me.