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Yup, Stephen King Still Hates Kubrick’s ‘The Shining’
It’s been known for years and years that author Stephen King has hated Stanley Kubrick’s 1980 adaptation of his novel The Shining. Apart from the novel deviating rather drastically from the book (especially towards the end), King absolutely loathed the way Wendy was portrayed, calling it “…one of the most misogynistic characters ever put on film“. Yikes.
Well, recently Deadline posted an interview with King, which was admittedly conducted a few years prior, and he still holds back no punches when it comes to his thoughts on the movie.
King uses an interesting analogy, stating, “I think ‘The Shining’ is a beautiful film and it looks terrific and as I’ve said before, it’s like a big, beautiful Cadillac with no engine inside it.”
Having read the book a few times and seen the movie multiple times, I can understand King’s aversion to the initial adaptation. It is wildly different and it doesn’t match the character arcs that King worked over so carefully and thoughtfully. That being said, I still love Kubrick’s movie because it scares the absolute shit out of me every time I watch it.
What are your thoughts? Is King being too harsh or is he justified in his distaste?
In the grim darkness of the far future there is only war, but it was a cheerful illustrator from England who helped to define the terrifying war-torn imagery that inspired what we now know as Grimdark (a hybrid genre combining horror with sci-fi/fantasy).
Unfortunately for fans of Warhammer 40,000, Trench Crusade and countless other sources of Grimdark thrills, veteran artist John Blanche passed away this week after struggling with health issues for the past few years.
While the artist retired back in 2023, he leaves us with an enormous legacy of iconic artwork that continues to inspire gamers and storytellers around the world to this very day.
The news is especially gloomy as it was only last year that Daniel Lowman and Napoleon Dynamite himself Jon Heder released The Grim & the Dark: The Search for John Blanche, a documentary following Heder’s exploration of the Grimdark genre culminating in a heartwarming encounter with Blanche in his own home.
Below is one of my favorite pieces by Blanche, his highly influential depiction of Warhammer 40k’s God-Emperor of Mankind on his Golden Throne.
We send our deepest condolences to John Blanche’s family, friends, and fans.
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