The Shining: The Author’s Lament Over Kubrick’s Adaptation

Stanley Kubrick’s 1980 adaptation of The Shining stands as one of the most iconic horror films in cinematic history. However, the film’s relationship with its source material, Stephen King’s novel, is one of creative conflict and authorial disappointment. While Kubrick’s version has earned cult status, King’s dissatisfaction with the changes made to his original story reveals a deeper tension between literary and cinematic storytelling.

Here, we’ll explore some of the key differences between King’s novel and Kubrick’s film, the symbolism that has provoked years of debate, and why King ultimately created an alternative television mini-series to reclaim his vision.

King vs. Kubrick: The Creative Rift

When Stephen King first released The Shining in 1977, it quickly became one of his most celebrated works. The novel’s depiction of the slow descent into madness, the chilling isolation of the Overlook Hotel, and the supernatural elements at play made it a page-turning masterpiece. However, when Kubrick took on the task of adapting the novel for film, he took considerable liberties with the story, much to King’s frustration.

The Hedge Maze vs. The Topiary Animals

One of the most significant changes Kubrick made was to replace King’s terrifying topiary animals with a hedge maze. In the novel, the topiary creatures are a horrifying presence, brought to life by the supernatural forces within the Overlook. They move and stalk the characters in a way that adds to the creeping terror of the hotel’s malevolent power. Kubrick, however, found this difficult to translate effectively to film, opting instead for the now-famous hedge maze. The maze plays a crucial role in the film’s climax, where Jack Torrance pursues his son, Danny, through its snow-covered labyrinth, only to be outwitted and left to freeze to death.

While the maze adds an element of physical danger and tension, it lacks the overtly supernatural menace of the novel’s topiary animals. This decision marked a shift from King’s focus on the paranormal to Kubrick’s exploration of psychological horror. Kubrick’s vision leans more into the idea of Jack’s internal unravelling rather than an external, supernatural force overtaking him.

The Ambiguous Ending

Another point of divergence between the book and the film is the ending. In King’s novel, the Overlook Hotel is destroyed in a fiery explosion as the boiler overheats, a literal and symbolic destruction of the evil that has possessed Jack Torrance. This more definitive ending offers closure to the story, ensuring the reader understands the malevolent power of the hotel is vanquished.

Kubrick’s ending, however, is far more ambiguous. Jack freezes to death in the maze, and the final shot shows a photograph of Jack from 1921 hanging in the hotel, suggesting that he has somehow been absorbed into the Overlook’s eerie past. This open-ended conclusion has been the subject of much debate, with some interpreting it as a suggestion that Jack was always a part of the hotel’s dark history. Kubrick’s refusal to offer a clear resolution reflects his style of leaving space for interpretation, but it’s precisely this ambiguity that King found frustrating. He believed Kubrick's version missed the heart of the novel—Jack’s tragic humanity and ultimate redemption through sacrifice.

The Film's Symbolism: A Debate That Endures

Kubrick’s The Shining has invited numerous interpretations over the years, with some going as far as to suggest that the film serves as an allegory for the genocide of Native Americans. One of the reasons for this theory is the fact that the Overlook Hotel is said to have been built on a Native American burial ground, and it is adorned with Native American motifs and artwork. The argument goes that the horrors experienced at the hotel reflect the atrocities committed against Indigenous peoples, reinforced by the line "white man’s burden" uttered by Jack Torrance in the film.

While these interpretations are not explicitly in the novel, Kubrick’s meticulous attention to detail and history in his films fuels these kinds of analyses. The broader cultural and historical subtext within Kubrick’s work makes The Shining not only a horror film but also a piece of cinema ripe for socio-political critique.

Stephen King’s Retaliation: The 1997 Mini-Series

King’s dissatisfaction with Kubrick’s adaptation led him to develop a television mini-series in 1997, which he felt stayed truer to his original novel. Directed by Mick Garris, the mini-series emphasized the supernatural elements, restored the topiary animals, and featured an ending more in line with the novel’s conclusion. While the mini-series was generally well-received by King’s fans, it never reached the same cultural significance as Kubrick’s film. Nevertheless, it represents King’s attempt to reclaim his work and showcase the story as he originally envisioned it.

The Legacy of The Shining

Despite King’s objections, Kubrick’s The Shining continues to be revered as a masterpiece of horror cinema, with its stark departures from the novel now seen as part of its brilliance. Kubrick created a film that exists in its own right, offering a visually arresting and psychologically complex story that transcends traditional horror tropes. Still, Stephen King’s lament is understandable—his deeply personal exploration of addiction, madness, and the supernatural was reshaped into something unrecognizable to him.

Ultimately, The Shining remains a fascinating study in adaptation, showcasing how different mediums can interpret the same story in radically different ways. Kubrick’s film may not have pleased King, but it undoubtedly cemented its place in the pantheon of classic cinema, inviting discussion and analysis that endures to this day.