10 Horror Movies That Everyone Loves Now (But Hated Before)
2. The Shining
Twenty years after Psycho got less than complimentary reviews from film journalists, another iconic psychological thriller suffered the same fate.
Much like with Psycho, we really don't need to waste much time in explaining The Shining to you. If you haven't seen it, first of all, shame on you, and second of all, you've definitely seen enough of it parodied elsewhere to recognise the key points.
Yes, we're looking at you, The Simpsons.
The Torrance family's holiday from hell is now firmly embedded in our cultural consciouses, but that's not the way some people saw it upon its release.
Reviewers claimed that the film was bloated and inconsequential, that so much of what happened across its runtime was irrelevant and had no bearing on the story. Ironically, that's what a lot of people love about this feature - how random and unconnected so much of the goings-on are.
One publication got really upset at how badly Stanley Kubrick treated the source material, saying that he had conspired to "destroy all that was so terrifying about Stephen King's bestseller."
Which publication was that, you ask?
Variety!
How is this magazine still in business?