10 Times Less Was Definitely More In Movies

One common criticism of modern-day horror movies is that, once everything about the supernatural threat is revealed to the audience, it can never be as scary as it once was.

That’s why Stanley Kubrick’s horror masterpiece, based on the Stephen King novel, keeps its chilling potency no matter how many times you re-watch it. Because we never find out exactly what’s going on at the Overlook Hotel.

While the original book offers some backstory for the ghosts haunting the hotel, the film adaptation chooses to cut it all out. This makes the Overlook more unpredictable in the ways it chooses to torment the Torrance family and adds a greater sense of menace to the proceedings.

The Shining’s almost zero jump scares also serve to keep the audience on edge without having to actually show very much at all. While other movies may need ghouls suddenly leaping out at you to keep viewers engaged, all the Shining needs to do is have a little boy ride around on his tricycle through a deserted kitchen.

Truly the stuff of nightmares.