Decades of Horror 1980s Gruesome Podcasts

The Shining (1980) — Episode 125 — Decades of Horror 1980s

“Great party, isn’t it?” The ghosts are all calling this party a big success. Congrats to Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) for pulling it off. Especially with his wife Wendy (Shelley Duvall) and son Danny (Danny Lloyd) constantly nagging him about “please don’t kill us.” Pfft. Family, am I right?  The Shining  is a pretty big example of Stephen King adaptations, one commonly derided for not being too close to the book. Did Stanley Kubrick’s lack of faithfulness stop it from being covered on the show? You’re damn right it didn’t!

Decades of Horror 1980s
Episode 125 — The Shining (1980)

Based on the massive bestseller by Stephen King,  The Shining  isn’t too faithful to its source material. While the book heavily relies on knowing the madness behind Jack Torrance, Stanley Kubrick’s film is more external. It shows the madness for what it is. Presenting the irrational haunts in a rational fashion. This dichotomy is what creates the conflicts of the Torrance family as they fall apart.  The Shining  isn’t subtle, but the scares are just as big as Nicholson’s wails of “DANNY!” Plus, Kubrick helped revolutionized the Steadicam, creating smooth movements that revolutionized what cinema could be.

To celebrate all of this, Thomas, Doc Rotten, and Christopher G. Moore attend the Overlook Hotel’s July 4th Ball in the middle of winter. Now, some people on this crew admit they weren’t huge fans of Kubrick’s vision initially. Yet, it seems like there are a few converts to  The Shining  here. There’s praise all around for Kubrick’s direction, Nicholson’s performance, and the terrifying ghosts. However, there are also some crucial questions being asked. Could Chevy Chase have made a good Jack Torrance? Does Jack have “The Shine” like Danny? Wasn’t Scatman Crothers also Hong Kong Phooey? All these and more are answered, folks!

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The Blob (1988)

 

Doc Rotten
Doc Rotten is the founder of Gruesome Magazine. He is also a film critic for Gruesome Magazine and the podcast host & producer for Horror News Radio, Monster Movie Podcast, Decades of Horror: 1970s, The American Horror Story Fan Podcast and Hannibal Fan Podcast. He is also co-host of the Dracula podcast on TV TALK and is a contributing reviewer for HorrorNews.Net and Widescreen Warrior. Doc a lifelong fan of horror films, sci-fi flicks and monster movies first discovering Universal Monsters and Planet of the Apes as a young child in the 1970's searching out every issue of Famous Monster of Filmland (and, later, Fangoria). Favorite films include Jaws, The Car, The Birds, The Tingler, Vampire Circus and The Exorcist. Still a huge fan of horror films from the 70s, Doc continues consuming horror films to this day for the site, for the podcasts and for the fun of it all.
http://www.docrotten.com