With over 50 years of books out in the world, Stephen King‘s work has been brought to life on the big screen, as seasons of TV shows, animated specials, and even on the stage. Decades of horror have come from the mind of one creator and, with it, countless adaptations and sequels, including some of the best horror films ever made (and some stinkers we should all never talk about again). The good news for horror fans as Halloween season approaches is that the absolute best Stephen King movie has finally returned to streaming, but the bad news is that it didn’t come with its fantastic follow-up alongside it.
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The debate for the best Stephen King movie is one that continues in horror circles, with the likes of Brian De Palma’s Carrie, Andy Muschietti’s IT, Rob Reiner’s Misery, and Frank Darabont’s The Shawshank Redemption all in contention for the title. There’s a clear winner, though, and it’s Stanley Kubrick‘s 1980 masterpiece, The Shining. After departing from streaming for a brief window, as of October 1st, the iconic horror movie is now streaming once again on HBO Max.
Why The Shining Is Still the Best Stephen King Movie
Though King’s own dissatisfaction with the 1980 movie is well publicized in the decades since its release, and the film itself was poorly received upon release, there’s no denying that Kubrick’s take on The Shining has stayed relevant and influential.
At the center of The Shining‘s success are the performances, including Jack Nicholson’s manic take on Jack Torrance, Shelley Duvall’s proverbially startled Wendy, Danny Lloyd’s laconic Danny, and Scatman Crothers’ heroic and hilarious Dick Hallorann. All four of these characters make the film’s supernatural uncertainty believable, but are all so distinct from each other that they all bring a specific flavor that creates an unbeatable combination
There’s another quality that has kept The Shining as a horror mainstay all these years and it’s something that Kubrick himself was a master of: patience. The Shining takes its time not only in setting up everything around it but in letting its scares build up, creating an air of anticipation that eventually explodes in its climax. Modern horror movies are still chasing not only the world-building of The Shining movie but also its ability to create terrifying images.
The Shining Isn’t Alone on HBO Max, But the Sequel Is Missing
For Stephen King fans, HBO Max may be the best streaming service to be subscribed to in October. Not only does it have The Shining, but the Kubrick film is flanked by other major titles, including the 2017 IT adaptation, plus 2019’s IT: Chapter 2 (and the upcoming IT: Welcome to Derry prequel series), but also the original 1990 IT mini-series. HBO Max also has the 2024 adaptation of ‘Salem’s Lot, Rob Reiner’s Misery, and the HBO original TV series, The Outsider. Even that’s not the end, as HBO Max also has the original Children of the Corn, Firestarter, and Christine.
What HBO Max doesn’t have, though, is 2019’s Doctor Sleep, the feature film sequel to The Shining that married not only King’s 2013 book sequel but also the aesthetics of the Kubrick movie. It’s a project that shouldn’t have worked, but in reality, that challenge is something filmmaker Mike Flanagan has conquered more than once. Doctor Sleep is able to not only capture the mood and feeling of The Shining, but modernize it in a way that never cheapens what happened in the Kubrick movie. Furthermore, the film also gives King fans reunions they never thought they would get, and an ending decades in the making.
As of this writing, anyone who wants to stream Doctor Sleep at no added cost will need to have a Hulu subscription. With both The Shining and Doctor Sleep hailing from Warner Bros. however, the two movies may live on the same streaming service soon, but right now they’re as distant as their release dates.
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Image courtesy of Focus Features.
