Halloween is almost here, and you know what that means. It’s movie season. There is something special about watching horror films in October. Cinefiles such as myself can’t get enough of the genre year around, but it seems even more fitting this time of year. One of my essential picks for the season is 1980’s The Shining staring Jack Nicholson and Olive Oil herself, Shelley Duvall. That brings me to #11 on the Grizzly Bomb Countdown to Halloween, Jack Torrance and The Shining.
“Wendy? Darling? Light, of my life. I’m not gonna hurt ya.” Who here does not appreciate the sheer cinematic creepiness of Jack Nicholson in The Shining.
Stanley Kubrick really knocked that film adaptation out of the park, but let us not forget where the genius behind the Outlook Hotel came from. Stephen King published The Shining in 1977 and it quickly became his first hardback bestseller. It was then adapted to film in 1980 and has etched more than one memorable scene into our minds. I begrudgingly carry those images with me every time I stay in a hotel. Will there, or will there not be an enormous pool of blood that spills out of this elevator?
So what if we could have more? King has recently set a date for a sequel to be released to the 1977 classic. Dr. Sleep will be published on September 24th, 2013. The novel will follow an older Daniel Torrance who now uses his “Shining” to assist the elderly. Enter plot point. A gang of psychic vampires are feeding off of people’s energy, and are targeting those with “The Shining.” This kid just can’t catch a break, now can he?
Ultimately, I have three questions for Mr. King; Should he? Would he? Could he?
The first question I would like to ask is, “Was this necessary?” 35 years after the original novel, have their been screaming fans calling for more of the Torrance family? This is one of the most eerie, suspenseful stories that I have ever seen beautifully adapted to film, but I can honestly say that I left feeling fulfilled. No further part of me had even an inkling to see what else could come out of this story. Jack, the maniac, was always destined to succumb to his vices. He belonged there, and just as the final portrait shows, he has always been there. It gives me chills just thinking about it. So with a stern, “No.” I can honestly say this book did not need to be written.
The question of would he is obvious. He has! For those of us that are still curious 36 years after the original, the book will be out next September. When it comes to writing something this long after the original there are two schools of thought. King has either spent thirty plus years crafting the perfect conclusion to a story we thought was over, or he is simply reminiscing on a past muse to find something to write about. Regardless, it’s Stephen King. The book will sell.
Here is my third and final question for Mr King. Can you do it, sir? Can you write a book 35 years after the original and still keep it fresh and exciting? For this I say, “Yes.” The reason being is that good writing is good writing. I could be listening to the dumbest story, but if the person is a good story-teller, I will still be engaged. This will always be applicable to good writers. If you captivate the audience, they will keep reading those pages. The audience sometimes fails to recognize that it is not their story! It’s King’s. He can do whatever he wants with it. You are given the option to either acknowledge, or ignore. I’ll probably chose to ignore. I am more than satisfied with where The Shining has left me. Jack is still frozen with that terrifying look on his face, and Scatman Crothers still has an ax buried in him. All work and no play makes Stephen a dull boy.
The Shining is a classic movie by all accounts, and bridges the gap between horror and thriller genres allowing it to be heralded by geeks, fiends and “the thinking man” alike. It’s a movie that is extremely quotable and therefore quite often lampooned and even though it was a product of the 80’s it is still watchable and relevant today. The Shining came in at #29 on AFI’s “Top 100 Thrills” list and more importantly is #2 on The Grizzly Bomb’s list of “Top Horror Movies of the 1980’s”.
The Shining was of course based on Stephen King’s book of the same name and it seems that King has finally returned to the Torrance family with the announcement of his new book Dr. Sleep. According to Wikipedia and other online rumor millings Dr. Sleep follows a grown up Danny Torrance who is using his mental powers to help terminally ill patients move to the beyond. On his current promotional tours Stephen King has been reading the first chapter of Dr. Sleep which catches up to an 8-year old Danny Torrance. Danny and his Mom have moved to Florida where they keep in touch with fellow Overlook survivor Dick Hallorann {he doesn’t get axed in the back in the book} and, as we soon find out, the woman from room 217 haunts more than one bathroom in the world. By doing some quick math we can extrapolate that Dr. Sleep will likely be a modern tale. The Shining takes place in 1977 and Danny is four and if Dr. Sleep follows him at age forty, as rumored, that would set the tale in 2013.
In a separate reading King reveals a little more of the Dr. Sleep story this time focusing on “The Tribe” a group of vampire-like octogenarians who mask their youthful vitality and nefarious ways under the guise of America’s RV crowd.
After listening to the two chapters it seems clear that Dr. Sleep will have little similarities to The Shining except for the involvement of it’s characters. The Overlook has been destroyed so there’s no returning there, and although Jack Nicholson is old enough to play a ghost it’s wholly unlikely King will be going down that road. The title Dr. Sleep seems to reference Danny Torrance’s new vocation, but there is assuredly some other parallel to be made in what we expect is the eventual battle between Danny and his vampiric tormentors led by the woman from Room 217.
As King has not even released a date for the books debut it’s unlikely the inevitable “Shining sequel” will be headed for the big screen anytime relatively soon. Worthy or not, you know that the sequel will be made. It’s too bad that Stanley Kubrick is no longer with us to put his masterful stamp on Dr. Sleep, but based on the preliminary plot line is seems more like the kind of movie that will be helmed by the likes of James Cameron, Michael Bay or some other action junkie. If we’re lucky maybe it will fall into the hands of a Guillermo del Toro or a Peter Jackson where it can get the intellectual horror vibe it will hopefully warrant.
Grizzly Bomb 