Horror Classic ‘The Shining’ and Its Sequel Now Streaming on Amazon Prime

It’s undeniable that Stephen King’s chilling tales have an unparalleled impact, with new adaptations of his work appearing year after year. The master of horror’s recommendations, which he often shares on X (formerly Twitter), usually hit the mark. However, it’s his disapproval of one particular film—famously based on his own work—that has intrigued fans for decades. Now, viewers can decide for themselves, as the film many consider the greatest horror movie of all time, along with its acclaimed sequel, has just landed on Amazon Prime Video.

A Masterpiece of Disputed Origins

It’s a well-known fact that King is not a fan of Stanley Kubrick’s 1980 adaptation of “The Shining.” His dissatisfaction led him to write his own TV miniseries in 1997, directed by Mick Garris, which adhered more closely to his original novel. While King’s version was faithful, it failed to achieve the iconic status of Kubrick’s cinematic masterpiece.

Despite the author’s disapproval, Kubrick’s film is widely regarded as a pinnacle of the genre. It currently tops FILMSTARTS’ ranking of the best horror films of all time and was recently named the best Stephen King adaptation by the German press—placing it even ahead of “The Shawshank Redemption.” With a critic score of 93% on Rotten Tomatoes, its power to deliver sleepless nights and nightmares remains undiminished. Now, “The Shining” is available for all subscribers to stream on Amazon Prime Video.

Also available is “Doctor Sleep,” the criminally underrated 2019 sequel. Director Mike Flanagan (“The Haunting of Hill House”) masterfully walks a tightrope, honoring both King’s source novel and Kubrick’s cinematic universe. The result is a sinister and visually stunning character study that gets under your skin, successfully bridging the gap between the two conflicting visions.

The Overlook Hotel’s Dark Legacy

In “The Shining,” aspiring writer Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) takes a job as the winter caretaker at the remote Overlook Hotel in the Colorado mountains. He moves in with his wife, Wendy (Shelley Duvall), and their young son, Danny (Danny Lloyd). What starts as an opportunity for creative solitude quickly descends into a psychological nightmare. As snowstorms cut the family off from the outside world, Jack’s sanity unravels, while Danny’s psychic abilities—the “shining”—reveal the hotel’s dark and violent secrets.

Over three decades later, “Doctor Sleep” follows a grown-up Danny Torrance (Ewan McGregor), who is still battling the trauma from his time at the Overlook. He has suppressed his “shining” abilities with alcohol, but after getting sober, he meets Abra Stone (Kyliegh Curran), a young girl with an even more powerful gift. The two are forced to unite their powers to fight the sinister Rose the Hat (Rebecca Ferguson) and her followers, “The True Knot,” who hunt children with the shining to feed on their essence.

Why Stephen King Hates Kubrick’s Adaptation

So, what exactly happens when a legendary author’s work is interpreted by one of history’s greatest filmmakers, only for the author to reject the result? King has been vocal about his criticisms since the film’s release, making his points clear as early as 1980 on the “Letterman Show.”

His primary issue is with the character of Jack Torrance. King argues that Jack Nicholson plays the character as unstable from the very first scene, which destroys the psychological arc of a good man’s gradual descent into madness. “If he’s crazy from the start,” King has stated, “then his decline isn’t believable.”

King also criticized Kubrick’s famously cold and symmetrical aesthetic, claiming the adaptation lacked the emotional depth and warmth of his book. He went so far as to say Kubrick showed a fundamental “lack of understanding of the horror genre.” Furthermore, King was bothered by the significant creative liberties Kubrick took, most notably replacing the book’s menacing topiary animals with the iconic hedge maze and completely changing the ending.

Another major point of contention for King was the portrayal of Wendy Torrance. He described Shelley Duvall’s character as “one of the most misogynistic characters ever put on film.” In his novel, Wendy is a strong, resourceful mother fighting to protect her child. In the film, she often appears helpless and hysterical, a depiction King strongly opposed.