Tension In The Shining

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How The Shining’s formal construction creates tension and horror for the film audience. In my personal opinion Stanley Kubrick's "The Shining" is one of the most atmospheric well shot, and edited horror films to come out in the 1980s. The film’s formal construction creates tension and horror for the film audience in a unique way by delivering its scares through the use of intricate shot composition, editing and consistent use of atmosphere to create a sense of constant tension, a unique tension that can only be brought on by the feeling of being trapped like a prisoner. Like many films before and after; The Shining uses the camera to create tension, scares and highlight certain behaviours that are being revealed by the camera as much as they …show more content…

What makes The Shining’s atmosphere linger so well is how creatively the writers are able to open us up to the domestic abuse, a true life horror that seems to be going on in Jacks relationship. Throughout the film as Jack goes around the hotel or has a drink at the bar we slowly see the layers of their relationship slowly peel away with subtle suggestions that there are some much deeper problems throughout their marriage. By having them move into the hotel and putting such stress on the family is what helps to further exacerbate the problems that they have had in their relationship as we learn about the the history of the family while simultaneously learning about the strange history of the hotel also. So now its not just the sad, dull and fearful atmosphere of their marriage they are fighting with, now theres the addition of the hotels unique burden of being trapped and

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