It’s not often that classic horror films are discussed this early in the year (Halloween is five months away!), but this weekend’s release of Room 237, a documentary that explores the obsessions behind and crazy theories about Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining, has pushed the 1980 movie to the forefront of cinephile conversations. Yet, for all the love that the movie has gained over the decades, it was not universally loved upon its release, and many fans of the Stephen King novel on which it was based still find it lacking, one reason being the casting of Jack Nicholson. Whereas in the book, the lead character of Jack Torrance slowly goes mad, Nicholson pretty much looks insane from scene one. And scene two. And really the entire movie. Take a look:
