10 Films To Watch If You Like The Shining

The Shining is Stanley Kubrick’s masterpiece. An incredible horror film full of some of the most impressive visuals in film, the tensest sequences ever recorded and arguably the greatest acting performance ever delivered. It’s also Stephen King’s masterpiece, with a brilliant story and characters combining into a mysterious work of art, even if he hates the original film.

Since 1980, directors and writers have attempted to match the quality and total mastery over horror that Kubrick achieved and it has basically never been matched. However, there are a lot of films that fans of The Shining would probably resonate with hugely. Here are ten.

10 Doctor Sleep

As Stephen King hated the film adaptation of The Shining and the rest of the world thought it was one of the greatest films ever made, Mike Flanagan had a major task in creating Doctor Sleep. He had King’s sequel novel to adapt, but also a major blockbuster to create a loving, accurate sequel to. Despite this film being about as opposite in tone and scale to The Shining as possible, it was surprisingly exceptional. The return to the Overlook was an emotional experience. Watch if you like: Danny from The Shining.

9 The Exorcist

While The Shining has some moments of tense terror, it isn’t an unwatchably scary film. At times, that’s exactly what The Exorcist is. Upon its release, audiences were known to pass out from pure fear. Despite approaching horror from a different angle entirely, the two films share the accolades of being two of the most critically acclaimed horror films ever. Watch if you like: award-winning horror.

8 A Clockwork Orange

Another of Stanley Kubrick’s masterpieces and a film that many would claim has an even more terrifying premise than The Shining itself: unnecessary, random acts of violence with no apparent root-cause. The twisted faces of his characters and the unnerving angles of his shooting combine to create a truly unsettling, yet incredibly interesting, work of cinema. Watch if you like: Kubrick.

7 The Machinist

If it’s a descent into madness you’re looking for, then The Machinist will do you nicely. Christian Bale is known for diving deep into his characters, and this film was no different. He lost 62 pounds to film the role.

The insomniac character at the heart of the story begins much like Jack Torrance: normal but with something going on. By the end of the film, the limits of his sanity are explored. Watch if you like: films about descents into madness.

6 One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest

Both The Shining and One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest share a major element: Jack Nicholson playing an insane character. The big difference is that his character in One Flew is (so we are supposed to assume) pretending to be insane. Aside from that, the films couldn’t be more different in terms of storyline and characters. It is the performance from Jack Nicholson, however, that will unite fans. Both films demonstrate a man at the height of his talents are one of the finest actors of all time. Watch if you like: Jack Nicholson.

5 Misery

Another Stephen King adaptation of a terrifying story, this time from Rob Reiner. Misery stars Kathy Bates and James Caan and tells the story of a writer being held captive by a fan of their work. The slow-burn style which builds up to a brief but brutal act of graphic violence connects the two works, while King’s general story writing style is consistently tense. Watch if you like: Stephen King and slow-burning tension.

4 2001: A Space Odyssey

The final Stanley Kubrick film on this list is his masterpiece, 2001: A Space Odyssey. Released many years before The Shining was even thought of, the film was so visually impressive that people believed its props were used to fake the moon landings. Despite being released in 1968, the film holds up basically just as well today as it did back then and has retained legions of fans. Watch if you like: Kubrick.

3 Ready Player One

If you haven’t already seen Ready Player One, then hear me out. There is a connection. Of course, Spielberg’s huge-budget, grand vision of a video game-oriented, sci-fi future is difficult to compare.

But towards the end of the film, we are transported into the Overlook Hotel. For quite a long time, we get to wander the completely accurate and wonderfully convincing walls of the Overlook alongside a group of animated characters. It’s bizarre and spectacular. Watch if you like: the Overlook Hotel and reference to outside franchises.

2 Get Out

Jordan Peele’s incredible Get Out owes a lot to Stanley Kubrick’s vision of The Shining. There are a few direct and very clear references to the classic film (in dialogue and visuals, for example) but both films are also driven by the knowledge that something we don’t quite understand is going on, and we don’t really get it until the concluding moments.

1 Room 237

Room 237 isn’t a feature film of fiction. It’s actually a documentary, but its connection to The Shining in all of its forms is such that we had to include it on this list. It dives into the various versions of The Shining, from the novel, to the film to Stephen King’s own attempt at a TV show. We get to uncover a lot of information about the background of Kubrick’s work.