'The Shining (1997)' Retro Recap: 'Part 2'

Written by John Edward Betancourt

​What I always loved the most about Stephen King’s The Shining, was the sheer fact that the novel truly took its time in showing us Jack Torrance’s painful progression into madness. Every wild thought, every doubt and fear were present on the page and as I settled in to watch the next chapter of the 1997 miniseries, I was supremely curious as to how exactly King would pull this off on the small screen because the nuances that go into Jack’s downward spiral are what help make this story so iconic and powerful.
 
Because if this didn’t receive the proper care, how could one take this story seriously or not declare it as a mere clone of the Kubrick version since Jack would simply become mad without warning and thankfully, the miniseries did the book proud and broke the man down in incredible fashion, by first isolating him from anything that might have a positive influence on him. After all, his relationship with his family is strained at this point in the story, and healing past transgressions is no easy feat, and as soon as the weather changes in this chapter, the hotel goes to work on transforming Jack Torrance into its servant.
 
If anything, that’s what I really enjoyed in this episode, how the Overlook Hotel grew into a living entity, one that quietly watched the Torrance family from afar at first to understand their weaknesses before exploiting them and that’s precisely what put Jack down a dark path. And I loved how the hotel worked to build doubt in his family, so that he begins to care more about the Overlook than he does his wife and child and it was just fascinating to watch his downward spiral and see him begin to resent his family and push them away and see him hold the Overlook in such high regard and firmly believe that by giving it his full attention and care that he would somehow restore it to its former glory. 
 
If anything, the beginning of Jack’s breakdown merely served as a taste of what the Overlook Hotel is capable of, and I love the fact that this episode gave us an idea of just how powerful and dangerous it can be by way of two key elements; the first one being the Topiary Animals that came to life because that demonstrated just what kind of physical threats it can manifest on a moment’s notice, but those were grossly overshadowed by the second element, the iconic Room 217. Because this nexus of terror made for some uncomfortable viewing thanks to some top notch special effects and I love the tension that it built and the fact that this particular scene actually managed to make me jump when Danny thought he had escaped the room’s clutches.
 
Because let’s be honest, we’re watching this flick for the scares and really, this second chapter truly does take us on quite the emotional roller coaster. Because it does a fine job of making us feel as isolated as the Torrance family, and the slow build storytelling wise in this tale mounts the tension minute by minute and seeing as to how I haven’t watched this miniseries in years, and that this episode managed to get to me squirm in my seat, I’m expecting the finale to unleash a terrifying fury as everything comes to a head. Until next time.

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