The Shining(1980)
1980 · Stanley Kubrick · 144 min
Jack Torrance accepts a caretaker job at the Overlook Hotel, where he, along with his wife Wendy and their son Danny, must live isolated from the rest of the world for the winter. But they aren't prepared for the madness that lurks within.
Horror · Thriller
8.219.3k votes
TMDB score
4/5
Intensity
2/5
Gore
5/5
Stays with you
How The Shining scares
The Shining unfolds at a patient, hypnotic pace, letting silence and empty hallways do most of the work instead of jolts. The dread builds through repetition, isolation, and a growing sense that something is wrong with the people as much as the place, so you're never quite sure if the horror is coming from inside a mind or from somewhere else entirely. It's cold, unsettling, and stays with you rather than giving you a quick scare and letting go. Good for people who like their horror slow, eerie, and heavy on atmosphere rather than jump scares or gore.
On The Horror Database's 0–5 scare profile, The Shining rates psychological 5/5, visceral 2/5, gore 2/5, lingering effect 5/5, and overall intensity 4/5.
- Psychological: 5 of 5
- Visceral: 2 of 5
- Gore: 2 of 5
- Lingering: 5 of 5
- Intensity: 4 of 5
Slow burn vs Jump scares: 10 of 100 — leans Slow burn
Supernatural vs Real-world: 50 of 100 — balanced
Fun-scary vs Disturbing: 75 of 100 — leans Disturbing
Intensity over runtime
Shape only — no eventsReveal pacing shapeHide pacing shapeHidden by default — shows where the tension peaks and lets up.
A slow, quiet unease that keeps tightening bit by bit until it explodes into a frantic, nightmarish final stretch.
Intensity across the runtime, 0 to 100: 0, 1, 1, 1, 2, 2, 2, 3, 3, 4, 4, 5.
How scary is The Shining?
On The Horror Database's 0–5 intensity scale, The Shining rates 4/5 — one of the more punishing watches in the catalog, building its fear through slow-burn dread rather than shocks. The fear is mostly in your head — it unsettles far more than it assaults. Expect it to be moderately gory and genuinely disturbing. Expect it to stay with you for days.
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