The Shining: RedrumOriginal Title: The Shining (1980)Faneditor: Ranger613Franchise: Fanedit Type: Special Projects
Fanedit Release Date: 1st July 2014
Fanedit Runtime: 119
Synopsis: The Shining has always been a mysterious film, with multiple conspiracy theories circulating about hidden messages within. One bizarre practice among the most zealous fans of Stanley Kubrick's horror masterpiece is to attempt to 'uncover' the deepest subconscious meaning of an already subversive film by playing it both forward and backward simultaneously, with the belief that Kubrick had designed the film itself in perfect symmetry, as he did with many of the shots. The result is best described as unsettling, hallucinatory and disturbing. While by no means was this film officially meant to be watched this way, the visual and thematic parallels of the beginning and end of the film are eerily resonant. The first scene for example has Jack telling his employers that "there's no way he's going to go insane" while we watch the shadowy reverse footage of him stalking his son through a maze, showing how structurally deep and complex the film really is. I did not invent this method of watching The Shining, but have put my own spin on it to make it a more satisfying experience.