The Shining or The Thing?

[Trotsky]

Duvall is terrible in The Shining.

The rest of her being "normal" is kinda hard to gauge since her character is so useless and annoying.


Obviously Jack owns and the kid is fine.

I agree, but I also think that's somewhat reflective of the times and frankly the genre. I mean, just look at Jamie Lee Curtis' performance in Halloween. The female lead/costar always just hilariously overacts.

 

[Bob Gray]

I agree, but I also think that's somewhat reflective of the times and frankly the genre. I mean, just look at Jamie Lee Curtis' performance in Halloween. The female lead/costar always just hilariously overacts.

A fair point, but Kubrick is far above the standard and The Shining gets put on a pedestal that makes low points like this stick out like a sore thumb.

 

[The Senator]

I'm not picking. Love both films too much to make a choice between the two. Kubrick was a true artist, and a serious contender for my favorite director of all time, but few directors can conjure the moods that Carpenter could in his prime. Nope, not making a choice here.

 

[Graves The Elder]

GOAT

 

[Urban Youth]

The Shining is an incredibly unsettling movie, while I found The Thing kinda goofy/gory.

You'd get laid after The Thing though. After The Shining you'd be watching Seinfeld or some shit to lighten the mood.

 

[Agent Mulder's Hair]

Halloween bump

 

[Chesten_Hesten]

Thinga ma Thing, all the way.

 

[Turtlejuice]

2 of the best films of the genre, hard to choose between them, but I'd give the edge to The Shining.

 

[Jimmy Jazz]

The thing, man.

 

[genecop]

Both Amazing films, its close, but The Thing edges out The Shinning...

 

[TehJesus]

He is right

The book is trash thats why kubrick pretty much threw it out while making the movie

Out of curiosity, have you read the book? Personally I think it's one of King's best.

 

[Peteyandjia]

It's like choosing between two 10's.

In other words, a typical day in the life of Petey.

Spoiler

 

[Drain Bamage]

It's a bitter cold, stormy winter night. You and your girl are snowed in and stuck in a log cabin in the middle of nowhere. Nothing but snow and ice around for miles. Your girl loves horror films and can be quiet and actually watch an entire movie closely. She has never seen either of these films and doesn't know anything about them. U can only choose 1 of these 2 films to show her. Which one do u pick?

Assuming you mean John Carpenter's The Thing from the early 80's, that's the one I'd pick.

John Carpenter was so on point in those days.

 

[Excelsior]

All about the Thing, man. Love that movie. Just recently found out a cool tidbit, though.

Spoiler

The ending has always been a tease as to whether or not one of them is infected. Apparently Carpenter got mad after being asked that question so often that he snapped and said, "Kurt Russell and Keith David staring each other down, harshly backlit. It's completely, glaringly obvious that Kurt Russell is breathing, and Keith David is not." I never picked up on that tidbit. I don't know if that quote has been verified, but that is indeed the way it goes down in the movie.

 

[Agent Mulder's Hair]

All about the Thing, man. Love that movie. Just recently found out a cool tidbit, though.

Spoiler

The ending has always been a tease as to whether or not one of them is infected. Apparently Carpenter got mad after being asked that question so often that he snapped and said, "Kurt Russell and Keith David staring each other down, harshly backlit. It's completely, glaringly obvious that Kurt Russell is breathing, and Keith David is not." I never picked up on that tidbit. I don't know if that quote has been verified, but that is indeed the way it goes down in the movie.

There's that, and a whole lot more going on at the end. Like when

Spoiler

kurt gives keith the bottle to drink out of, and chuckles oddly right when keith drinks it, kurt had just been throwing molotov cocktails just before that, so it might not have even been alcohol he handed him. There's other stuff too but i can't remember right now. One of the best endings to any movie ever, imo.

 

[moreorless87]

The Shining is an incredibly unsettling movie, while I found The Thing kinda goofy/gory

The Shining is the scarier film I'd agree, The Thing is clearly more over the top as is Carpenters style, as much an action thriller as horror.

 

[Drain Bamage]

The Shining is the scarier film I'd agree, The Thing is clearly more over the top as is Carpenters style, as much an action thriller as horror.

You don't think The Shining is over the top?

 

[blaseblah]

Went with the Thing. The Shining may have layers to it, but it failed in the one thing a horror movie is supposed to do: unsettle me. Probably because I watched it as an adult. But I watched the Thing as an adult as well and was genuinely creeped out. And it also has layers. I thought the "shining" part was kind of hokey tbh.