Release, Reception and Cultural Legacy

This chapter looks at the release, reception, and cultural legacy of Stanley Kubrick's The Shining (1980). When The Shining was released, it did not immediately receive the acclaim that many expected, and which it has since garnered. It was met with lukewarm reviews, disappointing many fans of the filmmaker's earlier work. As with much of Kubrick's work, however, the film has been critically reappraised over the decades since its release. The Shining is now celebrated, not only as one of the greatest horror movies ever made, but a contemporary classic in its own right. Its place in pop culture has been enshrined by endless homage and parody, and the film's influence on contemporary horror is ubiquitous. Revisiting The Shining 's release and promotion strategies, and examining the reception, reappraisal, and ultimate canonisation of the film, illustrate a number of critical reservations about the horror genre and the film's place within it—even as it continues to inspire genre audiences and filmmakers almost forty years later.