The Shining Scene Analysis

In the first scene I have picked for my analysis happens towards the start of the movie. Danny is seen playing by himself in the bathroom and is talking to himself in the mirror. As this is happening, his mother, Wendy, is in the other room talking to her husband, Jack. It suggests that she is distracted and unaware of how Danny is acting at this current time. He continues to talk in the mirror. As the scene progresses, it’s as if there’s two different people, not just Danny himself. Then it cuts to random shots of twin girls and blood gushing from a door. It gives off a sense that Danny is creating it himself in his head or that it’s foreshadowing key events that will happen in the future.

At the start of the scene where we see Danny playing in the bathroom, non-diegetic music is used at this point to build up the tension within the scene. This makes the audience seem worried and slightly confused of the situation that’s happening. It gives us a better idea that Danny is very important in the future events of them film from this point in time. Non-diegetic music is used again when the random shots of what happens to be seen as the future are on screen. This gives us an unnerving feeling within ourselves as we watch it. The music during this part is the most tense during the scene, giving us the idea that it’s the most important aspect the audience need to look out for. On the other hand, the diegetic sound with in this scene is mainly build up on Wendy’s, Jack’s and Danny’s dialogue and nothing too significant.

The lighting for this scene has kept high-key throughout. Most horrors are usually low-key throughout the film with added high-key lighted areas. As this scene is towards the start, high key lighting is used to show that everything is alright at this moment in time and that the characters are safe, for now.

The colour red was a significant colour during this scene. This includes; the blood gushing out of the red doors and the red accents on Danny’s shirt. This is one of the big conventions that are used within horror films. The red is used to symbolise danger, death and blood. Another key convention that was used was the tense and unnerving music. Horror films generally use this to cause tension within the audience and the audience are more likely to get scared if the music is used to build up and intensify situations.

As I have stated before, the fact that the tense music is being used as Danny talks to his self is important. It’s a possible meaning that he is involved within something that we do not know of yet. To me, I think this scene tells us that something isn’t right in the atmosphere and the family are going to get involved in that situation. The fact that Wendy is unaware of what Danny is doing in the bathroom may suggest that she’s going to be like this with other events that are slightly more important than what’s happening now.

In the second scene I chose, Danny and his mother, Wendy, go on a casual stroll through the maze that’s within the hotel grounds. Everything seems alright and calm. However, Jack is inside ‘supposedly’ doing work alone. He walks over to a model of the maze and looks over it whilst smirking. This makes us think that he is up to something and has plans that have something to do with that maze. In the following shot, there is a bird’s eye view shot of the model maze and you can see Danny and Wendy within it. It shows that they are alone and are possibly isolated.

When Danny and Wendy are exploring the maze, non-diegetic music has been added on top. This makes the maze seem mysterious and eerie to the viewer. Mazes give off the effect of isolation and confusion, hence why the mysterious music would be effective here. A range of camera angles have been used in this scene as well. The most important one is the bird’s eye view. This is because it shows the audience the large space surrounding both Danny and Wendy. This helps to show isolation and the fact that they are alone.

Isolated areas are important in this scene. The maze expresses that quite well due to the amount of space and the feeling of getting lost within it. This is a convention of the horror genre which happens to be used in an eerie and mysterious way throughout this scene. The use of the colour red has made its appearance in this scene. Both Danny and Wendy seem to be wearing red. The red symbolises danger but also love. This represents the family bond between Danny and Wendy. This convention is the most important within this scene and the rest of movie itself.

The way the maze is viewed in this sequence is a possible meaning of isolation and confusion. Mazes are seen as a way to confuse the human mind and victory when finally reaching the centre or the opposite exit. The maze in ‘The Shining’ is very large and shows a lot of space that’s empty around them. That links in with the meaning of isolation. Another possible meaning would be the fact that Jack seems intrigued by the model maze that he is standing in front of. It’s as if he is watching Danny’s and Wendy’s every move. It also suggests that Jack is making plans for future events that have something to do with the maze. This makes the maze seem significant in the story. To me, I see this scene as sign that there is something wrong with Jack and that things are starting to get a lot stranger. As it is just the family staying at the hotel, I believe it suggests that things will definitely start to go wrong as they are alone and far from contact with anyone.