The Shining: Scene Two

The second scene I have chosen is that o Danny brushing his teeth and talking to tony

This scene happens towards the start of the movie where Danny is seen by himself in the bathroom, brushing his teeth and talking to the mirror. The fact that he is alone is emphasised by the cut to show Jack and Wendy conversing and shows that she may be distracted. He continues to talk in the mirror, and it soon becomes clear that Danny is in fact talking in two different voices as if there is another part of him, we learn later that this is tony, or the shining. The scene then cuts to two girls, standing holding hands quite menacingly in a corridor we are familiar with, it is one that belongs in the hotel, and we also see blood rushing from a red elevator door that also belongs to the hotel. This creates a sense of panic and confusion as we are unsure of what Danny is seeing but we also realise that both things Danny has seen must play a key role in the film and that perhaps he can see what is going to happen, it is after all a vision to show Danny why Tony does not wish to go to the hotel.

The scene mainly follows the conventions of a horror movie using eerie non-diegetic sounds to intensify the situation and create anxiety within the audience, it also uses the colour red a lot, which is seen throughout the entire film, red is dangerous, the colour of blood and symbolises fear and horror, where red is seen, something bad is most likely going to follow, the colour red is like a warning to an audience, and Kubrick uses it perfectly in this scene to demonstrate the fear that Danny is feeling and that he is trying to make us feel. However, this scene uses high key lighting which goes completely against the conventions of a horror movie, which mainly uses low-key lighting to hide certain aspects, instead Kubrick gives us a sense of safety which contrasts perfectly to Danny’s visions of the hotel that are most dangerous indeed.

The scene has non-diegetic eerie music playing throughout to build up tension within the scene, drawing our attention to the scene, showing that what Danny is doing is very important. The non-diegetic sounds become even more recognisable when Danny starts having his visions again showing they are important and warning the audience of what is to come. This music creates a very unnerving mood and the way it used highlights the visions Danny is having showing they are the most important parts of this scene, the conversation between Jack and Wendy is not particularly important at all in comparison to what Danny can see.