The Shining: Here's Johnny

The Shining had many scenes that helped to pave the way for future horror movies. It masters the concept of suspense perfectly. First, the camera tracks with Jack always in view as he moves toward the bathroom where Wendy and Danny are hiding. It follows Jack as he limps through the hotel with his fire axe, and occasionally switches to a view inside and outside the bathroom containing Wendy. Wendy is able to get Danny out the window, but while she struggles to get out of the window herself, the viewer is almost compelled to tell her what to do. This has become a staple of horror films, when a character in the movie does something different from the smartest thing to do, and the viewer wants to correct this decision. Before Jack breaks down the bathroom door, he pleads to Wendy to let him in, alluding to the children's story of the Big Bad Wolf, who "huffs and puffs" and blows down the pigs' house. This allusion by Jack shows that he has truly lost his mind. It makes it clear that his head is not in the right place, and that he is to be feared. Another interesting part of this scene is the camera while Jack is breaking down the door. There is a camera shot of Wendy cowering in the bathroom corner with the camera view parallel to the surface of the door (as shown below). A hard focus is used to show the terrified expression on Wendy's face, but also to include the axe breaking through the bathroom door. This gives the viewer a complete picture of the scene, and combined with loud, quick music, the scene is -- to good effect -- quite scary.