When it comes to the horror genre, few films have been as iconic and chilling as Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining. Based on Stephen King’s novel of the same name, it has become one of the best horror films of all time, since its initial release in 1980.
However, long before his visionary adaptation of King’s novel graced the silver screen, his audacious and bold advertising plans in his quest to make the world’s scariest movie, almost cost him the iconic psychological horror film.
Stanley Kubrick’s Risky Pitch For Making World’s Scariest Film
After exploring several genres in the early stages of his career, Stanley Kubrick became intrigued by the idea of delving into horror with an ambition to make the ultimate spine-chilling experience for audiences, a film so terrifying it would send them fleeing from theaters in fear.
As per the book, Kubrick: An Odyssey, the filmmaker wanted to make “the world’s scariest movie, involving a series of episodes that would play upon the nightmare fears of the audience.” His vision and belief that he could achieve such a quest compelled him to suggest a bold advertising pitch.
The pitch included a money-back guarantee for anyone who could endure the entire film without succumbing to terror. Kubrick was confident that the movie would be so frightening that people would have to leave the theatre out of fear. His wife Christiane Kubrick recalled his assertions,
He decided he was going to make a horror film so scary that he would advertise it by saying, ‘You can get your money back if you can sit all the way through.’ That was the idea—that it would be so frightening, people would absolutely have to leave.
While he was still keen on making a truly horrifying horror film, he eventually acknowledged that the money-back advertising pitch was not the most effective method to draw audiences to theaters.
Christiane Kubrick shared, “Then he grew up and said that was a bad idea.” Thankfully the filmmaker abandoned the risky strategy, considering its failure could have caused hindrance to helming the iconic projects like The Shining, a masterpiece that cemented his legacy in the realm of horror cinema.
Stanley Kubrick Eventually Found the Ideal Horror Story to Adapt
While he dropped his advertisement plans, Stanley Kubrick was still keen on exploring the horror genre and continued looking for a substantial story, even attempting to buy the rights for Ira Levin’s 1967 novel Rosemary’s Baby, which was already sold to Roman Polanski.
But he did not stop his search, and his persistence paid off when he came across Stephen King’s manuscript for The Shining. King was already a popular author, and film adaptations of his books were just beginning to gain traction.
Brian De Palma’s adaptation of King’s novel Carrie in 1976 earned significant success and even became one of the most popular films of the year. John Calley sent the manuscript to Kubrick in 1976 and he was instantly captivated by it and decided to move forward with it.
The Shining is available to stream on Prime Video.
