The Shining: BFI Film Classics

by Roger Luckhurst, David Blair (Narrator)

Stanley Kubrick hailed The Shining as 'the scariest horror film of all time' before its release in 1980. Though the film opened to poor reviews, it has since become one of the most admired horror films in cinema history. Exerting an enormous influence on popular culture, The Shining has spawned a vast array of interpretations and conspiracy theories.

Roger Luckhurst's illuminating study explores the film's themes, tropes and resonances through a detailed analysis of sequences and performances. Situating The Shining in a series of fresh contexts, Luckhurst looks at the complex nature of horror cinema at the end of the 1970s and early 80s. Taking the maze of the haunted hotel as a key motif, he offers numerous threads with which to navigate the strange twists and turns of this enigmatic film.

This limited edition features original cover artwork by Mark Swan.

Audible Audio

Published December 11, 2025

About the author

Roger Luckhurst is a British writer and academic. He is Professor in Modern and Contemporary Literature in the Department of English and Humanities at Birkbeck, University of London and was Distinguished Visiting Professor at Columbia University in 2016. He works on Victorian literature, contemporary literature, Gothic and weird fiction, trauma studies, and speculative/science fiction.