That's right, everyone's favorite scary movie is on the top of everyone's favorite horror book author's bad list.
Though King believed Kubrick made a movie with great imagery, he felt he failed to make a worthy adaptation to the novel itself. He recounted that it was the only adaptation he could "remember hating."
Things were rough from the start. Before Jack Nicholson, other critically acclaimed actors were considered to play the leading role, including Robert De Niro, Robin Williams, and Harrision Ford, who were all rejected by King. He didn't even agree with Nicholson, feeling like his role in "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" would give away his character's inevitable decent into madness.
However, over time, critics and even King himself spoke highly of "The Shining" as if they forgot their initial criticisms. It went from being "not scary enough" to being a genre-defining horror film.
King even wrote in his nonfiction novel "Danse Macabre" that Kubrick's adaptation, "contributed something of value to the horror genre." Kind words for someone who expressed so much disapproval.
