It's no secret Stephen King hated Stanley Kubrick's adaption of The Shining, but while some aspects of the film worked, one of King's biggest critiques is valid. King wasn't pleased when Kubrick created the movie adaptation, in part because it erased a good chunk of his story's message to create what King appears to have perceived as an abstract, empty film that prioritized eerie images over a thorough plot. However, despite the author's criticisms of the book adaptation, The Shining became an iconic horror film. From the ghost twins in the hallways of the Overlook Hotel to Jack Nicholson's "Here's Johnny," the film has many memorable moments.
Unfortunately, these didn't go over well with King. He felt his story, which showcased the hardships of addiction and a family fighting to stay together, was lost in Kubrick's many creative risks. The horror novelist felt Nicholson's character was unhinged from the start, whereas the Jack Torrence he wrote about had a more slow progression as the story went on. By the point of ending, one of King's biggest critiques of Kubrick's film was what he did with Jack's wife, Wendy. King felt Wendy was a shell of the character he had created, and his Wendy critique might be the most justifiable of all.
Stephen King Was Right About Wendy In The Shining
In a BBC interview, King said Duvall's character was "one of the most misogynistic characters ever put on film." King also suggested that Kubrick's version of Wendy lacked substance and depth and spent most of the film running around screaming. This holds weight, as the character was incredibly fearful of her husband, and while King's version of Wendy was too, the movie version of Wendy acts more on her fear throughout the proceedings of the adaptation.
The movie takes away much of Wendy's other qualities, and created a character who is provided less depth outside of her consistent and all-consuming fear. This isn't to say fear isn't a logical reaction to the events in The Shining, because the horror inherently showcases a nightmarish scenario. However, there was a better way for Kubrick to showcase fear in Wendy without her coming across as having a lack of substance outside of this.
How Was Wendy Different In The Shining Book?
King's version of Wendy was drastically different than The Shining movie and its own version of the character. Wendy was tenacious and self-sufficient, which King showcased in his 1997 mini-series adaption. She was able to sit down with her husband and discuss her concerns with his behavior, whereas Kubrick's version always seemed to quiver in Jack's presence. King's Wendy has a strong presence and displays intelligence when fighting off her husband, demonstrating a three-dimensional figure.
While Wendy was better off leaving her abusive husband, King ired how dedicated she was to making her marriage work, and Kubrick left this out of his character, along with much of Wendy's backstory with her resentment toward her mother. These aspects were crucial in allowing audiences to fully understand the character and her arc in the story. Ultimately, the movie Wendy has many differences to the book iteration, and The Shining author's criticisms are not without their weight when it comes to her.
Source: BBC