The Shining
Stanley Kubrick, 1980
In the movie shining, color Red is significantly hired to add to the feeling of anxiety and terror the whole time. The color red is guiding the audiences to recognize that something important and maybe bloody is about to happen as it continuous to appear strongly all through the whole film. Kubrick in the Shining is manipulating the image of a hotel- as it supposed to be somewhere calm and relaxing- and implanting the feelings of horror, stress, uneasiness and dread. With no doubt, the use of color red is extensively supporting what he is aiming to achieve.
The most obvious use of red is the elevator in Danny’s visions which also as we get to closer to the end of the movie, happens once for Wendy as well. The image we see is focused on the elevator door which is red and then rush of a bloody red into the scene until it fades to black. In this vision of future, the elevator itself causes a doubt for the viewer about where exactly the bloody scene might happen. The elevator is a symbol as its moving between the floors and since they are many rooms and spaces shown through the film, showing the elevator is adding to the uncertainty about the exact place that the murder is about to happen. The color red here is symbolizing the blood and transfers a feeling of horror and anxiety which repeats several time. The Red here also warns the viewer of the horror to be followed in the movie and the threat that is hidden somewhere in the hotel.
The other dominant main use of red is in the bathroom when jack is cleaning his jacket with the help of the ghost of Delbert Grady. There is a vivid contrast in the bathroom created by red and white colors. The red here acts as a symbol of temptation. As the uneasy conversation between jack and Grady goes forward, it gets understood that Grady is tempting jack to ‘correct’ his son and wife as he himself has corrected his, which is known for the viewers that he has killed them all. The red here rather than temptation also resemble the warning for the bloody scene to be followed like the elevator scene.
In addition to the obvious red signs like the elevator or the bathroom, there are more hidden signs and uses of red during the film.
Danny is wearing a combination of red/white/blue clothing in all scenes. There is only one scene in the film which what he is wearing does not have the color red. And that’s when he is playing with his cars in the corridor and then a ball comes and he ends up by the door of the room 237. But there the key chain with the number of 237 is red! Then he goes to his parents whom are sitting on the floor after jack had his nightmare, and when Wendy rushes toward Danny, we see some red bruises on his neck. Even when he is not carrying the red signs with him, the hotel puts it on him. There is no way to escape from the red, the horror and fear, inside of the hotel for Danny.
At the scene where jack enters the empty gold room and sits at the bar, he says "God, I'd give anything for a drink. I'd give my god-damned soul for just a glass of beer”. Then Lloyd appears at the bar and he is wearing a Red suit. The red on him makes him a symbol of nothing but the devil that is appearing right when jack is ready to sell his soul. After the appearance of devil soul we are getting more signs of horror and anxiety as we are half way through the movie and getting closer to the bloody event.
There is also always a sign of red when Danny and Mr. Hallorann are having the shining. They both have the gift of having the shining and it warns them from the terrible things that are going to happen. And every time they are having those visions, the color red symbolizes the warning that the shining is trying to give. There are many more signs in the film to manipulate and support the terror and fear in the movie. The “REDRUM” is written in red. When Wendy runs with a big knife in her hand, she passes a red corridor and then sees the vision of the red elevator.
Stanley Kubrick’s talent in choosing special colors and the way he uses them, are always in support of the big picture that he wants to share with the audiences. The way that Danny sees blood in his visions, which are referring to future, and also all the red signs that are appearing in the film, is a way that the movie tries to communicate with the audiences and alerts them for the horror and anxiety that is going to be followed.