How A Korean Horror Movie Tried To Copy The Shining (& Failed) – Screen Rant

Shudder's latest Korean horror movie Lingering took influence from Stanley Kubrick's The Shining, but its efforts ultimately paled in comparison.

One of Shudder's 2020 releases, the Korean horror movieLingeringattempted to copyStanley Kubrick's iconicThe Shiningmoviein several ways, but was largely unsuccessful in its efforts. Kubrick's movie adaptation of Stephen King's novel of the same nameis often regarded as one of the best horror movies of all time. Therefore, it is often difficult for others with comparable storylines to live up to expectations.Lingeringfalls under the category of movies that have ultimately failed to successfully copyThe Shining'ssupernatural horrors.

Lingeringfollows Yoo-mi (Se-young Lee) as she ventures to a hotel with her younger sister in hopes of finding her late mother's friend. She intends on leaving her sister with this woman so she no longer has to care for her. As the movie progresses, the sinister ghosts of the hotel begin to manifest around Yoo-mi, and her mother's torment starts to resurface in the form of traumatic flashbacks. Recently, streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon, and Shudder have added a wealth of foreign horror movies to their lineup. They have been largely successful, especially the Korean zombie horror movie#Alive,which reflects the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic in the form of a viral apocalypse. Korean directors are largely celebrated in 2020 for their works that reinvent a specific sub-genre. For instance,Train To Busanand its sequel,Train To Busan 2: Peninsula,have garnered largely positive reviews for their outstanding talents in crafting a zombie story, with children playing a major role in creating an overwhelming amount of tension.

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Stanley Kubrick'sThe Shiningwasn't the first movie to introduce the concept of a haunted hotel, but it set a precedent for how powerful such a place could be in the paranormal horror sub-genre. Some directors have transformed it into a post-apocalyptic setting, such as in the movieCadaver, but it's still largely used to capture the ghosts that hide behind unsuspecting doors of those who stayed before and never left. InLingering,the director utilizes similar tropes that are deployed in Kubrick's movie, but many didn't succeed.

Lingering'shaunting was ineffective due to the fact that it relied on too many factors in order to create the ghosts. While it utilized the past as a form to manifest the hotel's spirits, similarly toThe Shining,it was far too reliant on their characters, and did not have a fluid transition from reality to the supernatural. When Yoo-mi sees her mother before arriving at the hotel, it's assumed that her spirit will follow her, but it is relatively unclear if she is the spirit wandering the halls. This is largely due to the infrequencies of her scares and the bizarre pattern of when and to whom she appears.

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How A Korean Horror Movie Tried To Copy The Shining (& Failed) - Screen Rant