One Buffy The Vampire Slayer Character Was Partly Inspired By The Shining
Some of the campiest WB teen soaps have taken inspiration from classic films, and "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" is no exception. The characters in this supernatural high school series rival the complexity of great cinematic figures from the films of acclaimed directors, and it's no accident — some of them were inspired by those very sources. In fact, one of Stanley Kubrick's most famous and terrifying films, "The Shining," had a big influence on one of the most formidable villains in "Buffy."
Jack Nicholson's leading performance in the 1980 psycho-thriller is not among the 12 in his career to bring him Academy Award recognition, and yet it remains one of his most celebrated. His role as the violent off-season inn-keeper of a remote haunted hotel has provided source material for a great many writers and actors alike, including Clare Kramer, who played the hell god Glorificus in "Buffy."
Glory is an all-powerful being on a war path. She has been sentenced to exile on Earth inside the human vessel of Ben, a compassionate male doctor who finds himself cleaning up after her messes. She must feed on human brains to keep her own sanity and quickly wreaks havoc on Sunnydale by leaving a trail of mentally unwell people in her wake. She grapples with the imperfect emotions that come from sharing a human body, along with her frustration at being trapped in a lesser dimension.
The hell god is driven up the wall by the unfamiliar world she is isolated in, just like Nicholson's character in Kubrick's classic film. That being the case, it makes sense that Kramer used him for inspiration when she prepared for her recurring role in season 5 of Joss Whedon's hit series.
Glorificus, the stylish hell god
Some actors might find it difficult to tap into the mindset of a character like Jack from "The Shining" or Glory from "Buffy." However, Kramer found it easy to think like Glory because she had a very singular motivation: to find the key and get back to her native hell dimension.
"Playing Glory and getting into her mindset was actually pretty easy!" the actor wrote on a Reddit thread. "She was a woman on a mission, with a singular goal in mind. She pretty much didn't care who or what got in her way — she just wanted to go home."
The very thing that makes the character so challenging to play — her viciousness, callousness, and incredible capacity for violence — was exactly what Kramer liked about the role. It's rare that an actor, whose job is to mimic human emotion, gets to play a character that is so inhuman.
"She had very little, if any, social constraints — which was really refreshing to play," she continued. "I tapped into that sense of freedom, as well as based the character a bit on Jack Nicholas' character from 'The Shinning' [sic.]."
Nicholson's influence is palpable in Kramer's performance, from her eerie smile to her bulging eyes to her determined violence. But it isn't just the actor's interpretation of the role that bears a resemblance to Jack Torrance — it's also in the writing. Crafting Glory was a collaborative effort, and regardless of whose idea it was to incorporate Jack as an influence, his presence is undeniably felt.
"[...] The beauty of the role was that nobody really knew anything about the character, so she was something I was able to create by working with the writers and the creators of the show," Kramer said in a 2003 interview, adding that she "would take what they had written and add my twist to it."
They are both tormented by extreme isolation
Glory is best remembered for her flippant one-liners (and fabulous wardrobe). She certainly isn't known for her softer side — she was apparently kicked out of her hell dimension for being too cruel. Buffy, who seems to be the strongest person on Earth, is no match for her. So what is it that gets under the skin of the universe's coolest customer? As her search for the key wears on, so too does her mental barrier against Ben's strong human conscience.
"She started feeling more as a human would," Kramer explained in a behind-the-scenes segment. "As the season went on, she developed these feelings. She couldn't really put a name to them [...] She just knew it was something going on inside her [...] She actually was taking on some of Ben's feelings."
Her condition on Earth is very unstable, and Glory can only stabilize herself by sticking her fingers into human brains, rendering them incoherent. The stylish overlord also becomes less stable during her search for the key, while her instability keeps her from seeing the answers right in front of her.
Season 5 "Buffy" staff writer Steven S. DeKnight elaborated that "part of the reason that she's insane is being forced to live in this vessel on our plane of existence has driven her mad. [...] She has very strong moments of psychosis, and she has no idea what she's looking for."
Being tormented by her remote surroundings gives her an immediate resemblance to Jack Torrance, but that's not all she shares with the ax-wielding caretaker. Certain moments of the series call attention to their characters' other similarities — especially Glory's very first moment onscreen.
Glory and Jack both bust through doors
When the hell god Glorfiicus first appears in "Buffy," she bursts through a huge set of doors. Right away, we see her immense power, her disregard for her surroundings, and her appetite for destruction. We also see her resemblance to Nicholson's character in "The Shining."
In one of the most iconic scenes in cinematic history, Jack Torrance tears through a wooden door with an axe and sticks his head through, delivering the unforgettable line — "Here's Johnny!" He is on the warpath to "correct" his wife and child, just as Glory is on a warpath to find the key. Both of the characters are volatile enough to burst through wooden doors, although Glory doesn't need an axe to do it. Here's Glory!
The entrance of the blonde-haired "Buffy" villain reminded series co-producer and writer Douglas Petrie of a totally different classic film.
"This was one of the most fun introductions of a character that I can remember in the series, or that I had anything to do with," he confessed in the season 5 behind-the-scenes featurette. "Having these giant doors smash open like 'King Kong.'"
The one thing that separates the two characters? Believe it or not, despite being the less human of the two, Glory is the lesser of two evils. As terrible as Glory's power is, it's also necessary for her survival.
"Glory has to suck brains out of people to keep herself sane," added "Buffy" writer and producer Jane Espenson. "We've seen that she gets jittery and irrational and then she'll put her fingers in someone's head and suck out their head, and they go crazy, but she can go on a little more. These are her medication."
Which character was more evil?
In the end, Glory wasn't quite as villainous as Jack. Despite her destructive tendencies, the hell god was, by all accounts, "not really a dark character," Kramer pointed out in a 2017 interview. Instead, the character was better recognized for her witty quips and killer wardrobe, much like Buffy herself.
Drawing inspiration from another actor's performance for a role is common practice. The influence is merely incorporated into the many elements that comprise the character, which includes the writing as well as the actor's emotional life, personality, and physical presence.
"Part of the beauty of creating a performance is, as an actor, you're using your body as the vessel, the conduit for the character," Kramer added. It's funny — her description of a character possessing the actor's body almost resembles her character's possession of Ben's body in "Buffy."
Nicholson's character in "The Shining" provided new dimensions to Glory and helped Kramer give one of the most unforgettable performances in a star-studded series.