Stephen King Agrees This Hulu Show Is Giving Stanley Kubrick Vibes

Stanley Kubrick's adaptation of Stephen King's "The Shining" is widely regarded as one of the best horror movies of all time, and its influence continues to resonate with modern audiences. For proof, look no further than Hulu's "Nine Perfect Strangers" season 2, which follows various people who gather for some psychedelic therapy in the Austrian Alps. The isolated setting, coupled with the show's more mind-boggling elements, has had some viewers comparing the Nicole Kidman-starring drama to Kubrick's classic, and they have a point.

While there is a "Shining" influence throughout "Nine Perfect Strangers" season 2, the finale takes it to another level. The episode sees a crazed — and heavily tripping — man called Martin (Lucas Englander) chase Masha (Kidman) through the snow after experiencing a ghostly hallucination in a hotel. The sequence is a clear nod to the ending of "The Shining," which involves Jack Nicholson's axe-wielding Jack Torrance hunting his wife, Wendy (Shelley Duvall), through the Overlook Hotel before their final showdown in the snow. It's an iconic sequence, and King agrees with the sentiment that "Nine Perfect Strangers" pays homage to it — and not in a good way.

Responding to a user who highlighted the similarities between the scene and "The Shining" on Threads, King wrote, "That's the Kubrick version, alright," continuing his tradition of throwing shade at the horror classic. With that in mind, why does the legendary author look down on such an acclaimed adaptation of his work?

"The Shining" is one of Stephen King's most personal stories, as the Jack Torrance character was inspired by his own struggles with alcoholism and the tension it caused within his family at the time. However, the original novel sees Jack gradually descend into madness after introducing him as a loving and warm character. Meanwhile, Stanley Kubrick's film adaptation paints him as a ticking time-bomb from the get-go and relegates Wendy Torrance to the sidelines. Kubrick's changes didn't sit well with King, and he explained his issues with the movie in an interview with Paris Review:

"Too cold. No sense of emotional investment in the family whatsoever on his part. I felt that the treatment of Shelley Duvall as Wendy — I mean, talk about insulting to women. She's basically a scream machine. There's no sense of her involvement in the family dynamic at all... [Jack] is crazy. So where is the tragedy if the guy shows up for his job interview and he's already bonkers? No, I hated what Kubrick did with that."

Not only that, but King's disdain for Kubrick's take on "The Shining" led to him producing the 1997 miniseries, which is more true to the original story. Still, if the homage in "Nine Perfect Strangers" tells us anything, it's that people are still enamored with Kubrick's film, and the author is arguably in the minority when it comes to his views on the adaptation.

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