100+ Movies like The Shining
Marrowbone
Both "The Shining" and "Marrowbone" involve a family isolated in a remote, haunted location where the father figure descends into madness and violence, threatening the lives of his wife and children. In both films, the young son has a supernatural ability to perceive the sinister forces at work. The father's mental breakdown is fueled by past trauma and the malevolent influence of the haunted setting. The mother must protect her children from the father's murderous rage. Ultimately, the mother and children escape the haunted location, leaving the father to face a grim fate. The films explore themes of domestic violence, the fragility of the family unit, and the psychological toll of isolation and supernatural forces.
Doctor Sleep
Doctor Sleep is a direct sequel to The Shining, continuing the story of Danny Torrance who possesses the "shining" psychic ability. Like The Shining, it explores the supernatural and the horrors that come with Danny's powers. The Overlook Hotel plays a central role, with Danny returning there and confronting the ghosts and evil forces that tormented his family. Both movies feature psychic vampires who feed on those with the shining, paralleling the haunting presence in the Overlook. Danny must use his abilities to protect a young girl with immense shining powers, similar to how his father Jack descended into madness from the hotel's influence. The climax takes place at the Overlook, with Danny battling the psychic vampires and the hotel's malevolent ghosts, mirroring Jack's struggle against the hotel's sinister forces. Ultimately, Danny embraces his shining to defeat the evil, finding redemption that eluded his father.
House
Both "The Shining" and "House" involve a family or couple staying at an isolated, haunted location - a hotel in "The Shining" and an inn in "House". In both films, the location has a dark, sinister history involving past deaths and supernatural forces. The protagonists experience disturbing visions and hallucinations, often related to their own traumatic pasts. A malevolent entity or force, represented by the ghostly figures in "The Shining" and the Tin Man in "House", torments and threatens the protagonists. The isolation and supernatural occurrences drive the protagonists to the brink of madness and violence, putting their relationships and lives at risk. Both films explore themes of the fragility of the human psyche, the power of the past to haunt the present, and the struggle to maintain one's grip on reality in the face of overwhelming supernatural forces.
The Boy
Both "The Boy" and "The Shining" feature a young boy with a disturbing connection to the supernatural and a father struggling with alcoholism and mental instability. The isolated settings - a remote hotel in "The Shining" and a run-down motel in "The Boy" - become haunted by dark forces that prey on the fragile minds of the father figures, driving them to violence against their families. The young sons, Danny in "The Shining" and Ted in "The Boy", possess a supernatural "shining" ability that allows them to perceive the sinister forces at work. As their fathers descend into madness, the boys become targets of their fathers' rage. Both films climax with the boys narrowly escaping their homicidal fathers, leaving the fathers to meet grisly fates as punishment for their murderous intentions towards their own children.
Wrong Turn 6: Last Resort
Both "Wrong Turn 6: Last Resort" and "The Shining" involve a family staying at an isolated hotel/resort run by deranged caretakers with dark secrets. The father figure (Jack Torrance in The Shining, Danny in Wrong Turn 6) becomes corrupted and turns against his own family, influenced by the sinister forces at the hotel. There is a young son (Danny in The Shining) with psychic abilities who senses the evil presence. The hotels have a disturbing history of violence and murder that manifests through supernatural occurrences and visions. The family is trapped at the hotel and must fight for survival against the deranged caretakers and their cannibalistic relatives (the Hillicker family in Wrong Turn 6). The climax involves a chase through a maze-like setting as the family tries to escape. Ultimately, the father figure is consumed by the hotel's evil, while the mother and son manage to flee.
The Wolf of Snow Hollow
Both "The Shining" and "The Wolf of Snow Hollow" feature a central character struggling with anger and substance abuse issues, which contribute to their mental deterioration and violent outbursts. In "The Shining", Jack Torrance's alcoholism and writer's block lead him down a dark path, while in "The Wolf of Snow Hollow", John Marshall's anger management problems and drinking exacerbate his stress as he investigates a series of brutal murders. The two films also share a supernatural element, with the Overlook Hotel in "The Shining" being haunted and the killer in "The Wolf of Snow Hollow" taking on a werewolf-like form. Both stories involve the protagonists' families being threatened by these supernatural forces, with Jack pursuing his wife and son, and the killer targeting John's daughter. The climax of each film sees the central character confronting the source of the supernatural threat, with Jack freezing to death in the Overlook's hedge maze and John shooting the werewolf killer. The endings also suggest a sense of closure, with Wendy and Danny escaping the Overlook, and John helping his daughter move into college after the ordeal.
The Off Season
Both "The Shining" and "The Off Season" involve a couple moving to an isolated location, a hotel/motel, where they encounter supernatural forces and haunting presences from the past. In both films, the husband is a writer seeking solitude to work on his writing, while the wife is more grounded in reality. The haunted locations drive a wedge between the couples, with the husbands descending into madness and violence, threatening their wives and families. The supernatural forces manifest through visions, ghostly apparitions, and disturbing events that torment the characters. Ultimately, the haunted locations serve as a backdrop for the disintegration of the couples' relationships and sanity.
Hell House LLC II: The Abaddon Hotel
Both "The Shining" and "Hell House LLC II: The Abaddon Hotel" revolve around haunted hotels with dark pasts. In both films, the protagonists are lured into the hotels by unseen supernatural forces, only to become trapped and tormented by the malevolent spirits residing within. The hotels prey upon the protagonists' vulnerabilities and exploit their fears, driving them towards mental breakdowns and acts of violence. The Overlook Hotel in "The Shining" and the Abaddon Hotel share a history of disturbing events, including murders committed by past caretakers/owners. The hotels themselves seem to possess a malign intelligence, manipulating the characters and feeding off their suffering. Ghostly apparitions and visions haunt the protagonists, blurring the lines between reality and nightmare. In both films, the protagonists' mental states deteriorate as they become increasingly isolated within the haunted confines of the hotels. They experience terrifying visions, hallucinations, and encounters with the restless spirits of the hotels' victims. The hotels exploit the characters' weaknesses, such as Jack Torrance's alcoholism and violent tendencies in "The Shining," and the desire for fame and recognition in "Hell House LLC II." Ultimately, the hotels emerge as the true antagonists, luring the characters into their traps and subjecting them to horrific fates, either through physical harm or the loss of their sanity. The hotels' malevolent forces seek to claim new victims, perpetuating the cycle of suffering and ensuring their own endurance through the torment of those who dare to enter their haunted confines.
Cold Prey
"Cold Prey" parallels "The Shining" in several key ways: - Both involve a group of people becoming isolated in a remote, abandoned location (a hotel in "The Shining", a mountain lodge in "Cold Prey") during winter. - A disturbed, violent individual (Jack Torrance in "The Shining", the Mountain Man in "Cold Prey") is present at the location and begins terrorizing and killing the group. - This individual has a dark, traumatic past that fuels their murderous behavior (Jack's alcoholism and anger issues, the Mountain Man being buried alive as a child). - The protagonists (Danny and Wendy in "The Shining", Jannicke in "Cold Prey") must fight for survival against the killer while trapped in the isolated location. - Supernatural/paranormal elements are present, with the locations having a disturbing history and presence (the Overlook Hotel's ghosts in "The Shining", the Mountain Man's seemingly supernatural abilities in "Cold Prey"). - The protagonists ultimately escape the killer, but at a great cost as most of their friends/family are murdered.
Private Number
Both "The Shining" and "Private Number" center around a writer struggling with mental instability and dark impulses, which threaten to destroy his family. In both films, the protagonist experiences vivid hallucinations and a descent into madness, fueled by external stressors and inner demons. Their deteriorating mental state leads them to become violent and dangerous, putting their loved ones at risk. The supernatural elements, whether ghosts or psychological manifestations, serve as catalysts for the protagonists' unraveling and confrontation with their darkest selves. The climax involves a desperate struggle for survival as the protagonist, consumed by their psychosis, attempts to harm their family before ultimately being stopped. The stories explore themes of domestic turmoil, the fragility of the human psyche, and the consequences of repressed trauma and inner darkness.