Filmmaker Notices a ‘Really Weird’ Detail About Jack Nicholson in The Shining

Any popular movie is looked into by fans for hidden details and Easter eggs, even years after release. One of the most theorized movies in this category is The Shining. The 1980 psychological horror movie has been the source of a wide range of speculations about tiny details within the movie. Among the most recent is an odd occurrence that Filippo Ulivieri, a renowned film writer and lecturer, has started a conversation about on Twitter.

A ‘Really Weird’ Instance

In his recent thread on the social media platform, Ulivieri brings attention to the one really weird instance in the movie that he could find anything about online. He is actually talking about Jack Nicholson looking right into the camera when there is nobody to look at in that direction! According to Uliveri, the only person to do this throughout the movie was Nicholson, with no other actor in the movie replicating this shot. Uliveri also specified that look is not to be confused with the subjective camera shot, wherein the actor is looking at the camera while he’s talking to another person. Analyzing this shot only adds to the mystery and horror that the actor brought to the movie with his acting.

The Director’s Take

The filmmaker has also suggested that these expressions cannot be accidental, as the behind shots of the movie show the director explicitly asking Nicholson to find a way to look down, right where the camera is. However, Nicholson’s peering into the camera, he says, is “completely different.” Analyzing them, Ulivieri says, “If this look at the camera means anything, for me, it means that *we* are not safe from Jack’s fury. He knows where we are. He may come for us next.” The Shining, adapted from the eponymous Stephen King novel, is still regarded as one of the most brilliant psychological horror movies of all time.