Holy cow I couldn't disagree with you more on how vastly different they are. I've read the book a few times and seen the movie plenty. I even try to watch it again because so many think it's so great and terrifying and i can't. It is just laughably awful.
The novel is a slow-burn tragedy about alcoholism and the erosion of a family. It’s scary because it’s personal. The movie trades that deep psychological dread for cold, calculated visual tricks and is a slow burn of dread. If you don't find creepy twins or jumpy editing scary, there really isn't much left to hold onto. The movie feels like an abstract art project, whereas the book is a gut-wrenching story about a man failing to break a cycle of abuse.
The casting is just horrific. In the novel, Jack starts out a "normal," mild-mannered man whose descent into madness is shocking. Because Nicholson is famous for playing intense, slightly unhinged characters, he looked angry and crazy from the very first scene, leaving no room for a character arc. In the novel, Jack has moments of genuine love and resistance, and he ultimately experiences a moment of redemption at the end where he tries to save Danny. In the film, he is portrayed as a much more predatory, villainous figure from early on. And don't get me started on Shelly Duvall and Danny Lloyd.
But the biggest laugh WTF is the change in Hallorann. In the novel, Hallorann is a true hero where he receives Danny’s psychic "shine," drops everything to travel across the country, survives the hotel's traps, and successfully rescues both Wendy and Danny. In the movie, Hallorann’s heroic journey is treated like a joke. He arrives at the hotel only to be immediately killed by Jack with an axe.
The book is an allegory for the struggles of alcoholism and family violence. The movie is a cold, abstract and technical exercise in style that focuses more on visual symmetry and psychological detachment than the domestic tragedy King intended.
