Last Updated: October 30, 2020
Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining is regarded as one of the greatest films ever made (even if Stephen King disagrees), but the film isn't available to stream on the three major streaming platforms. Fortunately, there are other ways to watch it online. The Shining is based on Stephen King’s 1977 novel of the same name, and even though it follows the basic premise of the book, the film is very different from the source material.
The Shining follows Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) and his family after Jack takes a job as off-season caretaker of the Overlook Hotel in the Colorado Rockies. But the hotel has some secrets of its own, and when the Torrances arrive, its dangerous forces are unleashed and start messing with Jack’s already fragile sanity. The film has been analyzed for decades given Kubrick’s tendency to add a lot of symbolisms and metaphors to his films, so The Shining is one of those that are constantly revisited as Kubrick intentionally left many things unexplained.
The Shining is a must-watch for many during Halloween season, but 2020 has another reason for fans to go back to it, as it's the film's 40th anniversary. One can also now combine it with Doctor Sleep, a sequel released in 2019. The Doctor Sleep film serves as both a sequel to The Shining novel and the film, so it’s worth watching the two back to back. Unfortunately, the streaming era doesn’t seem to get along with The Shining.
The Shining Isn’t Available On Netflix, Prime, Or Hulu
Surprisingly, a film as big as The Shining is not available to stream on Netflix, Amazon Prime, or Hulu in the US, although it's on Amazon Prime in the UK. It is, however (and surprisingly), available in the US on FuboTV, a service that focuses primarily on distributing sports, news, and some network television series and movies. It can also be streamed via cable substitute service Sling TV. Of course, it’s not really worth subscribing to any service just for one title, especially if you’re not interested on everything else it has to offer (subscribing to a platform mostly dedicated to sports just to watch The Shining wouldn’t be wise), but there are other ways to watch Kubrick’s take on Jack Torrance and family online.
Where To Watch The Shining Online
Luckily, The Shining is available to rent or buy through Amazon, YouTube, Google Play, iTunes, Vudu, and more. For a reasonable price of $3.99 you can rent The Shining on any notable VOD platform, with Redbox Instant offering it slightly cheaper, at $2.99. If you choose to buy, however, the price is obviously higher. The cheapest options are Google Video, YouTube and Microsoft at $8.99, with the rest at $9.99. Still, they are all viable options to revisit The Shining in honor of its big birthday.