Jack Torrance is the main antagonist of the famous novel called “shining”, which was released in 1977. Later the book was adapted into a horror film called “the shining”, which was released in 1980. The film is a cult classic, and even after 42 years of its release, it remains one of the best horror films ever made and a popular classic among movie lovers.
And the bone-chilling dialogues and the gripping acting of the characters make the film hard to forget. In both the book and movie, Jack Torrance is an alcoholic and abusive husband and father, he was grown up in a difficult childhood, and later in the book, we discover that his father was also abusive. After an accident, Jack tries to control his alcoholism and moves with his family to an abandoned hotel to take care of it.
He thinks that this shift in life might be useful for him and his family, but later we find that the hotel is haunted by the ghosts of people who died there, and they somehow believe that if Jack kills his son, Danny, then they can be free.
Hence, they start to influence him; Jack starts drinking again and is later driven to madness when he is hell-bent on killing his family. In both the book and movie, Jack dies in the end, but his end is rather different in both them.
1. “Wendy, I’m home.” – Jack Torrance
During the starting chase scene, when Wendy hid with her son in the bathroom, Jack said these words as he axed down the door which separated them. Jack had a complete transformation by this time and was hell-bent on killing his wife and child.
2. “Danny Torrance: Dad?
Jack Torrance: Yes?
Danny Torrance: Do you like this hotel?
Jack Torrance: Yes, I do. I love it. Don’t you?
Danny Torrance: I guess so.
Jack Torrance: Good. I want you to like it here. And I wish we could stay here forever… and ever… and ever.”
This was a small conversation between Jack and his son after they moved to the hotel. Danny was kind of a psychic and could feel their presence in the hotel; hence, he was not very sure about staying in the hotel, but on seeing that his dad liked the hotel (whom the ghosts had already started to affect), he kept his inhibitions to himself.
3. “Here’s to five miserable months on the wagon and all the irreparable harm it has caused me.” – Jack Torrance
John said these lines while staring at the alcohol in his hand. He had stopped drinking, but after coming to the hotel, he started again, and one could see the transformation on his face as he gulped down that drink. One could see that he was changing, and not in a good way.
4. “Danny, I’m coming!” – Jack Torrance
After the spirits took total control over his mind, when john was chasing Danny with an axe in his hand, he said these lines. The acting of Jack Nicholson made this scene more chilling to watch, and the viewers were fixed on their seats with anxiety as to what might happen next.
5. “Wendy, listen. Let me out of here, and I’ll forget the whole damn thing! It’ll be just like nothing ever happened. Wendy, baby, I think you hurt my head really bad. I’m dizzy; And I need a doctor. Honey, don’t leave me here.” – Jack Torrance
After Jack was hurt, he said these lines trying to win Wendy over, but she knew that her husband that she knew was long gone, and hence, she ran with her child. While Jack was hurt, he was still trying to manipulate Wendy into believing him, which just shows how crazy he became.
6. “Little pigs, little pigs, let me come in. Not by the hair of your chinny-chin-chin? Well then, I’ll huff, and I’ll puff, and I’ll blow your house in.” – Jack Torrance
Taken from the famous story of three little pigs and the big bad wolf, Jack said these lines when he was knocking on the door trying to get in, to kill his wife. In this metaphor, Jack is the big bad wolf who is trying to kill his wife and son, who are the pigs.
7. “God, I’d give anything for a drink. I’d give my goddamned soul for just a glass of beer.” – Jack Torrance
Jack was an alcoholic, and he tried to quit after the accident, but when things started to affect him again mentally, he said these lines. It just shows how mentally unstable he was and how much the spirits of the hotel were taking control of him.
8. “The hair of the dog that bit me, Lloyd.” – Jack Torrance
This line was said by Jack to Llyod, the bartender, before he turned. Llyod asked him what will he have, and hence, Jack replied this way.
9. “Come out, come out, wherever you are.” – Jack Torrance
In one of the most iconic lines of this film, Jack says this to his family while he is chasing them with an axe, trying to kill them. Although he was hurt, he followed them to a room from where Wendy was trying to escape from the window.
10. “Here’s Johnny!” – Jack Torrance
When Jack could not opens the door to the room where Wendy was, he asked through the door and stuck his face through it, saying this line. In one of the most iconic scenes of this film, one can see that Jack was now in full possession of the spirits and had changed completely.
11. “I dreamed that I, that I killed you and Danny. But I didn’t just kill ya. I cut you up in little pieces. Oh my God. I must be losing my mind.” – Jack Torrance
Just after coming to the hotel, the spirits started to mess with Jack, and he started having nightmares. One day, as he woke up sweating, Wendy confronted him about his dreams, and he told her that he dreamt about killing his family.
12. “Wendy? Darling? Light of my life. I’m not gonna hurt ya. You didn’t let me finish my sentence. I said I’m not gonna hurt ya. And I’m just going to bash your brains in! Gonna bash ’em right the fuck in!” – Jack Torrance
After his complete transformation, Jack said these lines trendy when she was terrified of him and told him to stay away from her. Jack is furious over the fact that Wendy cares more about her son than about Jack, and hence, he makes up his mind to hurt her too.
13. “Have you ever had a single moment’s thought about my responsibilities? Or Have you ever thought, for a single solitary moment, about my responsibilities to my employers? Has it ever occurred to you that I have agreed to look after the Overlook Hotel until May the first? Does it matter to you at all that the owners have placed their complete confidence and ‘trust’ in me and that I have signed a letter of agreement, a ‘contract,’ in which I have accepted that responsibility? Do you have the slightest idea what a ‘moral and ethical principal’ is? Or Do you? Has it ever occurred to you what would happen to my future if I were to fail to live up to my responsibilities? Say, Has it ever occurred to you? Has it?” – Jack Torrance
Jack said these lines to Wendy while she was holding a baseball bat in her hand, terrified of what jak might do to her. Despite all this, she wanted to talk to him, trying to reason with him, saying that she thinks that Danny is sick; that’s when Jack turns furious, saying, you care about Danny, but have you ever thought about me?
14. “Mr Grady. You were the caretaker here. I recognize ya. I saw your picture in the newspapers. You, uh, chopped your wife and daughters up into little bits. And then you blew your brains out.” – Jack Torrance
In one of the earlier scenes, when Jack was still in his right mind. He met Grady after he had an accident, and while Grady was cleaning up the mess, Jack remembered that he had seen him in the newspaper and read about him, but it was impossible, and Grady was standing in front of him.
15. “I fell in love with it right away. When I came up here from my interview, it was as though I had been here before. I mean, we all have moments of déjà vu, but this was ridiculous. It was almost as though I knew what was going to be around every corner.” – Jack Torrance
These lines were said by Jack in the starting part of the movie. When he told her wife about the hotel. The hotel was haunted. And he always wanted a way to trap Jack and his family. So that they could fulfil their motive. Hence it gave this inviting vibe to them in the starting, and they were attracted to it.
The amazing script writing, cinematography, and direction of the film are what make it one of the all-time favorites of many, but what stole the show was the acting of Jack Nicholson and the other actors, as well as the scary jump and scares in the whole movie. If you are a fan of classics, this movie is a must-watch for the Halloween season.