This study applies computational sentiment analysis to Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining (1980) to reveal the mathematical precision of its emotional architecture. By quantifying sentiment polarity and subjectivity patterns throughout the screenplay, we uncover evidence of deliberate emotional engineering that contributes to the film’s enduring psychological impact. Our analysis identifies several key sentiment mechanisms: Jack Torrance’s mental deterioration follows an exponential emotional decay curve rather than linear progression; archetypal narrative frameworks produce mathematically distinct emotional signatures that activate deep psychological responses; strategic escalation of subjective language systematically undermines the distinction between actual events and psychological projection; interpersonal dialogue creates quantifiable emotional contagion networks through which characters influence one another’s affective states and symbolic repetitions establish consistent emotional reference points that guide viewer psychological experience. The spatial sentiment mapping reveals how the Overlook Hotel operates as a psychological landscape where emotional intensity corresponds precisely to physical location. Results demonstrate that psychological horror achieves its power through systematic emotional patterning calibrated to archetypal structures rather than through shocking visual content alone. This research bridges computational linguistics and film theory, providing insight into how cinematic storytelling constructs emotion through mathematical calibration. The findings advance our understanding of narrative emotional design while illuminating the technical mastery underlying Kubrick’s psychological horror classic.
Balcioğlu et al. (2026) studied this question.