The Shining's Shelley Duvall is returning to acting for first time in 20 years
Topics: Film and TV, Horror
Gregory Robinson
Featured Image Credit: Scott Hansen @digitalthunderdome/Instagram/Warner Bros
Topics: Film and TV, Horror
The Shining star Shelley Duvall is returning to the big screen after two decades in a brand new horror film.
As people watch The Shining again this Halloween, audiences will be reminded of Duvall’s terrific performance in the Stanley Kubrick-directed horror classic.
Duvall played protagonist Wendy Torrance in the 1980 film. Her performance was initially met with a negative reception.
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She earned a Golden Raspberry nomination, however she has gone on received widespread acclaim for the role. Duvall’s nomination was officially rescinded in March 2022.
Duvall will now star in an indie horror-thriller The Forest Hills which is written and directed by Scott Goldberg.
The film follows a man who is tormented by scary visions after experiencing a head injury during a camping trip in the Catskill Mountains, Deadline reports.
The iconic actress, who is best known for playing eccentric characters, will play the mother of the ‘mentally and emotionally disturbed’ character Rico, who will be portrayed by Chiko Mendez.
The cast also includes Terminator 2 star Edward Furlong and Dee Wallace. Scott Hansen serves as producer with Dreznick Goldberg Productions and digital Thunderdome Studios.
“Shelley contributed to The Shining being an absolute masterpiece by giving her all, and performing in a way that really showcased the fear and horror of a mother in isolation,” director Goldberg told Deadline.
The Texas-born actress, 73, also had roles in the cult Robert Altman film Nashville, Woody Allen’s romantic comedy Annie Hall and the folklore anthology series Tall Tales & Legends for which she earned a Primetime Emmy Award nomination in 1988.
Duvall also won the Cannes Film Festival Best Actress honour for the drama 3 Women and a Peabody Award for the series Faerie Tale Theatre.
She announced her retirement in 2002 after starring in the comedy Manna from Heaven.
She kept out of the public eye following her retirement however her health issues have earned significant coverage.
In 2016, Duvall appeared on an episode of Dr. Phil where she revealed she had been suffering from mental illness.
The interview was criticised by viewers - including Stanley Kubrick's daughter Vivian who said the show was 'showboating the visibly ill'.
Duvall later reflected on the interview in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter.
“I found out the kind of person he is the hard way,” Duvall told the publication. “My mother didn’t like him, either. A lot of people, like Dan, said, ‘You shouldn’t have done that, Shelley'.”
A spokesperson for Dr. Phil said the show tried to arrange inpatient treatment for Duvall but she declined.
“After many months of follow-up, in collaboration with her mother, she ultimately refused assistance,” they said. “We were of course very disappointed, but those offers for help remain open today.”
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