Well, the version of The Shining that you liked so much, was brilliant because it was a Kubrick movie. What you’re watching is Stanley Kubrick’s brilliance, not Stephen King’s story. It deviated heavily from the book, and King fans weren’t happy with it. Kubrick especially downplayed Danny’s pyschic abilities, which Halloran calls the Shining. Fans were understandably unhappy that a detail so crucial that it lent the work it’s very name is so underplayed.
Ditto for Salem’s Lot. The orginal with David Soul took so many liberties with the novel that it’s barely the same story. The remake did a much better job, especially with Barlow.