All alone in a hotel for months on end, nothing but you your family and the ghosts of the family murdered there. (The Shining) is known as the greatest horror film ever and it has earned that title. This film is able to get you closer and closer to the edge of your with every second passing and keep you guessing at every turn. Terror seeps from just the title of this not only due to the horror themes but because of the direction, story telling, acting, and imagery.
A recovering drunk is trying to land a job to support his wife and five year old wife, so he gets an interview to be the caretaker of the Overlook Hotel. The ensuing months at the hotel turn out to be a little more than the family can take at this hotel. Accompanying the Jack Torrance (the recovering alcoholic) is his wife Wendy who is a typical housewife and their son Danny who happens to have special power. There are a couple other characters in the film but only that plays a role into the story, Halloran. He is the cook of the hotel who happens to share the same ability as Danny.
This movie is not only seen as the greatest horror film but as a great film among all genres. This film is absolutely brilliant it Kubrick hits on every note here. He has a very interesting way of making his films that I find odd sometimes, I like some of his films while I hate some of his others but I love this one and the direction that he took King's story. However the biggest the part of this movie that has stuck with me since first watch and is part of what made me want to be in film is Jack Nicholson's performance. The progression of his character was so perfect and made for such a nail biter. There is in a scene in this movie that made my skin crawl due to his his portrait of Jack Torrance, the "dull boy" scene. I saw this movie at a very young age it was never the scariest movie for me upon the first couple viewings but as I got older I started to appreciate the filming techniques used and the acting and the brilliant imagery.
Next to the performances in the movie my favorite part of (The Shining) is the setting. The narrow hallways and open lounging rooms feel very small. Something that I love more anything in horror films is isolation. (The Thing), (Invasion of the Body Snatchers) and even (The Exorcist) all of them create such a tight feeling of isolation. This feeling is created here ten fold with the family being in this huge hotel you wouldn't think so but the surrounding snow keeping them in and having someone in the hotel start to lose it as well as the thoughts that someone might be in the hotel with you harming your child, makes the hotel a lot smaller and smaller. Kubrick made the this place so small and awful for the characters. When the characters have nowhere to run to and nowhere to hide than the viewers feel the same way trapped and stuck and this was felt very strongly for Wendy and Danny.
There is a lot that kubrick added to this story that made it the film the that it is today. A big thing that Kubrick added that King didn't have in the book was the feeling of suspense, the feeling made by unanswered questions. He leaves so many things unknown as far as the mystery of what is going on and what is happening in the hotel. This is what makes the movie a horror film for me. It leaves so much to keep you thinking then all of the sudden another curve ball is thrown and you have to find out what is going on this time.
There is one message that stuck with me throughout this film and was solidified in the end shot is the message that you can not escape your fate. This feels very strong throughout the film as things progress, and it can be seen in some of the characters. I can not get to much into this message or any message without giving away some of the movie for those that have yet to see it.
Before I rewatched this movie the other day I read the novel, I had always wanted to read the novel to see what all the fuse that Stephen King put up about he film. After finishing it I can understand why there was a lot of stuff that was left out including some of the turmoil that Jack Torrance felt about his addiction to alcohol. So I understand why he was upset but I felt Kubrick enhanced the story to make an amazing adaptation of this film. I have seen the film countless times and I love films So naturally I draw more towards them than books but I have read and watched a lot of the greatest horror stories and have liked a lot of the books more and I do not understand how moving the story to the silver screen could mess it up that bad. Watching this movie and reading the book I get why there is a large group that is lead by King in the hate for the adaptation. With all of that being said I felt as though King was spoon feeding me every little detail that he thought of so I am and have always loved the film more that is not to say that I didn't like book I just happen to love the movie.
This is one of the greats. The shining was groundbreaking for films, not just on the horror side of it. The cinematography in this movie is some of the best I have ever scene and the way we are able to dive into a crashing mind to see what is going on is brilliant in this movie there are some thing that happen towards the end of the movie that upset some people but I loved it and I feel it adds to the feeling of the Overlook Hotel as a character. The acting in this movie was amazing and almost perfect. One flaw I had with the movie was Shelley Duvall as Wendy, she played very well when she was terrified but for the scenes when she is calm and happy I find her acting very out of place and like she has the script in her hands to deliver those lines. That is the only problem I can see in this movie though, it "Shines" on every other level for me. With only one flaw it is hard to rate this movie on a scale of one to five, so I would give Stanley Kubrick's (The Shining) a 9.5/10.
Review of The Shining
