The Shining: Review

In 1980, legendary director Stanley Kubrick made The Shining, a film based off the well known Stephen King horror novel. To this day, it still remains scary, suspenseful and incredibly enjoyable. Starring Jack Nicholson in arguably one of his best roles, The Shining revolves around the Torrance family as they are given the task of looking after the intimidating Overlook Hotel for the Winter, keeping the heaters running and making sure nothing goes wrong. Jack Torrence (Jack Nicholson), Wendy (Shelley Duvall) and Danny (Danny Lloyd) are to remain solitary for several months, which Jack is told led one of the previous caretakers to insanity, murdering his entire family with an axe before killing himself by "biting down on both barrels of a shotgun". 

The film opens with very far panning shots following a car travelling along a mountainous road. The music sets the scene perfectly, sinisterly humming along as the car slowly approaches it's destination. We are quickly introduced to Jack, the main character in the film, who is presented as a friendly, likeable family-man, quite an ironic foreshadowing of the climax, which I won't ruin for anybody unfamiliar with the plot. We learn early on however that not all is how it seems, through a conversation between Jack's son Danny and his imaginary friend "Tony". 

The strange thing about The Shining is that many people know about it or have at least heard of it, but very few have taken the time to view it, which is a huge mistake. The Shining is one of the greatest horror movies ever made, relying on tension and music to make the viewer feel uneasy rather than gore or violence. There are a few violent scenes in the movie, but they are minute in comparison to the eerie shots of empty corridors and long, unsettling zooms on specific characters. For anybody who is completely in the dark about the plot, the film does an excellent job of making you think, adding many psychological terrors and fears. 

Jack Torrence (Jack Nicholson) 

The only complaint I think that could be held against the movie is that at times, the prolonged scene-setting may feel slightly drawn out or dull, but I feel that in the end it is entirely worth it, truly placing the viewer in the Overlook Hotel, making the entire experience more terrifying. When I say terrifying, I don't mean jump-scares or spooky faces which are solely designed to unsettle you for a moment, I mean images and thoughts which will stick with you for a while after watching The Shining, the real basis of an excellent horror movie. 

Verdict

The Shining is for me, the pinnacle of horror entertainment. It builds scares greater than almost any movie I have seen, keeping the viewer on edge from start to finish. With an ending that will make you think for days, outstanding acting from Jack Nicholson and an intriguing story, it really is one of my favourite films I have ever had the pleasure of seeing.      9/10 

"I said I'm not going to hurt ya'. I'm just going to bash your brains in."

On a slightly unrelated note, the Simpsons' parody titled "The Shinning" is a surprisingly accurate depiction of the movie, with many of the key plot points shown in a slightly less terrifying manner. It's spooky how spot-on they got the character of Homer, being a lovable family man himself, to Jack in the movie.