The Shining (1980)

Director: Stanley Kubrick

Writer: Stephen King, Stanley Kubrick, Diane Johnson

Tagline: All work and no play make Jack a dull boy...

Actors: Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Danny Lloyd, Scatman Crothers, Barry Nelson, Philip Stone, Joe Turkel

Runtime: 1h 59m

Category: Book Adaptation, Demon, Killer, Possession, Supernatural

Synopsis: Jack Torrance, his wife Wendy, and their son Danny are heading to an isolated hotel for Jack’s new job. He is to be the overseer of the hotel for the winter, during which time he is planning the completion of he book. During their stay at the hotel time goes by without a hitch, until Wendy and Danny notice that Jack is becoming more and more isolated from reality. An evil force within the hotel is slowly taking over Jack’s mind, while Danny, a medium, has been experiencing horrific scenes of the hotel’s bloody past, and their immanent future. Can Jack fight this evil force, or will Wendy and Danny have to fight the force inside him?

Review: I saw this movie a very long time ago, around 16 year. I was so scared I did not see it again until about five years ago. Even then it still scared me! This movie was very, very well done. Having never read the book (of which I’ve heard is much better than the movie) I thought that Kubrick did a splendid job on the movie. This is actually one of the few movies that still scare me to this day (along with The Exorcist (1973) and House on Haunted Hill (1999)). I hated, at first, the slow-evolving story and the lack of action for the first part of the movie. But thinking about it now…I understand the reasoning: dragging the story a bit and showing scenes of the three of them being bored, adds to the feeling of isolation. With no real, working means of communication with the outside world, apart from a phone, they are completely cut off. Even watching the movie you begin to feel alone. Plus, the fact that we know what kind of history this place holds, adds to our paranoia. Then, adding in those horrible scenes that Danny sees and the torture Jack is being put through…just keep adding it up! This movie was a total mind-bleep. I loved everything about this movie: the dead twins, the elevator of blood, THE END! The last half-hour or so was just fantastic! The gruesome scenes Wendy sees trying to find Danny, the chase scene in the maze, and the last shot of the movie…Jack Torrance…beautiful. The acting was great, the story was wonderful and the execution was spot-on. If I do say so myself…one of the scariest movies ever made!

Rating: 25. Probably one of the few 25’s you’ll see in these reviews. Simply because Kubrick, a great director, made a movie of a book by Stephen King, a great writer. You really can’t go wrong! If you haven’t seen this movie yet you are most likely wasting your time. See this movie…you will thank me later. (25of25).