The Shining-1980

Director Stanley Kubrick

Starring Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall

Top 250 Films #21

Top 40 Horror Films #6

Scott’s Review #313

Reviewed December 31, 2015

Grade: A

The Shining is one of the great horror masterpieces of all time.

Released in 1980, and atypical of the slasher craze that was rampant at that time, the film is a psychological ghost story with frightening elements, including a musical score, long camera shots, and a haunting, grandiose hotel set in a deserted locale.

Without the brilliant direction of Stanley Kubrick, The Shining would not be the masterpiece it is, to say nothing of Nicholson and Duvall’s talents in the lead roles.

Based on the popular horror novel by Stephen King.

Nicholson plays Jack Torrance, an author and alcoholic, who takes his wife Wendy (Duvall) and son Danny to serve as caretakers at the vast Overlook hotel, for the winter in snowy Colorado.

The lavish hotel will be deserted for the season, and Jack looks forward to months of peace that will enable him to complete his novel.

Unfortunately, the hotel is haunted by spirits of the past, and the added burden of the previous caretaker going mad and chopping his family to bits with an ax.

The real success of The Shining is that the hotel itself is a character with its own nuances. The hotel is deathly quiet as the Torrances take over for the season-long hallways are featured, and the forbidden Room 237 takes on a life of its own.

Creepy images of two young girls and red blood gushing from the elevators take over. Young Danny can communicate with the chef without speaking to each other. Jack imagines a gorgeous nude woman in the bathtub, only to discover she is a shriveled old hag.

The film’s cinematography, coupled with the looming, morose musical score, goes hand in hand and, in my opinion, is the reason for the film’s success.

Throughout the film, there is a sense of dread and a forbidden presence that works beautifully.

The first scene is an aerial shot of the Torrances driving along a mountainous road as they are interviewed for the caretaker position. The vast land and mountains, as we eventually see the Overlook, immediately convey a sense of isolation, which is really what the film is about.

These exterior scenes are also gorgeous to marvel at.

The crisp, gloomy winter scenes and the endless maze of animal shrubbery come into play in the film’s final act as Jack, now completely mad, chases Danny along snowy paths that seem to lead nowhere.

The catchphrase, “Here’s Johnny!”, that is uttered from an ax-wielding Nicholson, is permanently ensconced in the relics of pop culture.

Nicholson and Duvall have such dynamic and palpable on-screen chemistry that makes the film work from a character perspective. There is something slightly off about each character, readily apparent from the outset, but it has more to do with each actor’s rather non-traditional appearance.

I can imagine no other actors in these roles.

Author Stephen King, who reportedly despised the film version of his novel, has since grown to respect the film and Kubrick’s direction a great deal.

The Shining (1980) is one of my favorite horror films and one of my favorite films of all time.