Review: The Shining

Year: 1980
Genre: Horror
Stars: Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Danny Lloyd & Scatman Crothers
Director: Stanley Kubrick
Overview: Jack Torrence (Nicholson) is a down and out writer in need of some alone time to work. Hired on as a caretaker, Jack brings his family along(Duvall and Lloyd) to a secluded hotel during its off-season months. But an evil presence lurks in the empty hallways of their Rocky Mountain resort that soon consumes Jack and threatens the lives of his family.

Writing: Based on the famed Stephen King novel, the author criticized the movie and its director for removing too many of the supernatural elements. But this movie isn't about ghosts, its about madness. By changing the source of the horror, Stanley Kubrick is allowed the freedom to really dig deep to unsettle the audience. Aside from the son's psychic abilities and a deus ex machina moment in the pantry, you're never really quite sure if the evil presence is real or in Jack's twisted head. In either case the the writing is solid.

Directing: Though I like a good Stephen King novel as much as anyone, his books are fairly predictable and though claims to that effect can be pinned on this film, Kubrick manages to really get the heart pounding with his psychological predilections and fancy camerawork. Kubrick manages to craft a unique work that is often imitated but never executed quite as well. Somewhere in the midst of the director's insanity, he even makes the hotel itself a character; icy, creepy and foreboding.

Acting: Jack Nicholson's Jack Torrence has become one of the actor's most recognizable roles. Letting loose his inner-psycho proves not just fun for him but exhilarating for the audience as well. That being said however, Nicholson's penchant to overact hits a barrier when it comes to relatability. Even in his saner moments Nicholson is just begging you to hate him. Shelley Duvall's crying and screaming doesn't help the situation as her "resourcefulness" is limited to a half-assed swing of a baseball bat. The real star in this movie has to be Danny Lloyd whose psychic, borderline schizophrenic Danny ups the creep factor to a solid ten.

Bankability: Stanley Kubrick is known the world over for his perfectionist streak; the results of which are no less than a body of work nearly flawless in their artistry and notoriety. Whether that notoriety is deserved is a different matter. Though cerebral and esoteric, Kubrick films in general seem to have an isolating distance that removes the characters from most emotional resonance. Thankfully this can only help The Shining as numbing isolation becomes ugly, gangrenous and interesting to watch.

ALL-Factor: This film is scary. It maximizes the horror potential of such a small main cast and when not reveling in crimson tides of blood it still manages to creep you out.

Conclusion: Having the deliberate pacing that has become the hallmark of all Kubrick films, The Shining remains arguably the late artiste's greatest work. Imitated, referenced and quoted to the point of tedium, The Shining is one of the few films you heard so much about that doesn't disappoint.