The Shining
While I don't think the film completely succeeds in explaining all the story elements from Stephen King's novel, Stanley Kubrick's version of The Shining is something to behold. A master visual storyteller, Kubrick brings the empty hotel to life in vivid hues as Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) takes a job as the caretaker for the Overlook Hotel during the winter months along with his wife (Shelley Duvall) and son (Danny Lloyd).
Separated from the rest of the world, Jack grows increasingly agitated and manic while struggling to write the great American novel. Notably, we see his wife Wendy perform all the maintenance on the hotel while Jack locks himself away with his writing. Let's just say, even grading on a sliding scale, Jack is not a great guy even before the hotel gets ahold of him.
How much of Jack's madness is internal and how much is brought forth from the hotel's bad juju is something the film never truly confirms, but it does state that places, like people, can have a "shine" to them that some may be more susceptible to others. And some places, like the Overlook Hotel, have darkness at the heart of them which seems to fit Jack oh so well.
Young Danny, and his imaginary friend (which comes off as one of the goofier aspects of the film) knows there is something fundamentally wrong with the hotel. Although his ability to "shine" isn't really central to the film, it is a gift that he shares with the hotel's chef (Scatman Crothers) which will help save Danny's life. How the hotel effects his father, well, that's another story. It takes his parents much longer to realize something is wrong as Jack embraces the madness his time in the hotel brings out while his wife grows fearful first of the hotel and eventually her husband who decides he would rather kill his family than ever leave.
Although it was released to mixed reviews, The Shining has become a horror classic over the years. While not scary in terms of jump scares or big frights, there's some quite unnerving about Jack's descent into madness (especially balanced against the larger-than-life hotel sets). The Overlook, both inside and out, along with the giant maze add another key character to the movie along with the various figures the family will meet haunting the place (who do far less harm than Jack). The novel's sequel, Doctor Sleep, attempts to explain a bit more of the mythology pulled from King's novels and Danny's abilities. Taken on its own, it's an interesting watch but it pales in comparison to Kubrick's original which is now available on 4K.
Watch the trailer- Title: The Shining
- IMDb: link
