Rocky Mountain High

Rating: Null/10 (11 May 2001)

So much diversity in opinion here. Well, I really cannot add much one way or the other. I never read the book(will and want to someday), and I enjoyed the film for what it is in itself. The compromise from bringing novel and film together is often dissatisfying for many. Sometimes I like to read the book first, and other times I like to see the film and then read the book. As far as horror films go, this film is chilling, haunting, and suspenseful. It is a Stanley Kubrick film all the way, from the opening shot of a vehicle driving on the highway in mountainous terrain to the final shot of a picture on a wall. Kubrick uses his camera to perfection in many scenes, and it's his use of the camera that makes this film stand out. It certainly isn't the acting. Both the leads are quite horrible. Jack Nicholson overacts wildly and says one-liners like he is trying to impress the boys in the bar. I found his performance to have very little credibility or depth. Shelley Duvall isn't much better as his whimpering wife. Scatman Crothers gives a nice performance and Daniel Lloyd is outstanding as the young boy with powers, however. But as I stated earlier, it is Kubrick and his arrangement of scenes and his power to almost transcend the ordinary with his lens that makes the film a classic of sorts. Too many great scenes to list. The hotel that serves as the central setting is marvelous as well.