Still one of the scariest films ever made...and a true masterpiece.

Rating: 10/10 (18 July 2019)

Across all movie genres, I think it is pretty safe to say that a majority of people will consider horror to be the black sheep. And, to a certain extent, understandably so. Throughout the years, many filmmakers have seemingly had great difficulty in recalling a basic principle: horror as a genre is first and foremost a subgenre of fantasy. Whereas grotesque and bloody images instantly get the audience to react, fantasy is an immersive genre that, when properly delivered, engenders a momentary detachment from reality, thereby keeping the audience in captivity within an atmosphere in which the oddest stories may unfold. This is the gist of horror cinema, and the films that actually manage to provide this type of experience are a rarity.
Stanley Kubrick, one of the most brilliant filmmakers of all time, has understood and mastered this fundamental principle, thereby delivering a film of unimaginable strength that is a master class in both fantasy and horror. "The Shining" is grandiose in every way. Combining a wide range of fantasy elements (ghosts, visions, madness, disappearances, apparitions, labyrinths, telepathy, etc.), Kubrick tactfully juggles with them all throughout a terrifying yet simple story, originally written by none other than Stephen King.
The film takes place in the huge Overlook Hotel, which is located in a remote corner of the United States. Every winter, while the hotel is closed, a caretaker is hired to stay in the hotel for a couple of months. Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson), a writer, ends up signing the contract. Accompanied by his wife Wendy and son Danny, he believes he has finally found the perfect opportunity to be completely isolated from the outside world to better engage in his writing. However, as Jack and his son Danny are about to discover, within the walls of the Overlook Hotel lie obscure secrets of madness and murder.
Each of Kubrick's shots is incredibly sturdy and beautiful. Kubrick was a perfectionist, as evidenced by the fact that he holds the record for the number of takes for the staircase scene in this film. Whether it is his use of steady cam, fixed or slightly moving shots, his masterful direction and use of symmetry is crucial to the terror conveyed by the film. The notion of shot/countershot in "The Shining" is used at the very best of its filmic utility. The pace is slow, which allows the horror to gradually settle in without the audience noticing. Matched with the ghostly music of Wendy Carlos, Rachel Elkind, Béla Bartók, György Ligeti and Krzysztof Penderecki, the terrifying atmosphere of the hotel will subtly invade your mind and emotions in a way only a very few films achieve to do so. Forget the jump scares, as "The Shining" is a truly visceral and sensory experience where anticipation takes on a whole different meaning via cinematic and musical prowess rather than via gruesome images and loud crescendos.
The film stars Jack Nicholson, who is at the absolute top of his game. There's a reason why Nicholson's face bursting through a hole in the door screaming "Here's Johnny!" has become an iconic moment within mainstream culture: This is an iconic role, and a legendary character that nobody would even dare imagine being played by anybody else. Hats off to Danny Lloyd for undoubtedly one of the best performances by a child actor ever captured on film. This was not an easy role to pull off. Needless to say, the rest of the cast is just as superb. I understand those who thought Shelley Duvall looked and sounded hysterical (almost to a point where she becomes annoying), but this is exactly the point, as she is the only character inside the walls of the hotel that does not have the gift of "the shining". Among other memorable performances, there is that of Philip Stone, who plays Delbert Grady, the bone-chilling spectre of the former hotel caretaker, and that of Scatman Crothers, who is also excellent. Performances and direction of actors are absolutely splendid.
Those who have read Stephen King's novel will notice significant differences with the film. Kubrick built his film from Jack's point of view rather than Danny's. Disgrace to the original? That seems to be King's opinion, as he apparently hated the movie adaptation. That being said, and no disrespect to King, I think both the paperback and the film have plenty to offer, and can be appreciated on their own.
Like all Kubrick's novel adaptations, "The Shining" also pays tribute to cinema in many regards. Especially towards the end, there are multiple on-screen references to a wide variety of horror sub-genres, many of which, throughout the years, legions of die-hard fans have been trying to decipher. I know that it is all fun and games, but in my humble opinion, if you try to decrypt "The Shining"'s ending and drag it into the realm of semantics, the whole point is missed. To me, this last bone-chilling shot is just Kubrick having fun, telling his audience that Jack's own memories, whether they be real or not, will forever be within the walls of the Overlook Hotel, and within the grasp of anybody who has the shining who'll ever step foot in that building (and just like that, I fell into the semantics trap myself). And regardless of what it actually means, I am having goosebumps as I am writing these lines and remembering that ending, so mission accomplished.
This is a film that you can watch many, many times, and still be scared. I've watched it over a hundred times, and am still scared by it. Its ability to arouse emotions and drag you into an almost hypnotic state of mind makes it absolutely unique, engendering the kind of horror that inhabits you and grows on you, as opposed to horror films filled with jump scares, where you'll know when to cover your eyes/ears upon a second viewing.
An astounding experience of image and sound combined, and an emblematic figure of fantastic/horror cinema. One of my all-time favorites without a doubt. Brilliant.