Classic Stephen King!

Rating: 9/10 (20 July 2013)

Adapted from the work of Stephen King, what we have here is a classic horror from director Stanley Kubrick that may not please those expecting a slavish adaptation but will certainly please all genre fans.
It's all about Jack Torrance (played by Jack Nicholson, in top form and providing some iconic moments), a struggling writer and struggling man who takes his wife and son with him when he gets a job care-taking at the Overlook Hotel during it's off-season. The brooding quiet, the isolation, the fact that his son keeps seeing nasty visions that don't seem to be there - all of these things upset Jack and start to wear away at his soul. This is all encouraged by the hotel itself, a place full of bad vibes, ghosts and inherent evil.
In an annoying way, The Shining is one of those movies that has already been dissected to death and while reviewing it you feel you will never have anything worthwhile to add. The cast is okay (while Nicholson is superb and Scatman Crothers does great with his small role Shelley Duvall and Danny Lloyd are alternately weak and annoying at times), the direction is masterful and the frights are, well, frightening. Often referenced and/or parodied by others there are plenty of plus points to offset the few negatives; THAT dangerous room, the "all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy" revelation, conversations at the bar, etc.
What I will say is what I have said many times before, something that has made some people disagree quite vehemently. A couple of moments aside, it's quite possible to view The Shining as a movie WITHOUT ghosts and simply as a study of descending into madness, an unflinching look at the constant machinations of evil. I am not saying that the movie has to be watched this way, and I certainly do not consciously think of it while watching the film, but I am saying that you can enjoy yet another layer from it if you do view it as such and it makes for an interesting conversation starter.
Haunted hotel or not, there's no arguing that it's simply a classic modern horror movie and should remain so for years and years to come.