The hotel of evil

Rating: 10/10 (24 November 2012)

When I first saw The Shining I was about 13 years old. I remember that I didn't quite understand it at that time, and therefore it didn't get under my skin. At that time I was expecting non-stop gore and fun. I gave the film a try some years later still remembering how disappointed I got the first time. So I turned down the lights, gave it a second chance, and then something new happened: The film crept up under my skin, freezed my bones and scared me halfway to Hell.
What works for me is the intensity. The idea of the terror happening inside the family's safe borders is truly horrifying. The atmosphere is highly unpleasant all the way through, and the fact that you never know what is right behind the next corner, is pure psychological terror. The scenes where Danny rides his tricycle through the huge empty hallways still gives me the chills.
Furthermore I always get amazed by the acting. First of all I must mention Shelley Duvall. Usually frightened performances on film is extremely hard to do in a convincing way, but Shelley puts so much fear and desperation into Wendy that you truly believe in her all the way. Little Danny Lloyd is perfectly casted. His performance as the little, lonely boy is amazingly played with a perfect touch of melancholy. Jack Nicholson is, well, Jack Nicholson when he plays a psychotic maniac, but his presence in this film combined with some insane dialogue makes it even more intense.
So as you can read, I am a huge fan of The Shining. What you can expect from Kubrick's version is a tour de force of psychological terror. Sure there is some gore, but the focus is on the psychological.