Stanley Kubrick's The Shining is aptly named, because this is more Kubrick's style than King's

Rating: 8/10 (29 March 2020)

Stanley Kubrick's The Shining is often considered to be one of the greatest horror movies in the history of cinema, perhaps even THE greatest. As a considerable fan of Stephen King since my teenaged years, I wanted to get a copy of this film to watch, but I wanted to read the book first, much like I did with another of his horror books: IT. Sadly, I've yet to finish reading Stephen King's The Shining, but I have read perhaps enough to know it is superior to Kubrick's cinematic interpretation.
Now, I have seen two other films by Kubrick, which are appropriately some of his most critically acclaimed and well-known: 2001: A Space Odyssey and A Clockwork Orange. Both of which were well-filmed and ground-breaking at the time, much like the Shining was at the time. I liked them both, though I found Clockwork Orange much easier to enjoy and understand than 2001, for some odd reason.
The Shining adaptation by Kubrick, though, is a lot like, well, a badly-done piece of toast that has been burnt too much. I like it when a director deviates from the original text here and there, but I would prefer from them to keep the original story alive. Kubrick keeps the bare-bones of the story alive, but rewrites most of the story for apparently no reason. Since Kubrick is dead and has not left any information or interviews about why he changed key parts of the story, I will just have to make my peace with not knowing, but it slightly changes my opinion of the great Stanley Kubrick.
That isn't to say this isn't a well-done film. The camerawork is top-knotch and the strange music-score is a perfect addition. There are some really freaky scenes when the horror starts up, most enhanced well by Jack Nicholson's terrifying performance. Most notable scenes that surprised me were the infamous Room 237 scene with the Bathtub Lady; the scene where Wendy finds out that 'All work and no play makes Jack a Dull boy'; and the death of Dick Halloran at the hands of Jack Torrance. Shelly Duvall has a couple of good scenes, but I would say that she is probably the most useless character in the movie. However, I really thought her scenes of terror in the Hotel were well-shot and spooky, especially with the weird chanting. Danny Lloyd, though, is iconic as Danny Torrance, playing a typical Stephen King kid with a lot of excellent performances...and quite frankly, some bravery in a few scenes. Scatman Crothers is a cool paternal figure, as well.
I can see where a lot of horror films, particularly recent masterpieces by Robert Eggers and Ari Aster have received influence from this film, at least in terms of atmosphere and music and terror. The climax of the film is well-done and spooky as hell, but it's considerably different than the book. All the problems of the Shining forced Mike Flanagan, who had taken on the monumental task of directing the sequel book, Doctor Sleep, to adapt the novel differently and make it more of a reconciliation, reportedly, to Kubrick's film.
One of the biggest peeves of mine about this film, too, is that ending sequence. I don't understand it, and like I said, since Kubrick is dead and has offered no explanation, we'll probably never understand it. Nevertheless, it's a good staple of horror, if you don't mind it being so different than the book.
May the Force be with You!