My first Kubrick

Rating: 10/10 (1 February 2009)

The Shining is a very special movie for me because it was the very first Stanley Kubrick movie I watched. Adapted from a Stephen King novel it tells the story of a couple(Jack Nicolson and Shelley Duvall) and their young son(Danny Lloyd) who move to a hotel when Jack Nicolson gets a job as a caretaker. The hotel however has a horrific past,years ago it was the scene for a grisly murder where a man murdered his two daugthers. The caretaker's son happens to possess 'The Shining, which is a gift of second sight. Even before they move in the son starts to have horrific visions of the the murder that occurred years ago. Very soon Jack Nicolson starts to get possessed by the spirit of the man, the very first example of that is in the scene where he says to his wife that he has a feeling that he has been to the hotel before when he knows he hasn't. Add to that the fact that to save costs the hotel is shut for most of the year and you have a superbly compelling horror movie. In the superb climax Jack Nicolson attempts to murder both his wife and his son. The star of the show has to Jack Nicolson who was simply phenomenal, in fact I would call it his best performance I have seen. His transition from a mild mannered man to an axe wielding psycho was simply wonderful. The stately pace works very well in it's favour. The Shining is one of my top 5 horror movies ever made and is highly recommended by me to tose who haven't seen it.