NOT the horror movie you might be expecting

Rating: 9/10 (15 August 2019)

There are many reasons to why "The Shining", over the course of a few decades, has become widely respected as one of the greatest horror movies ever made. I will give you the five main reasons to why I think it's so brilliant.
But first off, let's get something out of the way: "The Shining is not a typical horror movie", and may therefore disappoint viewers who have certain expectations as to what the movie should evoce of feelings in them. You don't get disgusted, or usually even scared, in the way jumpscares make your heart beat fast, when you watch "The Shining". I would actually go as far as to say that it isn't, really, a horror movie - it's more of a masterclass in suspense. It can be deeply unsettling, though, and that, I think, is it's ultimate goal.
Now to how the film manages to be so unsettling:
1. It's creepy. Not the sort of creepyness that a scary clown in a mainstream horror movie would have, but the creepyness of the abnormal and the strange. For instance, you never know the reasons to why certain images and sequences are being shown, and this adds to the unsettling feeling the movie gives you.
2. The music is chilling. This point is probably the most obvious. Never have I ever heard a filmatic score as nerve-racking as this one. Check out "adagio" from Bela Bartok's "music for strings, percussion and celesta" and you'll know what I'm referring to.
3. The use of steadycam. This was a pretty new invention at the time of it's production and Stanley Kubrick used it for all it was worth. The steadycam allowed him to make long, stable, unquavering shots, and for some reason, this in itself became an unsettling element of the movie.
4. The actors. Jack Nicholson nails his role as Jack Torrance. His unsettling performance drives this unsettling movie. Shelley Duvall as Wendy Torrance is also chilling in some of the scenes.
5. Lastly, the movie in itself feels "evil". I don't know how Kubrick did this, maybe it was the steadycam, but in some way or other he managed to make the mere atmosphere feel dangerous and unsafe, as if some malevolent presence were always watching the events from behind.
This movie will linger with you for days, and mind you, not necessarily because it's particularly scary. Mostly, it will linger with you because it simply is a purely iconic and original masterpiece.