disappointing adaptation shows flashes of brilliance

Rating: 7/10 (12 April 2010)

Uninvolving, sometimes chilling horror film has some shocks, and some powerful, unsettling images and sequences.
The book this is based on is one of my favourites, but my problem with this adaptation isn't that it isn't faithful enough. Rather, it's the fact that the relationships are not believable, the script is awkward, and the dialogue trite.
Expressionless Shelley Duvall is a terrible actress and Jack Nicholson is badly cast (he fails to play a regular guy, which is what's needed at the beginning of the film). Danny Lloyd does a great job, however.
The build-up to the climax is inadequate (though the ending does have some suspense). It looks as though Kubrick could have done something great with this, but he never gets a complete handle on the genre.