a review of The Shining

Rating: Null/10 (30 March 2010)

The Shining (1980) Based on the novel by Stephen King, Written and Directed by Stanley Kubrick. Starring Jack Nicholson, Shelly Duvall, Danny Lloyd, & Scatman Crothers. Horror/Thriller The Shining tells the story of a writer Jack Torrence (Jack Nicholson) who takes a job as the winter caretaker of the Overlook hotel, high in the mountains of Colorado. In spite of the warning from the hotel manager about the unfortunate end to previous caretaker and his family, Jack brings his wife Wendy (Shelley Duvall) and son Danny (Danny Lloyd) along with him. As the story progresses, we learn that Danny has some emotional and spiritual issues of his own, apart from the strange happenings we see at the hotel. Danny meets the hotel cook, played by Scatman Crothers, who shares a mysterious ability to see into the past and future, which is apparently where we get the title of the movie. The story takes a turn for the worst when Danny begins to see images from the past, ghosts and murders, and cabin fever drives Jack to the brink of insanity.
There are few movies that fully embody the words "classic horror," but The Shining is absolutely one of them. From creepy twin-kid ghosts scenes, sexy turned disgusting old lady bathroom scenes, to full on slasher blood and gore scenes, this movie has it all. The musical score in this movie is the best part in my opinion. It creates a blanket of suspense from the opening credits all the way to the end. The music sets a tone for the movie at the very beginning, I've never been so creeped out by what is a seemingly normal scene of mountain driving in my life! Even the credits moving from bottom to top leaves you with an eerie feeling, like something bad is about to happen.
Stanley Kubrick does an amazing job with the cinematography in this film. The camera angles, the perspective shots, the long tracking shots. This movie is full of wonderfully symmetric, artifully crafted scenes that tell a story all their own. Stanley Kubrick also uses off-screen space so well in this movie to increase the suspense.
I was especially impressed with the acting of little Danny Lloyd, who has two roles in this movie, a relatively content little boy and "Tony," the little boy that lives in his mouth. Danny Lloyd plays both roles, even in the same scene, very convincingly and in my opinion steals the spotlight. Even the way Danny uses his finger as a puppet when "Tony" is talking is outrageously frightening. What a terrific little actor! The Shining is a much see for any horror movie enthusiast and it really sets the bar for the genre. If you've never seen this movie, rent it and watch it, just make sure and leave a nightlight on after, because this movie will scare you stupid!