A Kubrick chiller!

Rating: 10/10 (20 December 2001)

"The Shining" is synonymous with Stanley Kubrick fans everywhere as one of the scariest movies ever made. Jack Torrance (Nicholson) takes his wife Wendy (Duvall) and son Danny (Lloyd) to look after the Overlook Hotel which is closing down over the winter because of bad road conditions.
Shortly after they arrive, weird things start to happen. Danny sees unsettling things in the hallways, the snow's getting thick outside, and Jack (a recovering alcoholic) is going cuckoo and socializes with the dead that once resided in the hotel.
While reading the novel by Stephen King, I discovered some very silly differences. In the book, the dreaded room number is 217. In the movie, it's 237. Book: Jack's weapon is a croquet mallet; movie: axe. Book: hedge animals; movie: hedge maze.
The TV movie made in the nineties is much more faithful to the book but is missing the horror that Kubrick has added to the 1980 version. I still love this one despite the flaws that I previously named.
Jack Nicholson's fine and psychotic performance is very underrated and should have earned at least a nomination for a Golden Globe or Oscar. Very memorable and worth a watch!