A top rate chiller

Rating: 9/10 (11 May 2016)

Writer Jack Torrance takes a job as winter caretaker at the Overlook Hotel in the Colorado Rockies hoping the solitude will help his writing; once the few remaining members of staff depart he will be alone, with just his wife, Wendy, and his son, Jack, for company. He is warned that the loneliness can get to some people, he is even told that ten years previously the caretaker had killed his wife and children before shooting himself, but Jack is sure he will be fine. As they are shown around the hotel Dick Hallorann, the head chef, takes Danny aside and talks to him; it appears that they share a gift that he calls 'The Shining'; a sort of telepathy. Once everybody has gone Jack gets down to his writing but it is clear that something isn't quite right; Danny keeps seeing two creepy girls and even has visions of corridors literally awash with blood! As more time passes tensions rise and ultimately Wendy realises that she and her son are in great danger from the person who should be there to protect them. Jack, meanwhile, starts seeing former staff members; he even has a conversation with the former caretaker who explains that he had to 'correct' his family and it is time for Jack to 'correct' his.
If you prefer horror movies that have a high body count, inventive deaths and plenty of jumps then this might not be for you; if however you like a chilling atmosphere, a claustrophobic setting and a sense of near constant dread then this is the film for you. While there are few really scary moments there are plenty that are chilling enough to make ones hair stand on end; for example the two girls Danny keeps seeing and the caretaker who calmly explains murdering his family as 'correcting' them. The camera-work adds to the creepiness; often following Danny as he rides through the hotels long corridors or runs through the large maze in its grounds. The small cast does an impressive job; Jack Nicholson is at his scary best as Jack Torrance and Shelley Duvall makes Wendy's terror entirely believable. Young Danny Lloyd does a fine job as Danny. The story might not be told at a fast pace but I was never bored. Overall I'd recommend to any fan of Stanley Kubrick's work or to anybody wanting a genuinely scary chiller.