All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.

Rating: 10/10 (8 April 2014)

When it comes to horror movies, there's many types of them. They're either the slasher type or the psychological type. But "The Shining" is a different type of horror movie. Stanley Kubrick was in his own little world when he made this movie, and the finishing product is something like no one else has done or has done since.
Based on the novel "The Shining" by Stephen King, he really took it beyond what the book was about and made it into his own creation, straying for the most part from the original source material.
Even though this film is more of a psychological type of horror movie, it really doesn't follow the formula of other well known films of this genre like "Psycho". There's such a wide variety for the surreal in this movie, that Kubrick could've have basically done anything with the film.
Other people say it's a slasher movie. I tend to disagree because there's really not much of a body count, and only one character dies. I don't want to spoil anything, but it happens so quickly, that you hardly notice. The only "shocking" moment in the movie is the old lady in the bathtub scene. It disgusts me.
If Jack Torrence wasn't played by Jack Nicholson, this film wouldn't have been as scary or it would've been a totally different movie. You can't take your eyes off of him; when it comes to playing crazy characters he is the best (i.e. "Batman", "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest"). Throughout the whole movie, he's a ticking time bomb. The movie does a great job in building up the tension of his insanity until he's chasing his family around the hotel with an ax.
My favorite scenes are when he's talking to the bartender; now whether it's his imagination or it's a ghost, it's not explained. The way Jack acts in these scenes are priceless and crazy; but Lloyd is oblivious to this, acting like everything is OK. Later in the movie, he talks with the waiter in the bathroom and treating him with respect (despite his psychotic nature). It begins with small-talk, but it gets serious; moreover, the gradual transaction to that is just brilliant.
It ends with Danny being chased by Jack. But there's no establishing shots, so we never know if Jack is gaining up on Danny or is he far behind, trying to catch up. The whole idea is to make the audience feel disoriented, and it serves as a great climax to the film.
This movie makes me feel like going through that maze in the cold, and being lost. But to be fair, had the plot been more clear-cut and had definitive answers, it wouldn't have the same effect as it does now. The whole movie makes me feel like I'm descending into madness. It's a unique horror film with a disturbing, yet fascinating techniques in filmmaking.