Arguably The Most Aesthetic, Artistic & Accomplished Of All Horror Films!

Rating: Null/10 (19 October 2015)

Arguably the most aesthetic, artistic & accomplished of all horror films, Stanley Kubrick's The Shining is another masterwork of precision craftsmanship that presents the gifted filmmaker at his prime as he smoothly blends the elements of supernatural & psychological horror into one methodically structured & meticulously layered story whose underlying themes & narrative complexity has spawned numerous interpretations over the years and remains a subject of discussion amongst film buffs even today.
The Shining tells the story of Jack Torrance, a former teacher who takes the caretaker's job at the Overlook Hotel which tends to stay closed during the winter season. Arriving at the remote location with his wife & son, Jack intends to use the solitude of the hotel to pursue his passion for writing but once the family settle into the hotel, his condition worsens as he begins to act strangely, suffers from writer's block, becomes prone to violent outbursts & is constantly haunted by the supernatural entity that reside there.
Co-written, produced & directed by Stanley Kubrick, The Shining is his first stint with horror and yet he exhibits a far better understanding of this genre than most established directors of horror cinema. From the opening moments, the film is able to establish an ominous mood thanks to the eerie score that accompanies its title sequence and the aerial photography that finds its camera hovering over those rocky mountains, lush landscapes & narrow roads leading to the Overlook Hotel, thus already foreshadowing the isolation that awaits the Torrance family
The technical aspects in almost every Kubrick film is carried out with precision care and The Shining is no exception. Production design team deserves kudos for the meticulously designed set pieces for it provides the hotel an identity of its own. Cinematography makes very inventive use of its camera & follows our characters like a silent observer at all times while the fluid movements, clever angles, steady zooms, perfect lighting & aptly chosen colour tones greatly amplify the whole look & feel of the picture. The real highlight however is how the Steadicam is utilised.
Kubrick here pushes the Steadicam to its extreme to achieve a smoothness & stability that hasn't been replicated ever since. The flexibility & sleek flow provided by this new technique didn't just allow the director to stage some of modern cinema's most iconic shots but also brings the viewers into the story by placing them behind the characters as the plot unfolds. Editing is a strong highlight too for almost every scene ends up playing a relevant role in the story. And the background score is in perfect sync with each & every moment and elevates the whole experience by encapsulating the entire film with a highly unsettling mood.
With Jack Nicholson in the lead role, Jack Torrance already looks like someone who's just waiting for a little push to descend into total madness which doesn't come off as a surprise when it eventually happens. The stressful experience Shelley Duvall underwent during its production is well-documented but the effect of it all can be felt in her rendition of a broken Wendy, as the entire ordeal only helped her performance. And Danny Lloyd plays their psychic kid and just like every kid in almost every horror film, he's annoying to an extent. All three actors are over-the-top at times but this added exaggeration somehow works in the film's favour.
On an overall scale, The Shining is a thought-provoking meditation on madness, isolation & paranoia that defies everything that was usually a norm in the genre of horror back then yet puts on screen a cinema that is now regarded as a definitive example of atmospheric horror. Immortal for its contribution to horror, a staple of pop culture, and a classic amalgamation of superb direction, deft writing, innovative camera-work, skillful editing, menacing score & devoted performances, The Shining remains one of the greatest achievements of its genre that's only getting better with time and is definitely amongst Stanley Kubrick's finest works. Highly recommended. Multiple viewings advised.