Too bad Kubrick didn't do more horror.

Rating: 9/10 (20 July 1999)

I am a huge Stephen King fan and am almost always disappointed with the films made from his novels. "The Shining" is an extraordinary exception. Kubrick's interpretation and embellishment of the novel not only improve the tale, but make it what, in my opinion, is the scariest motion picture ever made. Never before or since has a movie used general eerieness and fear of the unknown so stirringly (with the possible exception of the up and coming "The Blair Witch Project" which I cannot wait to see). "The Shining" has an escalating menace to it that begins even as the credits roll and doesn't let up until the screen fades to black at the end. Danny's vision of the twin Grady girls in the hallway is undoubtedly one of the most chilling scenes ever filmed and Jack and Delbert's conversation in the Men's room is, to me, Kubrick's finest work as a director. Truly haunting.