One of the scariest films ever made

Rating: 10/10 (9 September 2006)

The Shining is one of the scariest films ever made. And possibly my personal favorite movie of all time. But it uses hardly any of the gore-based cheap frights making up the typical late 70s-80s slasher flicks such as the Friday 13th or Nightmare on Elm Street series. And that is its strength.
The art of Kubrik's film-making makes the fear come almost purely from the tenseness of the atmosphere that he manages to create. You feel something bad is going to happen from the first scene and this just builds up throughout the film. In many ways the horror comes from what we EXPECT to happen more than what we actually see. The feeling of foreboding, partly put across by the musical score and harrowing symbolic imagery, is what the film hinges on.
It is riveting from the opening credits to the end and powerful acting, great scenery/cinematography and a tense suspenseful plot also add to its power.
Kubrik's The Shining is a real masterpiece that also has enough plot twists and possible interpretations to let itself be watched again and again.