A True Kubrik Masterpiece

Rating: 9/10 (18 November 2019)

Well, I have finally managed to get around to watching this film, probably because for the record I have never been all that much of a fan of Kubrik's work, namely because his films, or at least the big ones, sort of irritated me somewhat - I guess you could say that I found them to be rather boring. I have to admit that I really didn't make all that many friends with that attitude back in those days, but then again, Kubrick has simply falling to the wayside, all forgotten, that is until recently.
You see, there happens to be this film that has recently come out claiming to be the sequel to The Shining. Well, I hadn't ever seen the Shining, despite hearing that it was actually pretty good. Well, the fact that there was a sequel prompted me to suddenly go and look for a copy, of which I eventually found, so that I could actually see what all the fuss was about, and also so that I could consider seeing the sequel.
Well, I have certainly discovered what the fuss was all about, namely because the film literally held me engrossed all the way through. Furthermore, I have now come to see what all the rave about Kubrick's ability as a director actually was, even though there have been some disagreements as to whether he could actually make a horror movie or not (namely because rumour has it that the writer of the original book really wasn't impressed with what actually came out).
What can I say but I have now come to appreciate Kubrik's style of directing, especially since this film literally gripped me all the way through. This is more so when compared to the sequel, which just didn't seem to capture the suspense that this particular film did. Mind you, I sort of wonder a bit about this whole 'shining' thing, namely because the focus seemed to be much more on the degeneration of the human soul as they spend time isolated in a huge, empty, house up in the mountains.
The best thing about this film is the ambiguity of the situation - is there a spiritual dimension to this story, or is this all psychological. Is the house haunted, or are the main characters just imagining things. Is it just Jack that has gone mad, or has his wife also degenerated as well. Finally, what is the big deal with room number 237 - all we are told that nobody goes there, and that Danny should avoid it at all costs. Of course, we do find out what is inside, and of course it is not at all pretty. Finally, what is the deal with the photo at the end, and why is Jack there, despite the fact that it was taken something like 60 years before the events in the film.
Yeah, there are certainly quite a lot of questions that this film raises, and there are quite a lot of questions that were actually answered in the book, but in a way by leaving these questions unanswered, at least from the perspective of the main characters, adds so much more mystery to the film. In fact, when some of the questions are answered in the sequel, it simply ruined the whole mystery of the situation. What seems to be happening here is that we are only being told what the main characters would know, and no more. Of course, Danny might know a lot more than that, but once again, he is a five year old boy, so is unlikely to truly understand what is going on. Then again, it is also exposition, and honestly, sometimes exposition simply kills the whole mood.
So yeah, as it turned out, this was actually a pretty awesome film, and it was definitely interesting watching it right before I watched the sequel, namely because it really did put the sequel into perspective, and set a pretty high bar in which to cross.