"The Shining" will ice your guts

Rating: 9/10 (18 August 2006)

Every film genre has its own characteristics. So does horror. There are some golden rules and hints that some directors totally forget to check out before or while they shoot their movie.
First of all, horror is not visual. It's mental. Your eyes can't judge whether something is scary or not. It's your brain that does. Eyes are only a tool.
Many contemporary directors shoot their horror films by putting visually-dazzling images and think that it will do the job. But it's what's inside that counts...
Stanley Kubrick understood that. But he did more than that. What Kubrick did with "The Shining" is that he created that is as scary by its visuals than its mental representations.
The reason why Stanley Kubrick succeeds in every genre he works with is because he searches for the most essential essence of each one of them and exploits it the effective way.
While the majority of filmmakers effectively work with zombies (George A. Romero) or vicious serial killers (John Carpenter) which could become menaces themselves, Kubrick works with a haunted hotel, filled with ghosts, which aim a particular target: mind. And there's nothing that can be done about it.
The three main actors are the main reason why "The Shining" is such a masterpiece. Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) is the main target of the Overlook's ghosts and his peaceful existence is quickly turned upside down by what happens. Kubrick's choice of casting him was controversial because he already looked slightly insane, even in normal mode. That might be true, but we must admit that, once put in berserk mode, nobody is as maniacal as Jack Nicholson. And the actor proves it in a chilling way here.
Shelley Duvall, often mentally-challenged by director Kubrick during the production, is very effective as Wendy Torrance. And especially at the end, when Jack crashes the bathroom's door and when she meets ghosts herself.
But my predilection goes to Danny Lloyd, who plays Danny Torrance. He's probably the most effective of all the actors present in the movie. His cold face and his dramatic voice are appalling.
As it's a Kubrick film, it's inevitable that special camera tricks and movements should be present. In "The Shining", we quickly think about the legendary use of the Steadicam during Danny's ride in the hotel's corridors and the maze excursions.
Kubrick's trademark zoom moves were heavily used in his previous movies, but they've never been as effective as here. Zooms perfectly catch the scary moods expressed by the characters and create a sense of suspense and fear, which is what's needed in such a movie. There are also these almost-one-frame shots, which are effectively scary and thrilling.
There are numerous unforgettable moments and lines during the movie and some of them have become a part of modern pop culture. Some lines, such as "Redrum", "All work and no Play make Jack a dull boy" and the chilling "Here's Johnny!" are now considered as icons of the horror genre.
Some of the scariest scenes include the two hypnotic girls in blue dresses that Danny meets and Jack's smashing down the door with an axe. But the scariest scene of the movie is Dick's murder. Jack kills Dick and, at the same moment, Danny screams in his hiding place, due to his "shining" gift.
"The Shining" is a horror masterpiece, because it goes deep in the delicate parts of our minds and the way that these scares are depicted is as delicious as a Halloween candy. So don't waste your time in watching ridiculous 'trailer' movies, made to be Kraft dinner for your eyes. Just remember that movies like "The Shining" contain the pure fluids of the horror genre and must be watched before today's horror messes. It gives you more adrenaline wherever you watch it and by renting it and watching it at home, you save money.
And just a friendly advice: don't watch it before going to bed. I did.