Once misunderstood...now a classic

Rating: Null/10 (16 January 2002)

Like many of Stanley Kubrick's later films, The Shining was misunderstood when first released. I remember hearing about it when it came out in the summer of 1980, and how fans of Stephen King's novel were disappointed with the film version. King himself has been outspoken about it--he hates it. So much in fact that he filmed his own version in 1997, (a made for TV movie with Steven Weber). But this is Kubrick's film, not King's film, and it remains one of the most intense horror films I've ever seen. The film has a terrific build-up and Kubrick's touches (the music, the sound effects, the "date and time" title cards, etc.) add to the experience. It is not a film for viewers who love quickly-paced slasher movies. The horror comes from the build up and the atmosphere. There is little bloodshed (except for Mr. Halloran's demise--a scene Kubrick put in the film to compete with Friday the 13th, perhaps?) What the viewer remembers most about the film is not the hammy acting by Jack Nicholson (his performances in his later hits like The Witches of Eastwick, Batman, A Few Good Men, and even As Good as It Gets can be traced back to his portrayal of Jack Torrance), not the much-maligned but brave performance of Shelley Duvall, and not even Kubrick's now-legendary camerawork behind Danny's Big Wheel. They remember the Overlook Hotel, arguably the most eerie setting in the history of horror cinema. I still avoid hotel rooms numbered 237 because of this movie. King's "approved" TV version just pales in comparison. And how can Steven Weber even attempt to play Torrance when Jack Nicholson will always be Jack Torrance? This is one of my favorite horror movies, and one of Kubrick's greatest works.