You'll be terrified of tricycles, hotels, mazes and the number 237 after seeing this

Rating: 9/10 (4 April 2014)

The Shining, based on the incredible Stephen King novel, is one of the most famous horror films ever made, and deservedly so. A family of 3 look after a hotel for the winter and while the son suffers horrifying supernatural visions, the father slowly descends into madness. Stanley Kubrick directs, and he is a very diverse director who made films of many different genres. His sole journey into horror is one of the best horror films of all time, and probably the one with the biggest influence on popular culture. Truth be told, it's not the masterpiece some say it is. While the book is an extremely powerful drama and character study wrapped up in a haunted house master-class, this is just a haunted house master-class. Danny Lloyd gives one of the great child actor performances and Jack Nicholson's legendary turn as Jack Torrance is one of the greatest performances in horror history but Shelley Duvall gives the worst performance in a good movie ever and I'm pretty sure Jack going mad wasn't just to do with the hotel. It's also a bit too long, which is something which is a common complaint with Kubrick.
Minor flaws aside, this is the closest a horror film has come to being art. With it's brilliant use of lighting, endless silence, beautifully composed frames, terrifying tracking shots and never-ending sense of isolation, this is one of the most haunting films ever made. The script has some interesting hidden meanings and the film is open to interpretation, which adds to the experience. The chase sequences, making great use of steadicam, are brilliant, and there is an endless sense of claustrophobia. What sets this apart from other horror films (I'm not a big fan of them to be honest) is that from the beginning it's beautiful, icy and chilling, and the direction is so dazzling it draws the audiences in almost instantaneously. Kubrick has the best use of wide shots in film history (Except for maybe Terrence Malick) and his direction and Jack Nicholson's acting make the movie, although the script still has some depth and with fully lit corridors, endless silence and a snow covered maze creates arguably the scariest haunted house (or hotel) in history. While not up there with Carrie, this is a graceful, haunting adaptation which the horror genre can be proud of and Stephen King should be proud of even though he isn't.
9/10