The Shining: A show of mental terror

Rating: 9/10 (29 April 2012)

Stanley Kubrick's The Shining, a film based upon a Stephen King novel, is a wickedly terrifying film set in an isolated hotel in Colorado. Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) agrees to become the caretaker at the Overlook Hotel over the winter. Jack's desire to become a novelist is part of the driving force for his decision to take the job. In the need of some quite time, Jack, his wife Wendy (Shelley Duvall) and their son Danny (Danny Lloyd) make the long winding trip to Colorado. There is a hauntingly disturbing history that comes with this hotel. One piece of this history is in regards to a previous caretaker, Delbert Grady (Philip Stone), that brutally murdered his wife and two daughters with an ax. Grady subsequently takes his own life with a shotgun. Jack's son Danny, as we see in the beginning before it is known if Jack has accepted the job, is reluctant to go to the hotel. Danny has a psychological gift known as "the shining" that resonates within his imaginary friend Tony. This gift allows him to see visions of what has happened in the past or what will come to pass. The film builds upon his ability and Jack's, as the Torrance family's stay becomes one of physical and psychological terror and fear.
Effectively used throughout the film are segment cuts. This technique utilized in the editorial process enables a compression and expansion of time. Each segment is shown as a black screen with white lettering and all capital letters. The body of the film takes place after the first month of the Torrance family's stay at the hotel. By utilizing jump cuts as well as flash cuts at various speeds throughout the remainder of the film time between segments, although shorter in length, seems to stretch beyond realistic boundaries. The drastic difference in the segment labels adds to the grandeur of the Overlook Hotel and the feeling of isolation that is dramatically apparent throughout the film.
The audience receives its first inclination of Jack's slow loss of psychological coherence as he stands over the model of the large, menacing hedge labyrinth. An uncanny smile comes across Jack's face as he gazes into the maze and the scene slowly transitions to an aerial view of Wendy and Danny running through the actual maze outside the hotel. The carryover, of the maze from one scene to the next, shows that there is an unnatural evil looming in Jack's mind.
In conjunction with the scene cuts and transitions, music adds to the intensity, suspense and terror. The high toned, almost screeching, sound of the music is similar in reaction to that of nails on a chalkboard. The sound makes you cringe. The cringe feel in the film is dramatically effective in terms of association. This music is initially used to alert you to the onset of visions experienced by Danny. The progression of Jack's loss of sanity brings out increased use of this music. The new association of music to film gives you the sense that things are only becoming worse than initially portrayed.
As we witness Jack's evolution to madness, we find that he too, like Danny, may have "the shining". Jack begins to have visions of events that took place in the past at the Overlook Hotel. One such scene is of a party in the Gold Ballroom where Jack meets Grady and reaches the final stage of his insanity. Another scene is in room 237 where Danny is supposedly attacked by a woman in the bathtub. Jack makes his way to the room and discovers a woman that is much to his delight. As the scene continues, the woman transforms to an older woman that is depicted as having rotting flesh and most likely died in that bathtub. A striking similarity to this film is that of M. Night Shyamalan's The Sixth Sense. We get the sense in both these films that the obvious focus for special abilities is on the child character. As both films and characters grow we see that it is not only the apparent character(s) that have this ability, but that multiple characters have these abilities as well.
It has been many years since I've sat down to watch The Shining from start to finish and thought it was probably time to do so again. I remember how I felt watching this film the first couple of times, jumping at every turn, and not much has changed. The beauty of this film is that it makes you really think about the situation. What would you do in that situation? Do you think you are a person that could handle that type of isolation? Would things have turned out differently if Jack was not aware of the hotel's history? Are Danny's visions merely just the imagination of a young child that is afraid of being alone in such a large place? Are we all capable of losing our minds to some degree?
It takes many elements to make a film successful in achieving its goal. The Shining was able to keep the focus on psychological decline through various techniques used in film making. Through the use of music, sound, editing, acting, cinematography, etc. the film kept the viewer hanging on to each scene. Sitting on the edge of your seat, heart pumping, fear and terror are just a few emotions and ways you will feel throughout a viewing of The Shining.