The Shining is a true horror classic that allows you to feel the fear and suspense of the characters.

Rating: 10/10 (2 May 2010)

The Shining is a classic horror film that has every element of psychological terror. Directed by Stanley Kubrick and based on the novel by famous horror author Stephen King, this film brought together the elements of terror, action, and suspense.
Jack Nicolson plays the main character, Jack Torrence, an unemployed writer who accepts a job care taking a hotel in the remote Colorado mountain's. With him he brings his wife Wendy, played by Shelley Duvall, and their young son Danny, played by Danny Lloyd. This film projects a father who is controlling, moody and abusive. He takes his family away to this hotel, knowing its past events, and forces them to endure a brutal winter of seclusion and fear.
This film alters between Jack's reality and his delusional state. Jack Torrence, in his quest for solitude begins to lose his mind and transgresses into the life of a psychopathic killer. This film does an excellent job with the use lighting and various camera angles to allow the viewer to feel the tension and suspense.
Danny possesses a paranormal ability to see the past and the future. This ability is referred to as "shining". With this ability he is able to see the horror that the hotel history holds and the horror that is to come from the hands of his father. Danny connects with the cook at the hotel, Dick Hallorann, played by Scatman Crothers as he also "shines". Hallorann warns Danny of the evil of the hotel and to stay away from room 237.
As the weeks progress for the Torrence family in the seclusion of the hotel, Jack begins to act differently. He becomes irritable and mean. Jack has delusional conversations with a dead bartender, who reminds Torrence that his family needs to be punished. Wendy becomes aware of Jacks change in attitude and personality and fears for her safety and that of her sons. She tries to call for help, but Jack has destroyed the radio system. Danny, with his ability to "shine", is able to communicate with Hallorran and lets him know they are in trouble.
The best scene is when Wendy is in the lobby, which is where Jack is writing his novel. She approaches the desk with trepidation as she doesn't know where Jack is and she was warned not to go in there and bother him. She has a bat in her hands and as she approaches the desk the camera angle changes so you can see Jack is behind her in the shadow of the overhang. He is watching her read the pages of his novel, which consists of numerous pages of "All work and no play make Jack a dull boy". This scene was filmed perfectly, it had so many elements that worked together to produce the feeling of terror and suspense. The lighting and zooming in on Wendy trying to get away from Jack while walking up the stairs backwards reinforced the fear she feels in trying to protect herself and her son.
The theme of this film laid the foundation for the fear and terror that Wendy and Danny felt and the perpetuation of those feelings as Jack slowly lost his mind. This film is a great American classic. Kubrick did an excellent job casting outstanding actors, incorporating perfect lighting, scenery, camera angles to project the suspenseful and terror filled scenes in this movie.