What Did I Just Watch?

Rating: 8/10 (22 March 2014)

A little background before I start: I'm a sixteen year old with no experience in horror. I watched a few horrors as a child that terrified me to the point of small amounts of sleep. Since then I have watched no horror films. I've avoided things that may scare me. So no, I'm not like most teenagers that have watched the modern horrors and "don't understand" the classics. I decided to watch this film because I wanted to introduce myself to horror through what is considered to be the most psychologically terrifying film of all time.
Was I disappointed? No. Did I get what I expected? No. This film didn't scare me at all. I scare easily, so this came as a shock. I can't understand why everyone finds this film terrifying. So why the 8? Well, it may not have terrified me but I still loved it. I can't really say that it was a masterpiece, as others have, but I certainly loved it. I'm a huge fan of the surreal nature of The Shining. I loved the way it was filmed; the style. The shots were very creepy and unique. The director, Stanley Kubrick, certainly knew what he was doing.
Another thing that made this film great was the music. Wendy Carlos and Rachel Elkind did an amazing job with it. If anything made me scared in this film, it'd be the music. It, along with the camera work and lighting, made the entire thing surreal and brilliant. This is the thing that made the film so fantastic. Well, this and Jack Nicholson, who plays the main character. The creepy atmosphere was perfect for this film and added a perfect tension to everything. It made everything just a little more insane.
I can't say I enjoyed the writing too much. It didn't really add up and could have been written better. I heard that there was a reason for this, but I see no reason except to confuse the audience. It felt like the writers, Stanley Kubrick and Diane Johnson, were on some sort of drug. Although to be honest it sort of felt like the whole film was. It wasn't bad writing, just confusing and muddled. At times it was in fact quite intelligent and well done.
Apparently the movie is nothing like the novel (when is it ever?). I have never read the novel, but from what I have heard from Stephen King, the writer of the novel, and many fans of both, it is much more terrifying and creates a very different atmosphere to what the film does. I must disagree with the author of The Shining on his opinion that this isn't a good film. What I do agree with is that Jack Torrence, the main character, should gradually become insane, as he apparently does in the novel, not start off as insane like in the film. Or maybe that's just the brilliant Jack Nicholson. He does have that insane affect on his characters.
Unique? Yes. Creepy? Yes. Surreal? Yes. The most terrifying film ever made? No. To be perfectly honest, I don't think this film deserves the attention it gets. It was and is still a great film, but it certainly isn't the most terrifying horror ever, as many have stated. I would recommend this to people, but not for the same reasons others have. The surrealistic nature of this film is what stands out to me. It's what makes the film completely fresh and unique compared to anything else ever made.
I'm sorry if I'm repetitive or my review is of low quality; I'm awfully tired.