Kubrick's contribution to the horror genre.

Rating: 8/10 (16 August 2003)

From the pen of one of the most prolific writers to the direction of one of the most obsessive perfectionist directors. Stephen King's imagination has inspired many movies and Stanley Kubrick's adaptation of The Shining' is the best that I have seen. Given the fact that many top directors have bought King's work to the big screen, we can thus see how good Kubrick really is. Kubrick has made many top class movies, but this one probably captured audience's imagination the most. It also became a signature role for Jack Nicholson, which is further indicative of the status of this movie.
The soundtrack was not to inspire gross sales or to add greater revenue by way of soundtrack sales. It was utilised with one purpose in mind, and that was to significance to the story. The DVD edition includes the compositions in the chapter headings thus indicating how each particular composition was used to manipulate audience emotion and add value to the storyline. How do you portray the terror of the mind using the big screen? The ingenious use of camera shots and angles certainly helps and this was used. But overuse of this will underscore the effect the director is trying to create. It will translate to the audience as someone who is trying too hard and it becomes pretentious and this will be foremost in the audience's mind rather than the effect itself. Music has the benefit of creating the impression that some overbearing, ominous evil is present, but we cannot see it. This effect is used very well in the opening scene where Nicholson is travelling to the Overlook Hotel. An overhead shot is used with the car seemingly overpowered by the landscape and this is accompanied by a chilling opening number. Here the two are combined to enhance the overall effect. Nicholson is heading towards an enemy far stronger than him and a sense of impending doom is initiated for the audience.
This is also used in the scene where Danny sees images of foreboding terror at the hotel. Excessive use of blood can be cheesy, but it's usage here has a definite part to play in moving the story forward. Danny picks up the image of terror that the hotels inhuman occupants have to show. This image is shown whenever Danny senses something terrible is about to occur, most notably in the scene where Nicholson confronts his wife after his experience in Room 237. The blood indicates the presence of the terrible beings at the Overlook Hotel and shows the true horror that they wish to impose. There is very little sound of gushing or none at all  just the use of dark sound which rises as the terror is shown thus excentuating the image of horror for the audience. Although a shocking image, it is not out of place and clearly delivers the message of the foreboding terror that is about to unfold.

Kubrick has a firm understanding of how to visually translate the terror of the mind. His work can be compared to that of the well-known writer of the 18th century, Edgar Allan Poe. Poe had a great eye for detail and also used very little dialogue in his horror stories. He usually portrayed the story from the viewpoint of the himself thus creating reality for his stories. He described the inner workings of the mind when subjected to terror, sometimes terror self  imposed by the frailties of the main character's own mind. Kubrick has the same style, only he uses the big screen, which is sometimes more difficult when attempting to create this illusion. Kubrick made the necessary use of dialogue, but his mark was made by using other elements to project this effect. This is a complicated task to perform and one can well understand why he used Nicholson in the key role. Nicholson used his eyes to great effect with a little assistance from his devilish looking eyebrows. This is evident in the scene where he stares seemingly into nothing, but we can see the evil intent taking hold of him.
There are no weaknesses as far as the performances are concerned. Nicholson is brilliant as the writer who already has problems with his wife from the start. We can see that this is a man who is impatient with her lack of intelligence and becomes less tolerant as the ghostly inhabitants increase their influence and guide him towards their diabolical objective. We can see that Nicholson relished the role of the demented axeman. He was able to fulfil his fantasy of wreaking havoc on society, which he does with boisterous aplomb. Duval is good as the wife who is gradually subjected to terror by Nicholson and it is the ghosts that finally decide to take control of the situation, revealing the full perverted horror that the hotel holds. Kubrick gave her a psychological drubbing in order to ensure that she looked unlikely to handle the situation. This may have been unpleasant for her, but it was essential to create a character that would seemingly falter against her husband and the ungodly spirits. Danny was superb. He showed maturity beyond his age as he was able to portray someone who had to deal with these images of terror. When Tony, his name for the power that his mind has, attempts to tell his mother through Danny that his father has escaped, he was able to keep his concentration throughout a long scene. This scene hung the suspense on a shoestring, which snapped when Nicholson starts to chop the door down. Working with children has it's own unique demands which were well met. Scatman added a lot considering his small role. He helped Danny deal with his images and the connection between the two offscreen oozes onto the screen.
Without doubt this is one of the most prominent horror movies to date. Most satisfy a fast  food mentality whereby cheap thrills and abuse of special effects is evident. If these are the fast  food, then The Shining' is the escargot. It is in a class of it's own. To watch it once is to not experience the full effect of the movie. The sound of Danny's tricycle as it crosses the carpet onto the wooden floor and back again, the sense of isolation, the approach of the tennis ball and the terror within the eyes all take on a greater significance when viewed for a second time. These all helped to make evidence of the terror of the mind.