Terrific essay on Human's insanity!

Rating: 9/10 (20 May 2008)

There's no doubt that SHINING is a major classic of the horror genre, but it's even a bit more than that. It's the horror movie elevated to the "art status". I mean, unlike the majority of the horror films which use the same kind of plot, stereotyped characters, clichéd scenes, and worst of all, are produced and reproduced in endless sequels, SHINING is a single and unique piece of "Horror Art" (as PSYCHO was until they remember to do the first sequel in 1983). It doesn't mean that SHINING doesn't have some clichéd scenes, because it has indeed (I can remember the scene when WENDY lock herself in the bathroom and tries to escape through that little window where barely could pass her head), but if we "forget" about the few clichés it has we really have a good horror film here. On the other hand, in this movie, horror is more symbolic than actually gory. It is mainly symbolic icons which create the horror scenes, so we can definitely say it's more a psychological horror movie than really a gore fest. In fact, there's almost no blood, if we exclude those "blood waves" gushing out through the corridors (here it is one of the symbolisms I did refer). More than a horror film, SHINING is a terrific essay about Human's insanity, because it explores until the edge the loss of self control and the irrationality of the Human mind! And to do that disturbed character, JACK TORRANCE, who better than Jack Nicholson?! He really looks like a true lunatic! Superb acting I must say! He has the perfect face, expression, sarcasm! On the opposite side it's the acting by Shelley Duvall, which plays WENDY TORRANCE! It's really bad! She doesn't convince at all playing the victim, as her acting just seems too fake to me! Danny Lloyd, the small kid, also does a nice performance. Excellent film, I score it 9/10!