Pure Psychological Horror

Rating: 8/10 (9 June 2010)

Often times the scariest things are the subtle irregularities in life; the little things that seem...off. In "The Blair Witch Project" it was the little things going wrong that built up the tension (losing the map, no cigarettes, etc.). Time and again movies have proved that they're often scarier when there's little to no violence and gore. "Paranormal Activity," "Blair Witch Project," "Psycho," and even "Halloween." "The Shining" belongs in the same category, although it is different from any of those films because the terror comes from the characters descent into madness, not a psychopathic killer.
Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) is a wannabe writer who has taken a job looking after a hotel during the snowy season (the 20 mile cliffside road leading to the hotel rules out the possibility of a ski resort). For five months, Jack, his wife Wendy (Shelly Duvall) and son Dann(Danny Lloyd) are going to live at the Overlook Hotel in complete isolation. But before long, the lack of human contact begins to really get to them.
Human beings are social creatures. We need to interact with each other in order to survive. Take away that interaction, and the mind begins to try and cope, and the results are frequently not pretty. This premise, which was raised in Stephen King's novel upon which the film is based, but was discarded in favor of a traditional ghost story with fantasy elements. Kubrick, for the most part, has completely rejected the ghost story and instead focuses on the psychological trauma that complete isolation does to the human mind.
The acting is solid, but this is Kubrick's show. As someone who was well read in psychology, it comes as no surprise that that the famous filmmaker knows just how to generate fear. His unique camera shots and use of dissonant music are masterful. We can feel the madness of the characters, and that's what makes this film so scary.
It's not flawless, however. There are a few plot holes, and some parts of the plot and characters are a little too elusive (then again, that may have been Kubrick's goal). But the biggest problem is that Kubrick kept some of the fantasy from King's book. It is unnecessary in Kubrick's vision of the film, and it should have been written out completely (a more plausible explanation would be obvious to anyone).
Nevertheless, this is one of the scariest movies I have ever seen. Once the tension starts to build, it never stops and never lets up (the finale is genuinely terrifying).
My rating: Rated R for some violence/gore, pervasive terror, and brief language.