The scariest melodrama ever made

Rating: 9/10 (5 November 2005)

The Shining can be watched in many ways: as a horror film, as a novel adaptation, or to contrast insanity and the afterlife. But the next time you watch this film, pay very close attention to the music. One thing that is unsurpassed by Kubrick is that he has an innate ability to find the most appropriate music to score his films, and this film is one of his greatest examples. Listen to how the music not only scores the movie, but is brilliantly juxtaposed to what is going on and what is being said. The music builds, it swells, and it strikes in the most surprising and frightening places. It never interrupts the action or duologue, it highlights it. The music itself is the sound of horror, and it never stops, especially when you want it to.
When you watch The Shining with this in mind, you will realize that the acting and direction of the film was intentionally meant to accentuate the music as well. If you really think about it, the film would have been just as effective if there was no duologue at all. The Shining is directed in a melodramatic fashion, not unlike Hitchcock's Vertigo, and Baz Luhrmann's Moulin Rouge. It is expressionistic, not realistic.
So many modern day horror film directors attempt to frighten us with "realism", attempting to eliminate the suspension of disbelief. What they don't realize is that the horror genre REQUIRES the suspension of disbelief! But why attack the problem that way? If you truly want to scare your audience, don't waste time with realism. Creep in slowly and deliberately, and make the atmosphere of the film your main concern, whatever that entails. That is what Kubrick does, and he does it by showcasing the most terrifying musical score in movie history.