The Shining (1980) Spoilers...Kinda
Now I did promise myself that I would only review movies that I watched on Netflix, YouTube, DVD/Blu-Ray or the net via my iPad but I broke that rule one Late Friday evening as I was flicking through the channels and found 'The Shining' which had only started 5 mins ago, So I stopped everything I was doing, I sat down quietly and just watched as I had not seen this movie in over a Decade.
Jack Nicholson plays Jack Torrance, A troubling writer who finds employment as a caretaker at The Overlook Hotel which is based in the rural mountains. He is joined by his wife and son. When they arrive they are greeted by the hotel owner and The Chef, The Chef takes a special liking to their Son Danny as they share a very special talent known only as 'The Shining' it is the ability to communicate with others who also posses this ability with their minds. Danny also appears to have an imaginary friend called 'Tony' who warns him about the dangers of the hotel, Slowly throughout the frustration of his writing and his destain for his caring wife he starts loosing his mind and becomes overwhelmed by a spiritual entity that convinces him that he is In fact the original caretaker that years ago brutally murdered everyone in the hotel. He eventually loses it completely and attempts to kill he's wife and son.
This is one of the most Visually Striking and chilling movies in the history of Horror. From Stanley Kubrick's twisted visions of the bodies, The 'Bloody' Elevator and Danny's reactions to the horrors that his witnesses throughout to The Performances To the over caring and Petrified Shelly DuVall and The Eccentric, Angry, Insane and BRILLIANT performance of Jack Nicholson ( Who's performances such as this one reminds me why I consider him as my all time favourite actor ) for a movie that has only 3 main characters and one location throughout it still has such a chilling atmosphere which is amplified 10 fold by the soundtrack which is a mix of classical scores and some original music by Wendy Carlos and Rachel Elkind.
This is one of the most Visually Striking and chilling movies in the history of Horror. From Stanley Kubrick's twisted visions of the bodies, The 'Bloody' Elevator and Danny's reactions to the horrors that his witnesses throughout to The Performances To the over caring and Petrified Shelly DuVall and The Eccentric, Angry, Insane and BRILLIANT performance of Jack Nicholson ( Who's performances such as this one reminds me why I consider him as my all time favourite actor ) for a movie that has only 3 main characters and one location throughout it still has such a chilling atmosphere which is amplified 10 fold by the soundtrack which is a mix of classical scores and some original music by Wendy Carlos and Rachel Elkind.
It has been said that Stephen King (The author of the original story) had major issues with This movie when it was 1st released quoting that he 'Hated' this movie but it was many years later in his Nonfiction book 'Danse Macabre' that he referred to Kubrick's adaptation as a movie that contributed something of value to the [horror] genre and he also considered it as one of his favourite adaptations of his novels.
Some people look at these movies from the late 70's and early 80's and consider them bland and outdated....this is certainly NOT the case with 'The Shining'. This film is almost 35 years old and it still scares today's audiences and still has special screenings around Halloween season in selected Cinemas. It's film like this one where today's filmmakers in The Horror genre should consider looking backwards in order to move forward to make great Horror.
5/5 A Scary and visual Masterpiece, one of Kubrick's best movies.
Some people look at these movies from the late 70's and early 80's and consider them bland and outdated....this is certainly NOT the case with 'The Shining'. This film is almost 35 years old and it still scares today's audiences and still has special screenings around Halloween season in selected Cinemas. It's film like this one where today's filmmakers in The Horror genre should consider looking backwards in order to move forward to make great Horror.
5/5 A Scary and visual Masterpiece, one of Kubrick's best movies.