LogFAQs > #980039710

Snake - The Shining is a chilling exploration of isolation, family dysfunction, and a descent into madness. The Overlook Hotel is not just a setting; it's a character. Kubrick's use of wide shots emphasizes the vast emptiness of the hotel, amplifying the Torrance family's isolation. The snowbound location further cuts them off from the outside world, creating a pressure cooker for Jack's simmering rage and Danny's psychic torment. The film's slow pacing and eerie atmosphere gradually build tension, mirroring the slow unraveling of the Torrance family's sanity. The use of long, uninterrupted shots creates a sense of unease and allows the audience to dwell on the unsettling details of the Overlook Hotel.

The Torrance family is already fractured before arriving at the Overlook. Jack, a struggling writer with a history of alcoholism, is on the verge of another breakdown. Wendy, his loving but somewhat naive wife, seems powerless to stop his descent. Danny, burdened by his extrasensory gift, the shining, becomes a target for the hotel's malevolent forces. The film masterfully portrays the breakdown of communication and trust within the family, making their plight even more tragic. Moreover, Jack Nicholson's iconic performance as Jack Torrance is central to the film's success. Nicholson brings a palpable sense of menace to the role, portraying Jack as a man teetering on the edge of sanity from the outset. His transformation into a homicidal maniac feels both inevitable and horrifying, highlighting the film's exploration of the darkness that lurks within us all.

Wendy and Danny are equally compelling characters. Duvall's performance captures Wendy's desperation and determination to protect her son, despite her own fear and vulnerability. Meanwhile, Lloyd's portrayal of Danny conveys both innocence and eerie prescience, adding to the film's sense of dread.

The Shining can be interpreted as an allegory for domestic abuse and alcoholism. Jack's controlling behavior and violent outbursts mirror the cycle of abuse. The Overlook Hotel itself can be seen as a manifestation of Jack's inner demons, preying on his weaknesses and fueling his rage. The use of color is deliberate, with the omnipresent red foreshadowing violence and danger. Additionally, Kubrick deliberately blurs the lines between reality and Danny's visions. The audience is never quite sure what to believe. Is the Grady twins apparition real, or a manifestation of Danny's fear?

The ambiguity surrounding the supernatural elements of the film adds to its unsettling nature. Is the Overlook truly haunted, or is it all in the minds of the characters? This ambiguity contributes to the sense of psychological horror that permeates the film.

The Shining has left an indelible mark on the horror genre, influencing countless filmmakers and spawning numerous interpretations and analyses. Its exploration of psychological torment, coupled with its masterful direction and performances, ensures its place as one of the greatest horror films of all time. Whether viewed as a chilling ghost story, a psychological thriller, or an allegory for the horrors of addiction and abuse, theres an argument to be made, that, objectively, The Shining could very well be the best horror film of all time (even if I personally dont think so).

Plasmabeam - Despite having watched The Shining several times, I continue to discover new things on every viewingboth good and bad. The good are all the little nuances hiding within the Overlook; the bad is the fact that the story itself is a little thin for my liking.

Lightning - Heres Johnny!

The Shining is a curious oddity in that it is an adaptation of an all time classic American horror novel that managed to become regarded as an all time classic American horror film despite fundamentally mishandling the material to the point where the author famously disowned the film, The reason for this is simple, the film excels in entirely different ways to how the book excels, making up for what it lacks with the new things it brings to the table.

The technical filmmaking on display here is exemplary, the film still looks and sounds terrific to this day. Stanley Kubrick uses the odd aesthetic of the hotel and his slow steady shots to create a dread inducing atmosphere that feels truly alien. This contributes thematically to the idea of this place as an evil one that sucks its occupants in and does not let go. The chilly atmosphere of the exterior shots and even aspects like the cartoons push these themes further. There are also loads of truly unsettling images on display, especially in its stellar final act. This is all further amplified by a terrific performance from Shelley Duvall who anchors the film and provides a sympathetic viewpoint - she truly didnt deserve the treatment she got during and after production.

Unfortunately there is one flaw in my view holding this film back from reaching near the top of my list. Jack Nicholsons performance just doesnt work. Hes badly miscast here bringing no depth to the role of Jack, instead his cartoonish antics make him seem so unhinged you wonder why anybody let him get as far as he did. There is no tension from his descent into madness because he is just too over the top and exaggerated at the start. It is a testament to the strength of the rest of the film that it works despite its lead performance not.

4/5

Bitto - Rating: C

Really solid direction in both filming and character work. I can really feel the atmosphere and tension that the movie is going for. Or at least, what it became known for. Because this movie really...doesn't do much with its atmosphere and tension. A lot of the famous scenes are almost immediately put out, like the blood elevator having...no plot relevance at all or "Here's Johnny!" is immediately followed by Jack being distracted by Danny. Jack is really uninteresting before he gets murderous. I liked the scene with the bartender, because we finally get some insight in Jack, but that's it.

Inviso - This is a weird movie to talk about, because Id never seen it before, but its one of those films that is such a cultural centerpiece that most of its most famous moments have been broadcast over and over, either in full, or via parody in other movies. And its a fine movie, but I think its perhaps been a little overblown in its quality. It definitely feels like Stanley Kubrick had a vision for the film, and its visually stunning with the hotels design looking almost unsettling and otherworldly in how mundane it is. But I think one of the problems I have is that the movie feels both too long and too short at the same time, if that makes sense?

Like, you spend so much time on the mundane stage-setting to get us settled into the world, but thats more establishing the hotel, rather than any of the characters. You get some moments like the car ride up, where Jack is clearly not the nice guy he came across as during the job interview. And Danny is innately creepy in a way that isnt properly explained (maybe I watched the wrong cut, but its still weird all the same), and the end result is that youre at like an hour in when Jack starts going crazy, but we havent seen enough of his character sane to really understand the shift. And then, while I do enjoy Jacks increasingly violent madness, I feel like the film didnt need to devote the second half of its runtime to it. At that point, the action should be ramping up fast, but its still moving so slowly until the very end. The movies not BAD or anything like that, and its certainly iconicit just didnt live up to the hype.