Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining, co-written with Diane Johnson, and based on the novel by Stephen King is nearing a half century as the epitome of what a horror film can achieve. The film stars Jack Nicholson as Jack Torrence, a former teacher, now full-time writer, who takes a position as the winter caretaker of a secluded Colorado hotel known as The Overlook. Joining him while Jack does his work is his wife, Wendy (Shelley Duvall), and their young clairvoyant son, Danny (Danny Lloyd). On the day before the hotel closes for six months, leaving the Torrence family completely isolated, the head chef, Dick Halloran (Scatman Crothers), informs Danny that he and Danny are telepaths – a power Dick calls “shining.” He also tells Danny that The Overlook has a type of shining because of horrible events that have taken place there over the years. He is adamant that Danny always stay away from Room 237.
Buy The Shining Blu-rayAt first, the hotel feels like a sort of vacation for the Torrences. Danny has the entire hotel as a type of playground; Wendy likes to cook meals for her family and read books and play with Danny; and while most of Jack’s duties revolve around the basement boiler room, he has all the time in the world to work on his new book. But Jack is an alcoholic who has been sober since the day five months ago when he lost his temper and dislocated Danny’s shoulder. He has demons. The hotel, too, seems to be sinister in its “intentions.” Danny keeps riding his three-wheeler past Room 237, and Jack has started to imagine the ballroom is full of guests with a full bar. Jack has ghosts; Danny has ghosts; and The Overlook is overflowing with ghosts.
Very few horror films hold a candle to the direction, depth of character, storyline, and stark visuals of The Shining. It is unusual for a horror film to rely so often on wide-open spaces in the way The Shining does. Many unsettling moments take place in the midst of a cavernous lodge room where Jack attempts to work on his latest novel. It is a lesson modern horror film creators might want to revisit. While there are many close-ups of faces, when the fear really hits we get to witness the scene in huge, open spaces. That motif begins to draw inward toward the claustrophobic as the ending of the film draws near, with scenes involving a tight bathroom and a garden maze – but those are the purpose-driven exceptions.
It is hard to find a misstep in Kubrick’s The Shining. Even those who have never seen the film are probably familiar with half a dozen of its most iconic scenes and its enigmatic final shot. Jack Nicholson is charismatic and frightening all at the same time. Shelley Duvall is the frazzled housewife who fears a recurrence of her husband’s alcoholism. Even young Danny Lloyd puts in a heartbreaking performance as the naif with wild, uncontrollable powers. The Shining cannot be recommended highly enough.
