Review of The Shining (1980) by Dot_Dot_Space_ — 20 Oct 2014

I finally decided to watch "The Shining" after being convinced it was the scariest movie of all time. First things first, it wasn't. And that's coming from someone who scares very easily. I do, however, appreciate that films that were once very frightening become less so over time (cough, cough, "Alien"!).

Jack Nicholson's portrayal of a man's slow descent into 'cabin fever'-induced madness was amazing. Having said this, however, there just wasn't enough normality in his character to begin with. He already seemed a rather grumpy, impatient man.

Shirley Duvall was awful at playing Wendy. She was too flouncy and pathetic - if your child was being chased round a maze by a man with an axe, you'd be a little more ... 'badass', surely - if you pardon the pun ;-).

The film wasn't NOT scary. I was on edge a few times, and freaked out utterly at one scene in particular. The acting in this film was very well done - mostly on Nicholson's part, and Danny Lloyd's. It's not that Shirley Duvall did a bad job. Her character just didn't do justice who I had in my head.

But in spite of my highly critical review of this film, I thoroughly enjoyed it. I was left wondering what the last scene really meant - no spoilers, sorry! - and thinking about the story for hours after it'd finished.

Well done, Kubrick, a wonderful adaptation.