Review of The Shining (1980) by Zack B — 03 Jan 2016

I was scrolling through Netflix looking for something new to watch, and I thought maybe I should finally get around to the Room 237 documentary. About 1 minute and 30 seconds in I went, "Wait, Wait. What the fuck am I doing?" I'm visiting family in a house miles away from civilization and it's snowy. Perhaps the best movie to flip to when with the family at this opportunity.

I'd like to say I've seen The Shining a lot, but with the sheer amount of pop culture references this movie attains, I'm not sure I've seen it enough. I see it on BBC all the time, I have it on DVD, I had a film music class which analyzed this amazing fucking score, and I just watched it tonight on Netflix.

Many people will tell you that The Shining is one of the more unsettling films they've ever seen, and that it gets them every time. The Shining for me isn't that for me. It may have been at one point, but now I have all these things that are more feel-good reminiscent than creepy. Now every time I watch it's a lot of: oh fuck that was a genius camera movement, or god damn that score (it makes me smile).

I don't get this feeling with a lot of movies, but whenever those little details like the use of the tracking shot in the hallways or the maze garden occur I can't stop gushing over it. Stuff like that alone will keep me attached. And I haven't even talked story of performances!

The story obviously doesn't follow the original work by Stephen King all the way through. As someone who has read the book and dislikes adaptations this is an exception. Kubrick knew how to build the tension in this story. The slow burn pays off really well. Even though it deviates from original source material I'm not throwing a hissy fit!

The performances may be where this film shines most (okay maybe not I just needed a stupid joke). However, I marvel at them still. Jack Nicholson going bonkers can come off as hilarious and downright unsettling. He's all over the place. Jack Nicholson is an acting inspiration for me. Danny Lloyd as a child actor, wow. Thank goodness I don't have to refer to him as Jake Lloyd's older less successful half cousin or some shit. Danny captures terror. That little guy definitely has shining in him! I used to shit on Shelley Duvall a bit, but in the last half she looks like she suffering mental breakdowns trying to cope. The first half she really seems unnatural as a wife and mother, but she gains admiration toward the end.

An awesome horror flick if I ever saw one. The Shining is a must watch for horror fans, a must watch for movie fans, and a must watch if you're in the middle of nowhere in snow (same for The Thing).