For this week’s throwback review I have wrote about the iconic horror film The Shining directed by Stanley Kubrick which has been high on my watch list for quite some time.
As a fan of Stephen King’s books and the horror genre, I really am surprised I hadn’t seen The Shining yet. I read The Shining last year before Doctor Sleep was released theatrically and absolutely loved it and although I was meaning to read Doctor Sleep I have put it on the backburner along with watching both films. The Shining is an icon of horror cinema so over the years it has been hard for me not to come across short scenes and parodies whether that be the Grady sisters in the hallway or the “Here’s Johnny,” scene.
The Shining follows the Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) and his family as they move to the Overlook Hotel in the Colorado Rockies after he accepts a seasonal job there as a winter caretaker. Before he accepts the role he is briefly notified about the tragic history of the hotel and the previous caretaker who killed his family and himself, although Jack thinks nothing of this and see this job as an opportunity to work on his writing. The hotel closes over winter and the family get snowed in at the isolated location but with Jack Torrance rapidly losing his sanity and debatable supernatural incidents throughout the film there is an ominous feeling that history may repeat itself.
The film focuses on Jack Torrance’s deterioration from a recovering alcoholic and aspiring writer trying to put his life on track to a potential murderer putting his family in jeopardy is at first subtle but then unravels as more sinister throughout the film with frequent violent outbursts, superstitious events and interactions and paranoia towards his wife and young child.
I really liked the storytelling and foreshadowing aspect of (Danny Lloyd) as well as the hotel’s cook Dick Hallorann (Scatman Crothers) having the “shining” and being able to have supernatural premonitions about the history of the hotel and gory events later in the film. At first there is an inkling that as a five-year-old he is imagining these supernatural events or that his imaginary friend Tony is not connected with his ability to “shine”. The shots of Danny cycling on his tricycle and running through the maze work well as they are filmed at his height following right behind or him and show the large scale of the hotel and the narrowness of the corridors.
The film does not entirely follow the book as there are some changes to the characters and family dynamics particularly Jack’s wife Wendy (Shelley Duvall) and the final events, with the author Stephen King infamously committing that it was a poor adaptation. I think it was a good adaptation particularly when recreating the key events in the novel, suspense and the isolated location of the hotel. I particularly liked the eerie exterior shots at the start of the film and of the hotel’s cook Dick Hallorann trying to reach the hotel, which show the winding roads and mountains leading up to the Overlook accompanied by the memorable creepy film score and it reiterates how alone and helpless the family are.
I rate The Shining 4½ stars.
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