The Shining (1980)

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  TheMovieDiorama

  9 / 10

  The Shining is one of the most iconic psychological horror films of all time. Some even regard it as the scariest film of all time. Is it? It's definitely up there with the best. The plot involves a family looking after a hotel during the winter season, but soon solitude and isolation will slowly turn the mind into madness. This is iconic for a reason, all the damn quotable scenes! "Here's Johnny!", "Wendy. Darling. Light of my life!", "Red Rum"" and of course the numerous lines of "Gimme the bat!". It plays with the mind and I adore the gradual process of Jack's mind deteriorating. Stanley Kubrick once again showed that he was a master at the craft of film making. His tracking shots through the ghastly hotel corridors and the twisty hedge maze were awe-inspiring. Technically this film is perfect. I love how he merges horror imagery with the narrative, we get a room filling with blood, creepy twins being creepy and the son looking frightened to death on screen. These quick flashes within the story add to the horror. Remember this isn't a horror that we are used to seeing nowadays, no jump scares...it's all in the imagery. Jack Nicholson stole the film entirely, starting off as an ordinary chap who applies for a job...only for him to turn into an axe wielding psychopath. I found the interior decor of the hotel to be suitably creepy and the wooly jumpers that Danny wears are hideous (definitely adds to the horror). What keeps this film from getting my perfect score, is Shelley Duvall. I'm sorry, but she was bad. She spent half the time running aimlessly with a knife in one hand and her acting skills just didn't connect with me. Her chemistry with Nicholson just wasn't there. So whilst this didn't blow me away like 2001, this is another solid Kubrick film and one of the best psychological horrors.

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