The Shining (1980)
1980
R
144 Minutes
Jack Torrance accepts a caretaker job at the Overlook Hotel, where he, along with his wife Wendy and their son Danny, must live isolated from the rest of the world for the winter. But they aren't p...
User Review
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WHAT I LIKED: Seemingly obsessed with making films that mostly serve as commentaries on the human condition and its societies, Stanley Kubrick is generally a very theatrical, comedic and thematic filmmaker, so you may think he's a far cry from the right guy to tackle a horror film. You'd be right too, but there are things about 'The Shining' that work - namely that it is very theatrical, and somewhat entraining as a result. Yes with Jack Nicholson at the centre delivering a ridiculously over-the-top performance as a man who loses his mind when trapped in a house with his family over winter, there is fun to be had, and there are also commentaries unlocked about how fragile the mind is. It's also naturally a film with a very impressive set of technical assets - from the cinematography to the set-design which brings a thoroughly impressive sense of space to the whole affair - and in the end you do have yourself a reasonably admirable film, and a surprising and interesting addition to the Kubrick filmography.
WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE: It is true though, Kubrick just isn't the right guy to make a horror film... and the bottom line is that ultimately The Shining isn't in the least bit scary. The tension isn't built intelligently because everything's just too theatrical and over-the-top, and there's no mystery or nuance to be seen anywhere. Any hint of that with the concept of shining itself feels extremely tagged on, and whilst I've heard it said that the ambiguity of that is what makes it scary, I would argue there's nothing that hints at anything sinister in that department beyond Kubrick being obliged to shove it in to honour the source material and its title. None of that is to mention either that Jack Nicholson's performance is absolutely ridiculous from start to finish and actually works most of all on a comedic level, and in the end whilst I recognise that there are things to admire here, as a horror film The Shining is a complete and utter let-down because it just isn't scary in the slightest.
VERDICT: A horror film that isn't remotely scary is a pointless exercise. Stanley Kubrick does a good job of trying to convince otherwise with 'The Shining,' but ultimately his theatrical, comedic style is the wrong fit for this genre.1 member likes this review.
