A review of the classic 1980 film “The Shining”
Confession time: it took me 46 years to see this movie. I’m a massive fan of Stanley Kubrick, who produced, directed and co-wrote it, but I don’t like horror and I’m adverse to the supernatural. Although it initially had mixed reviews, The Shining has come to be regarded as one of the greatest horror movies ever made and there have been endless interpretations of the characters and action, so I felt that I had to see it for inclusion in my next book. I viewed it on the big screen and saw the extended version of 144 minutes.
The film is an adaptation of a Stephen King novel, but King was very unhappy with Kubrick’s version. Set at the Overlook Hotel in Colorado’s Rocky Mountains (but shot largely on studios in England), it concerns the experience of the Torrance family who spend the winter looking after the deserted and snow-bound venue: Jack, former alcoholic, child abuser and aspirant writer (brilliantly played by Jack Nicholson), his son Danny, who has an imaginary friend and psychic abilities referred to as ‘the shining’ (eerie Danny Loyd), and Wendy, a simple-minded woman caught between her husband’s descent into madness and her son’s increasing weirdness (odd-looking Shelly Duvall).
This is not my kind of movie, but I have to admire it on a technical level: atmospheric use of sound from the off, striking imagery with much use of blood and bodies, and innovative use of the newly-available Steadicam. Even if you’ve never seen the movie, you’ll probably be aware of some of its many iconic moments, such as two blue-skirted girls in the hallway, the word ‘Redrum’ scrawled in lipstick, blood pouring out of the elevator doors, and Jack sticking his head through the smashed hole in the bathroom door, shrieking, “Here’s Johnny”.
August 28th, 2026 at 4:39 pm
That’s a great point about how opinions shift over time. I agree, it’s a really influential film even if it’s not scary for everyone.