The Shining (1980)

I was nine when I first caught a glimpse of “The Shining”. It was the moment when Shelly Duval was staring at the elevator as it opened and a wave of blood came spilling out of it. Having witnessed one of the most graphic parts of the movie at a young age, I had an iron will and was prepared for anything when I sat down to watch it from beginning to end many years later. The film was slower than I had expected, wasn’t as graphic as I had imagined, wasn’t nearly as eventful as I thought it would be, and was easily one of the best movies I had ever seen. This is what a ghost story is meant to be like!

The atmosphere is perfect for a ghost story; the visuals of the hotel and the grounds are gorgeous, and the background sounds, especially the sounds from Danny’s Big Wheel as he is racing through the hallways over the rugs then on to the hard wood floor and on to rugs again, is in itself haunting. Casting Jack Nicholson in the role of Jack Torrance might at first seem unwise since he already looked so disheveled and manic but as the movies progresses and he slowly succumbs to cabin fever and his own inner demons, you see exactly how fantastic of an actor he really is. Shelly Duvall is impressive in her own right, looking absolutely terrified and helpless during the last quarter of the film.

Famed director Stanley Kubrick had claimed that “The Shining” was going to be the scariest movie of all time. Not everyone may agree with this but I think most people would give this some serious thought. Stephen King would be the first to disagree since he has always been very vocal about how this movie doesn’t follow the book precisely, and I’m thrilled that it doesn’t. I have only read the first few chapters of the book but I did see the made-for-TV series that came out in the late 90’s and I feel that Kubrick made the right choice in slimming down the importance of the ghosts and their roles from the book.

Favorite moment – Every moment.

Ghastly visions

Mr. Torrance at the bar