31 Days of Horror: The Shining (1980)

Stanley Kubrick's The Shining is a polarizing film. I think you either love it or hate it. Consider me in the latter. While I don't find it particularly scary {why it makes the top of 'horror' lists is beyond me}, The Shining is a beautiful piece to behold thanks to gorgeous cinematography and a remarkable performance by a young Jack Nicholson.

Again, the visual elements are remarkable. Kubrick's Steadycam creates a myriad of settings both eerie and arresting. From the winding road and the Gold Room to the wintry labyrinth, The Shining is beautifully constructed. The Outlook Hotel is stunning and Kubrick creates a complete character out of it, giving the building a haunting influence over the caretakers.

Nicholson is amazing as Jack Torrence, an aspiring writer, husband and father who succumbs to the hotel's whispers. Kubrick masterfully descends Torrence into slow insanity. Shelly Duvall is very weak here, I think. *cringes, waits for stones to fall* She is annoyance incarnate. Little Danny played by Danny Lloyd is one creepy little kid.

Using author Stephen King's source material, Kubrick weaves an undoubtedly wicked story. Fear and apprehension build from the opening moments. You feel that something's not quite right and from that moment you, the viewer, are riveted.

The film consists of many unforgettable scenes, but I'll touch on two. Jack's visit to room 237 where he meets the beautiful wife of the former caretaker Delbert Grady. As she decays in Jack's arms, there is such gut-wrenching repulsion. I love how Kubrick breed fear in the three-wheeler sequences with Danny--such simplicity.

The Shining isn't without its glaring faults. Like of many of Kubrick's film, there is a sense of randomness for me and I think many horror fans find this film deceptively plain. Look beneath the surface--you'll find nuances of fear, but as I see it, The Shining is hardly nightmare-inducing.