Movie Review #1: The Shining

The Shining (1980)
Director: Stanley Kubrick
Writer(s): Stanley Kubrick, Diane Johnson
Starring: Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Danny Lloyd

Stanley Kubrick: everybody loves his work. (Well, at least anyone who thinks about movies critically; I can’t speak for the Michael Bay and Happy Madison camps.) Kubrick is known for his pioneering camera work, extreme attention to detail, atmospheric films, dark screenplays, and, speaking generally, being one of few directors to fully realize film as an art form. Looking at his body of work – 2001: A Space Odyssey, Eyes Wide Shut, A Clockwork Orange – it’s hard to deny his influence and magnitude as a director. Indeed, many are willing to call Kubrick the greatest director in movie history, usually ranking him right up with Alfred Hitchcock and Ingmar Bergman. I myself have been somewhat resilient to loving his work wholeheartedly: I’ve found pictures from Hitchcock and Francis Ford Coppola to ask equally important questions while also stressing said questions in subtler ways. That being said, I know a good film when I see one, and The Shining is a very good film.

The Shining, based on the famous book by Stephen King, is often considered one of the quintessential horror films. Just last year, a scientific study found that the infamous "Here's Johnny" sequence film to be the single scariest sequence in mainstream horror films. The primary antagonist, Jack Torrance, was voted the 25th best cinematic villain in American movies. Most powerful of all is the Channel4 countdown of the scariest moments in visual history: out of 100 moments in TV and movie history, including such entries as Alien, The Exorcist, and The Silence of the Lambs, The Shining was voted the single scariest film in movie history. Needless to say, the film has quite the reputation. But have 34 years managed to decrease its effect? Let's find out.

The plot of The Shining is remarkably simple. Jack Torrance, a former alcoholic and schoolteacher, gets a new job as the caretaker of the Overlook Hotel. The Overlook Hotel, hidden in the mountains and built atop an ancient Native American burial ground, is a place seemingly haunted by spirits; indeed, the last caretaker killed his family and himself. Despite the obvious warning signs, Jack brings his wife and son, Wendy and Danny, to the hotel for the five month winter. Danny takes this especially hard, as he is either afflicted or blessed with an incredible ability called "The Shining" allowing him to access the realm of the supernatural. This ability creates tension between him and his family, as they struggle to cope with both cabin fever and the supernatural horrors of the hotel. Eventually, Jack snaps and goes on a murderous rampage, with his family near helpless to stop him.

The film's greatest strength is its ability to transcend its basic premise with great atmosphere and pacing. While many of the shots in The Shining are breathtakingly beautiful (see the opening crane shot of the mountain tops), there is an immaculate balance of openness and claustrophobia. Though the Overlook Hotel is both massive and empty, the tight hallways and symmetric arrangements make the audience feel as if there is nowhere to run. The film's heavy use of tracking shots works in spades here, as the camera seems to press all the more tightly upon our protagonists. The Hotel itself is part of the horror, as well as the spirits and the insane Jack. The excellent sound plays into this too. There is always an echo. Is that echo one's own, or is it merely the response of a ghost? The soundtrack, while highly noisy on its own, builds up the suspense masterfully. The famous "here's Johnny" scene works so well by virtue of its sound, rather than its images. In traditional Kubrick fashion, there's a great balance between light and dark, especially during the climax.

Yet, as great as all these touches are, I feel the strongest element of the film is Jack Nicholson as Jack Torrance. The film's plot is one massive crescendo to his final snap, and Nicholson captures this phrasing in his performance. With each passing scene, we are pulled more and more into Torrance's insanity. Jack is always frightening, regardless of whether he is ranting about "little pigs" or calmly discussing the nature of his work at the hotel. At the same time, the hard-working, sane Jack Torrance is still fighting against the spectral influence of the hotel, trying to break free. The final victory of his inner demons is both intimidating and tragic. 

At the same time, most Stephen King purists find Nicholson's performance to be the film's largest downside. Stephen King personally despises this adaptation, as it downplays the supernatural element of the Overlook. Indeed, it is highly possible to look at The Shining as if there is no supernatural element whatsoever: it might just be an examination of cabin fever within a dysfunctional family. Yet I think such a look makes the film all the more fascinating. Every time Jack sees a ghost/spirit, a mirror or reflective surface is not far away. Taking into account Jack Nicholson's tendency to gaze into space, the spirits he sees could merely be extensions of himself. As a result, the fantastic occurrences in the hotel might just be his own insanity. The supernatural plights of Danny and Wendy could merely be reactions to the insane world they have entered, coping mechanisms in a way. Best of all, the ambiguity of the film allows the viewer to make that judgment for him/herself.

So, after all that analysis, one would expect me to wholeheartedly recommend The Shining. However, that would not be the case. For The Shining has one major failing: it is not scary.

I repeat: The Shining is not scary.

The Shining is suspenseful; it is not scary.

The Shining is creepy; it is not scary.

The Shining is an undeniably good film; it is not scary.

I never got frightened while watching The Shining. My heart never raced (trust me; I checked my pulse during the most frightening sequences in order to verify the effects of the aforementioned study), I never jumped out of my seat, and I never found the imagery too off-putting. Some of the imagery was certainly odd (the guy in the dog suit?), but it was never scary. There is some gore in The Shining, but it only ever amounts to some blood. As far as a horror title goes, The Shining works extremely hard at building up the scares, but the actual pay-off is underwhelming. Let's look at an example: <spoilers>

<skip to the 58 second mark>

This scene is probably the best scare in the movie, yet it has some major flaws. On the plus side, Jack emerges from the opposite side of the screen that the viewer is expecting him to come from. However, he announces his presence with a rather lame yell, making the axe blow all the less frightening. Plus, it takes a full second as well as two different camera angles for our hapless victim to get hit with the axe; human reaction time is much faster than a second. We need the strike to come much more suddenly if we are to be frightened. Kubrick gets closer with the subsequent jump cuts, but none of the images are particularly frightening after that. Jack's facial expressions are honestly quite goofy, so we don't see a legitimate threat. Danny's face is not scary either. If Kubrick had cut in some of the clips of the former caretaker killing his family, maybe he could have made something scarier. As is, the scene just doesn't sync up with how we process fear.

Ordinarily, I would not complain about lack of scares. But The Shining has been hyped as the scariest movie ever made. That claim is not true. I found Psycho and Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? much more scary than this film. They better understand the importance of the unexpected, satisfying their suspense with real pay-off. The timing in The Shining just does not work well enough. I'd give this film a higher rating if it were billed as a thriller rather than a horror: as is, it is one of the less effective horror films I've seen. As is, The Shining is a suspenseful, chilling, and effective film, but a somewhat underwhelming scare.

Recommendation: Obviously, The Shining is not a film to show a small child. Due to scenes of somewhat intense violence as well as a lengthy sequence involving full frontal nudity, The Shining fully  deserves its R rating. By the same token, The Shining is not a gore-fest akin to the Friday the 13th or Saw franchises: as a result, it remains a strong thriller title for those looking for some "heart-pounding" sequences minus the excessive gore. But, as I mentioned in my main review, The Shining is not exceptionally scary. Thus, if you are seeking a scare, I'd probably recommend Psycho or a true horror title. Nonetheless, if you are looking for a good film with rather weighty subject material, especially if you enjoy psychological thrillers, The Shining is a must-watch.

I give The Shining 8.5 stars out of 10.