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102 out of 116 people found the following comment useful:-
A truly brilliant and scary film from Stanley Kubrick., 29 June 2003
Author:
unbreakablepabs ([email protected]) from London
I can't praise this film long enough!
The Shining is, without doubt, one of Stanley Kubrick's undisputed
masterpieces and a true classic in horror cinema. It is a film that, over
the course of the years, has managed to scare the living hell out of its
audiences (and still does). The film is an adaptation of Stepehen King's
original novel, written in the late '70s, and although the film is not
very
loyal to the book, it still stands as a thing of its own.
Right from the beginning, as we contemplate the car going to the hotel
from
those stunning aerial shots, deeply inside us we know that something in
the
film, somehow, sometime is going to go wrong. As we obtain that severe
warning, an almost inaudible voice gently whispers to us 'sit tight', a
sense of unexpectedness invades us all, and it is that very same feeling
that makes our hair stand on end throughout out the entire movie.
The plot is simple: Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) becomes the caretaker
of
the Overlook Hotel in up in the secluded mountains of Colorado. Jack,
being
a family man, takes his wife (Shelley Duvall) and son (Danny Lloyd) to the
hotel to keep him company throughout the long, isolated nights. During
their
stay, strange things occur when Jack's son Danny sees gruesome images
powered by a force called 'the shining' and Jack is heavily affected by
this. Along with writer's block and the demons of the hotel haunting him,
Jack has a complete mental breakdown and the situation takes a sinister
turn
for the worse.
The film, unlike many horror-oriented films nowadays, doesn't only rely on
stomach-churning and gory images (which it does contain, anyway) but on
the
incredibly scary music based on the works of B�la Bart�k and on the
excellent cinematography (the Steadicam is superbly used, giving us a
sense
of ever-following evil), as well. The terrifying mood and atmosphere of
the
film is carefully and masterfully woven by Kubrick, who clearly knows how
to
really make a horror movie.
Jack Nicholson's powerful performance as the mad father and husband is as
over the top as it is brilliant. Shelley Duvall, who plays the worrying
wife
who tries to help her son, is also a stand out; she shows a kind of
trembling fear in many scenes and is able to display weakness and
vulnerability in a very convincing way. Undoubtedly, The Shining is full
of
memorable moments (the elevator scene or the 'Heeeeeere's Johnny'
one-liner
for instance) and, simply put, it's flawlessly brilliant.
Stanley Kubrick's direction is pure excellence, giving the whole film a
cold
and atmospheric look, thus creating an unbearable sense of paranoia and
terror. There are moments of sheer brilliance and exquisite perfection in
this film; the horrifying maze chase is a perfect example. Every single
shot
is masterfully created and there are some genuinely scary scenes which
will
make you sit on the edge of your seat.
The Shining is, in my opinion, a special landmark in horror cinema which
will always be regarded as one of the scariest movies in film history.
Since
I saw it last year, when I was 13, I have rarely been able to have a bath
in
my bathtub.Just in case, ya know. Overall, The Shining is incomparably the
scariest film I've ever seen in my whole life (and I can tell you I've
seen
a great deal of horror films).
It is an unforgettable, chilling, majestic and truly, profoundly scary
film
crafted by an eccentric genius who wants to show that the impossible can
be
done. The Shining is a sublime, hauntingly intriguing and endlessly
watchable film that shows Kubrick at his best.
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