The Shining
Director: Stanley Kubrick
Actors: Danny Lloyd., Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall
Release Date: Friday 2nd November 2012
Genre(s): Horror
Running time: 142 minutes
One of the best horror movies of all time. There; that should be reason enough to go see The Shining for anyone who hasn't already had the chance. For those of you who have, it's re-release is a perfect time to revisit this ground-breaking genre movie, with 24 added minutes of masterful storytelling.
The plot is nothing special - a family move into a hotel for the winter as caretakers, but it turns out the hotel might be haunted – but despite all of the ghostly girls and rotting old women, this is a movie centred around a man who is slowly losing his mind. Jack Nicholson's performance as struggling writer Jack Torrence is one of the all-time greats, but despite the countless impressions and subsequent piss-takes, still manages to completely unnerve audiences. The same goes for the more famous scenes from the movie; Jack breaking down the door with an axe, the elevator of blood, the kid on the tricycle… they all still maintain their power to completely creep you out. But Nicholson isn't the only one performing beyond the call of duty for a horror movie, as Shelley Duvall (Wendy Torrance) and Danny Lloyd (Danny Torrance) are both sublime in their roles, both extraordinary at switching from vulnerable to terrified at a moment's notice.
Directed and co-written by certified genius Stanley Kubrick, and based on but not entirely faithful to the novel by Stephen King (who famously HATES the movie), you'd be hard-pressed to find a more visually stunning or technically minded horror films. Everything from the endless Steadicam tracking shots following the family members around the maze of hallways, to the striking snowstorm building up and swallowing the hotel whole have been designed to get and keep your attention glued to the screen, marvelling wide-eyed even as you hide behind your fingers.
At 142 minutes, the film takes its time, but the rewards are great for those who are patient. The new extra scenes don't add much in terms of story, but they do help deepen the ever-imposing sense of dread, making this a must see for any fan of horror movies.
