User reviews

Even though The Shining is over a quarter of a century old, I challenge anyone to not get freaked out by Jack Nicholson's descent into madness. This is a rare example of something so unique that no one has been able to rip it off; instead it has been referenced time and again in pop culture. The twins, the elevator of blood, RedRum, the crazy nonsense "writing"... this should be seen, if for nothing else, to understand all the allusions to it in daily life. The film is simultaneously scary, suspenseful, beautiful, and psychologically intriguing. It has the classic mystery of Hitchcock and the terror of a modern thriller. And it has what horror movies usually lack: a great script.

One of those films that is a classic for a reason.

It's been on my list of movies to watch forever and a day and I finally got to it in 2023.

This is an experience, masterfully shot and some of the most intense and engaging performances I have ever seen.

Nicholson and Duvall have a complex chemistry that works at so many levels, which is essential to the make up of this story and anchors the first class direction.

This is cinematically spectacular, the sets and the the design of this film is isolating, terrifying and captivatingly beautiful all at the same time.

Worth all of the accolades and hype, even at 43 years old this film delivers in spades.

Chilling, majestic piece of cinematic fright, this film combines all the great elements of an intellectual thriller, with the grand vision of a director who has the instinctual capacity to pace a moody horror flick within the realm of his filmmaking genius that includes an eye for the original shot, an ice-cold soundtrack and an overall sense of dehumanization. This movie cuts through all the typical horror movies like a red-poker through a human eye, as it allows the viewer to not only feel the violence and psychosis of its protagonist, but appreciate the seed from which the derangement stems. One of the scariest things for people to face is the unknown and this film presents its plotting with just that thought in mind. The setting is perfect, in a desolate winter hideaway. The quietness of the moment is a character in itself, as the fermenting aggressor in Jack Torrance's mind wallows in this idle time, and breeds the devil's new playground. I always felt like the presence of evil was dormant in all of our minds, with only the circumstances of the moment, and the reasons given therein, needed to wake its violent ass and pounce over its unsuspecting victims. This film is a perfect example of this very thought.

And it is within this film's subtle touches of the canvas, the clackity-clacks of the young boy's big wheel riding along the empty hallways of the hotel, the labyrinthian garden representing the mind's fine line between sane and insane, Kubrick's purposely transfixed editing inconsistencies, continuity errors and set mis-arrangements, that we discover a world guided by the righteous and tangible, but coaxed away by the powerful and unknown. I have never read the book upon which the film is based, but without that as a comparison point, I am proud to say that this is one of the most terrifying films that I have ever seen. I thought that the runtime of the film could've been cut by a little bit, but then again, I am not one of the most acclaimed directors in the history of film, so maybe I should keep my two-cent criticisms over a superb film, to myself. All in all, this movie captures your attention with its grand form and vision, ropes you in with some terror and eccentric direction, and ties you down and stabs you in the heart with its cold-eyed view of the man's mind gone overboard, creepy atmosphere and the loss of humanity.

Rating: 9/10

Kubrick, King and Nicholson, the writing was literally on the wall, and I don't mean RedRum, forty years on, and The Shining is still a masterpiece.

Kubrick takes King's fantastic book, and builds on it, bringing the story to life in his own inimitable way. It's dark, it's bleak, it's terrifying, a masterpiece in storytelling. You watch as the central character's mental collapse is played out in a spine chilling fashion.

Gorgeous camera work, incredible visuals, that opening is iconic. So many incredible, visual moments, the twins, lift, barman etc, no wonder it's been parodied multiple times over the years, famously by The Simpsons.

An iconic role for Jack Nicholson, he is incredible, well supported by a terrific cast.

It's a classic, 10/10.

When this film first came out in 1980, I remember going to see it on opening night. The sheer terror that I experienced in viewing "The Shining" was enough to make me go to bed with the lights turned ON every night for an entire summer. This movie just scared the life out of me, which is what still happens every time I rent the video for a re-watch. I have seen The Shining at least six or seven times, and I still believe it to be simultaneously and paradoxically one of the most frightening and yet funniest films I've ever seen. Frightening because of the extraordinarily effective use of long shots to create feelings of isolation, convex lens shots to enhance surrealism, and meticulously scored music to bring tension levels to virtually unbearable levels. And "funny" because of Jack Nicholson's outrageous and in many cases ad-libbed onscreen antics. It never ceases to amaze me how The Shining is actually two films in one, both a comedy AND a horror flick. Ghostly apparitions of a strikingly menacing nature haunt much of the first half of the film, which gradually evolve into ever more serious physical threats as time progresses. Be that as it may, there is surprisingly little violence given the apparent intensity, but that is little comfort for the feint of heart as much of the terror is more implied than manifest. The Shining is a truly frightening movie that works symbolically on many levels, but is basically about human shortcomings and the way they can be exploited by unconscious forces combined with weakness of will. This film scares the most just by using suggestion to turn your own imagination against you. The Shining is a brilliant cinematic masterpiece, the likes of which have never been seen before or since. Highly, highly recommended. - Paul

Whenever we hear the name Stanley Kubrick, the poster, scene or a shot from The Shining will come to our mind - most probably " Here's Johnny!". For a legendary filmmaker like Kubrick who has multiple masterpieces to his credit, would still be fine if he had never even made this film. But still, there would be some great missing which will be felt! That's because of The Shining's ability to penetrate the viewer's mind, even the subconscious, and imprint an influence in its deeper depths. How the movie hooks the viewer with its horror which is created from several dimensions is a remarkable factor that makes this film an all-perfect masterpiece that is thrilling and exciting even after watching it umpteen times.

How Kubrick created the horror, just one among the many factors that make the film a great one (still a very important one though), is so deep and mind-blowing, he builds tension in the viewer with enough substance written in the screenplay to showcase on the screen, and perfectly well-tuned and tastefully directed horror. Most importantly, the background music and sounds have immense depth with its structuring crafted to the innermost core and the finely touched upper layers. The actors give performances that are dramatically aesthetic and showcase facial expressions that are realistic to the utmost extent. As the film progresses the anticipation for something scary to expect in the upcoming scenes is created successfully and the anticipation that it created is also executed by scaring the viewer with horrors of huge intensity.

One thing that is found in this film is something of a variety. It's the portrayal of the supernatural in a very realistic manner, which is done in a subtle way that doesn't let the viewer know that it's a realistic portrayal of the supernatural he won't even care to notice it. Because that's how successfully it's done. And what's the use of it? It has an impact on the viewer which affects how he perceives the film, and that too which will be something of an advantage for the filmmaker.

I don't intend to say anything about the story of the film, whether it's supernatural horror or the breakdown of a madman's mind, is still debated among cinephiles, even 40 years after the film's release. And that's also a thing which makes the film a great one! Rather than just showing what the maker wants to show, Kubrick lets the viewer decide what the film is, by making him analyse the film from his perspective and come up with an interpretation. This is a form of interactive cinema, an indirect one though.

The Shining is one of the greatest horror masterpieces or even one of the best films of all time.

While I can understand a lot of Stephen King's arguments over Kubrick's vision, including casting Jack Nicholson who instead of a descent into madness looks insane from the first frame. This is still an absolute classic.

The sound, editing, camera and mise en scene are all utilized perfectly. A perfect score, framing, cinematography, camera work, set, production design, acting, storytelling, and not only just a perfect horror movie, but a perfect film. This film is what all great films STRIVE to be. The highest of film standards.

The Shining is a masterwork of creating mood, setting tone, and developing an atmosphere. The score is one of the best and most iconic scores of all time. As well as the most eerie.

This is honestly my favorite of all Stanley Kubrick's films. The Shining is a masterpiece of cinema *chefs kiss*

The only thing that is a negative imo is that if your not completely invested in the movie and ready to sit down and watch, you will get bored. It's lengthy, but worth it once your totally engrossed in the film. Especially for your first viewing. You gotta pay attention.

My expectation were to high. I expected a masterpiece, but in the end I found it just mediocre. Dont get me wrong the acting and the camera work are great. Storywise I couldnt really get invested in it. In terms of horror except the twins it wasn't scary at all in my opinion.

This is a difficult review to write. You see, I've just posted comments on Ella Enchanted where I comment that, as someone who has never read the book, the film is absolutely fine. But it's difficult for me to approach Stanley Kubrick's The Shining on that basis because, you see, I've read Stephen King's The Shining.

If I do my absolute best to put the book out of my mind, I suppose that the film must be acknowledged as a tolerable horror, with two major flaws - one, it's overlong, and what should be a slow burn loaded with increasing dread becomes simply boring, and two, Jack Nicholson's established screen persona means that there is absolutely no suspense in his development from decent though flawed father/husband to scenery-chewing maniac - the final madness is there from the first frame he appears in.

If you've never read the book and you're a horror fan, then you'll probably enjoy it - no huge surprises, but it ticks most of the boxes. And it looks very good.

But what a missed opportunity! Stanley Kubrick's The Shining is a film about a man who goes mad in a haunted hotel. Stephen King's The Shining is a novel about an evil entity which inhabits a hotel, and which wants to consume a boy's psychic power: the boy is strong enough to resist it, so it works on the weakest link, the father, and gradually erodes everything which made him a good, decent man. Jack's transition from the decent though weak man he starts out as, to the point where the Overlook is in control of his every action, is absolutely central to Stephen King's The Shining, and it could only have worked on screen if Jack was portrayed by an actor who was initially credible as a decent, gentle man. Not Nicholson - I love him, but he was (in my view) a spectacular piece of miscasting for this movie. Picture Dustin Hoffman, Harrison Ford, or someone similar, and how dramatic and shocking their descent to axe-wielding maniachood would have been.The contrast is essential to Stephen King's story: with Nicholson, there was no contrast.

It is also worth commenting that King's The Shining is about a man who loves his family: Kubrick's The Shining is stated, by the screenwriter in one of the DVD documentaries, to be about a man who hates his family. A fairly fundamental difference, yes?

Ah well. "What if"s never got us anywhere. Go and see Stanley Kubrick's The Shining anyway, and enjoy Jack Nicholson chewing scenery. The scenery's pretty good eye candy and, besides, he does it so well.

"The Shining" by Stanley Kubrick explores the question of who is the reliable observer and whose ideas of events can be trusted. The opening scene at a job interview introduces Jack Torrance, a man who plans to live in solitude with his wife and son at the snowbound Overlook Hotel. His employer warns him about a former caretaker who murdered his wife and two daughters, but Jack assures him that this will not happen. His wife, a confirmed ghost story and horror film addict, is likely to be fascinated by the story. Jack, Wendy, and Danny move into a hotel during winter shutdown, where the chef, Dick Hallorann, explains the food storage locker. They are left alone, and Jack works tirelessly at his typewriter, while Wendy and Danny create a routine of everyday life, including breakfast cereal, toys, and TV. The three don't seem to function as a loving family, as they are constantly occupied with their daily routines. The question remains whether people will talk about real tragedies or if Jack will ever tell his wife about it. Danny, a reliable witness, is influenced by Tony, who channels psychic input, including a vision of blood spilling from hotel elevators and two matching girls. However, these visions may not accurately represent the actual events. Wendy, a companion and playmate for Danny, has a matter-of-fact banality similar to Shelley Duvall's "3 Women." She tries to cheer Jack up until he abruptly stops interrupting his work. Wendy later discovers the reality of his work, and is reliable at that moment and later when she bolts Jack into the food locker after he becomes violent. The opening shots of Jack wending his way up the Colorado mountains are a sign of what's to come. The eerie Moog interpretation of Hector Berlioz's Symphonie fantastique, the mirroring of the landscape against a placid lake, and the breathless whoosh of the camera are all signs of what's to come. With Steadicam mounts, Kubrick experiments with how a constantly roving camera can unmoor an audience. Even in the benign early scenes of Jack heading to the interview or the Torrance clan getting a tour of the hotel, it feels like a game of chicken. As the Torrances settle into The Overlook for the winter and a snowstorm severs their connection to the outside world, the madness that quickly seizes Jack ramps up a whole strategy of disorientation. Kubrick makes a joke out of titles announcing different days of the week, as if time has any meaning in isolation. The geography of The Overlook is impossible to map, with the kitchen, living quarters, Gold Room, upper floors, and Room 237 all distinct spaces that are impossible to connect.

Kubrick totally nails it with the creepy and suffocating vibe in the movie. The Overlook Hotel is like a character in itself, and those twisty hallways add to the mounting tension.

Jack Nicholson goes down in history with his bone-chilling performance as Jack Torrance. He goes from normal to nuts in a way that's both horrifying and mesmerizing. He's basically the face of the movie's unsettling vibes.

This film is all about messing with your head. It slowly peels back the sanity layers of its characters, keeping you guessing whether what you're seeing is real or just madness playing tricks on you.

(1980) The Shining PSYCHOLOGICAL HORROR

Co-produced co-written and directed by Stanley Kubrick that has Jack(Jack Nicholson) along with his wife, Wendy (Shelley Duvall) and their son, Danny (Danny Llyod) moving into an expensive abandoned and isolated resort to help him finish his novel, but holding with this resort are some sinister dark secrets turning him into a lunatic! Co-written from Stephen King and adapted from his own novel of the same name, despite not faithful to King's book, the reason is that it showcases psychologically how a normal human being can be driven into madness, incorporated by a past with it's goal is it to destroy anybody who decide to reside there. And by using a lot of brilliant props, such as the maze and the hordes of blood theirs a great a great deal of creativeness that is unlike on any other horror film til this day and of course without Nicholson's performance this movie wouldn't have worked!

I was never a big fan of horror movies. They usually try cheap tricks to scare their audiences like loud noises and creepy children. They usually lack originality and contain overacting galore. The only horror movie i like was Stir of Echoes with Kevin Bacon. It was well-acted, and had a great story. But it has been joined and maybe even surpassed by Stanley Kubrick's The Shining, quite possibly the scariest movie ever.

The movie follows a writer (Jack Nicholson) and his family who agree to watch over a hotel while it is closed for the winter. There were rumors of the place being haunted and the last resident went crazy and murdered his family. But Jack is convinced it will be OK and he can use the quiet to overcome his writer's block. After months of solitude and silence however, Jack becomes a grumpy and later violent. Is it cabin fever or is there something in the hotel that is driving him mad?

One of the creepiest parts about the movie is the feeling of isolation that Kubrick makes. The hotel is very silent, and the rooms are huge, yet always empty. It is also eerily calm when Jack's son is riding his bike through the barren hallways. Jack Nicholson's performance is also one of his very best, scaring the hell out of me and making me sure to get out once in awhile. My favorite scene is when he is talking to a ghost from inside a walk-in refrigerator.

The Shining is tops for horror movies in my opinion, beating the snot out of crap like the Ring and The Blair Witch Project. It may be a oldie, but is definitely a goodie. 8/10

The Shining was my favourite horror movie as a kid. Born in 1988 i think i watched this movie more than 10 times. But being a kid i offcourse did not understand the psychological drama behind it in full. I am now watching this after 15+ years again with my 12 year old son, who is obsessed with the horror genre. But is more of the type of horror like Saw. Not even 30 minutes into the movie, with actually nothing really happening, he is scared to death. And even me, who watched this movie so many times, but not for a very long time, have a scary feeling in my stomach. The music is really the best actor in this whole movie. All the time you are wondering what is going to happen next. Even though at the beginning, nothing is really happening. The actors are perfect for their roles. The whole movie you have this uncomfortable feeling, but you can't really place it. The Shining really shows that you dont need a lot of scary stuff and action in a movie to make it scary.

I first saw this in the late 80s on a vhs, then again in the early 2k on a dvd which I own. Revisited the 144 mins director's cut recently as i am anxious to check out Doctor Sleep n the tv version of The Shining.

Everything has already been said about this film n there seems to be little left to say but as a fan of horror movies (especially to do with isolation n eeriness), lemme contribute by praising how good this film is n at the same time why it doesn't deserve a full 10.

The film has solid amount of tension n scare factor.

The vast isolation, the snow capped peaks, the valleys, the mountains, the narrow, winding roads, the snow covered roads, the eerie corridors, they all add to the film's narration.

The start scene wher Jack is driving and the background music, itself gives goosebumps n a sign that something sinister is awaiting.

On a technical level this film is gr8, the music, the visuals, the camera angles, etc all add to it except the lead actor Nicholson.

Nicholson was already well known for playing unstable characters and his character Jack in this film is shown to be a bit wierd from the beginning.

They shud have asked him to potray a normal family loving person in the beginning n later show the gradual transition into madness n possession.

Who wud discuss Donner Party in front of a kid?

Also the way Jack gives an evilish smile when his kid tells about watching cannibalism on tv.

What kinda parent wud approve of that?

Also most of the time Jack's behavior is more laughable.

Even when he is hit on the head by his wife n he falls down, it is a big lol.

This has got to be the most overrated movie in the history of film. I just watched it for the first time, expecting the best of the best, and it was quite a letdown. The sets and music are great, of course, but Kubrick seems to have forgotten one very important thing: to make a horror movie horrifying, you have to have likable characters. That way, when bad things start happening, the audience feels for them.

What we have here, however, is a documentary on the most dysfunctional family in the world. Isn't this supposed to be about a loving husband and father who goes insane? Jack Nicholson is brilliant at portraying total insanity, but there's no gradual shift into at all. He looks like he's about to snap from scene one. His wife is a whimpering, nervous wreck who does not seem to trust him at any point throughout the movie. And the kid, Danny, is just a weird little nut. Who can identify with these people?

Another major problem is that there is no clear storyline here. The whole first half of the movie is about the kid's psychic abilities, and then it does a total switch and focuses on Jack Nicholson being crazy. What was the point of spending all that time on Danny? It seems like it is foreshadowing something, but it never amounts to anything. I guess Danny is the first one to see ghosts in the house, but that is not a big enough plot point to spend the entire first half of the movie on.

Other than some incredibly creepy music and sets, there is nothing really scary in this movie. It is fun to see Jack Nicholson ham it up, of course, but there is no scariness involved when you spend the entire movie waiting listlessly for him to pick up an ax, rather than being shocked when he goes from lovable to psychotic. Instead, he goes from obviously-wanting-to-release-a-ton-of-built-up-aggression to psychotic, which is extremely inferior.

6/10 stars, and that is being generous.

First of all, I loved the book. It remains my favorite Stephen King novel. Secondly, the TV adaption was well done. Still, I think Kubrick did a great job at creating the atmopshere necessary for a good, scary movie. It's full of incredible visuals, and great tracking shots (especially when we follow Danny riding on his big wheel through the hotel hallways). Sure, Nicholson gives an over-the-top performance but...that's what he does in almost every movie he's in. Have you ever heard of him giving a "restrained" performance? Shelley Duvall is okay. Actually, Rebecca DeMornay was a big improvement in the TV movie. I know King fans who absolutely hate this movie. They say Kubrick changed too many plot points and ruined the whole thing. I say there's more than one way to tell a good story. King did it very well, and so did Kubrick...just in a different way. I'd rank The Shining up there with the best horror films of all time, along side "The Bride of Frankenstein", "Psycho", and "The Exorcist", among others. It actually reminds me of another superb haunted house movie: "The Haunting", from the early '60s. Both movies create that sense of isolation; the fear of turning the next corner or opening the door everyone is afraid to open. It's also the best King adaption, although "Stand By Me", "Misery" and "The Shawshank Redemption" are close behind. If you haven't seen it, rent it. If you're one of those angry King fans, give it a second chance. It's worth it.

Watching this after reading the book I can see why Stephen king was annoyed with it.

Jack Nicholson looked unhinged from the beginning which means there isn't much difference in his decent into madness.

Certain characters from the book are left out, where are the bees? Where are the moving ani mail bushes? The boiler is barely mentioned.

The direction is brilliant and I love the blood down the elevator shaft scene.

Once again, I decided to check out a highly regarded "cinematic masterpiece" and was left kinda disappointed. Scariest movie of all time? No, not really. It wasn't even particularly scary.

Admittedly, a lot of it was well done. The little girls were the best part. They were great. The steadicam shots through the hallways were pretty cool. There was a good sense of "What horrors could be lurking around the corner?" as the camera follows the kid through the halls.

But aside from those things, much of the movie didn't work so well. Jack Nicholson was more hilarious than menacing. Was that intentional? His witty dialogue provided many laughs, but watching him slowly stumbling around holding an axe was hardly what I'd call horror.

The story was completely nonsensical. What was any of that? There's no explanation for almost everything that happens in the movie! Here's where I'll probably get derided by the movie's fans for not "getting it," but I'm convinced this is really a case where the movie-makers themselves had no clue what it all meant. They just threw all this random imagery at us just to confuse us and convince us that it's actually brilliant (because if we can't comprehend any of it, it must be brilliant, right?) but really it just makes zero sense.

I don't get why this is so highly rated.