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The Shining (1980)

DVD Cover (Warner Brother Special Edition)
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Overall Rating 84%
Overall Rating
Ranked #65
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Connections: The Shining

Jack Torrance accepts a caretaker job at the Overlook Hotel, where he, along with his wife Wendy and their son Danny, must live isolated from the rest of the world for the winter. But they aren't prepared for the madness that lurks within. --TMDb
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Review by sidefriction
Added: May 1, 2004
What's scarier than a space alien invasion, a demon from hell, a war between machines and humans, a masked serial killer with a chainsaw or another sequel to A Nightmare on Elm Street? How about a family man gone crazy and sets out to kill his family? That's by far, much scarier. Stanley Kubrick took Stephen King's bestseller The Shining and made a realistic horror movie about it. This film paints a visual picture of the horrors of isolation and insanity. Ever since 1980, this movie has earned it's spot in the all time best horror films.

Jack Nicholson, Jack Torrance, stars as a struggling writer who agrees to become the caretaker of a summer resort hotel during the winter season. His wife, Shelly Duvall, antagonizes him and his work. The longer he is there, the crazier he becomes. Eventually, he sets out to kill his wife and his son. With the help of some "special guests", Jack sets out to take care of the burdens on his life in the harshest way possible.

The directing here is insane. It's pure genius, what Kubrick had done with this movie. Some scenes in here are the best scenes known to the world of thrillers and horror (ex. The Elevator / Lobby Scene). The acting is also very superb. Everything seems so well fit and perfect in this movie, there's hardly any criticizing that could be done. Some people hate the fact that it's extremely long, but I feel that it was only nessecary that it was that long (146 minutes). This has truly changed the way we think about and make horror movies.

Bottom line - excellent acting, excellent story, excellent directing, excellent scenery, excellent everything. A true gem in filmmaking and in horror movies. A must for any horror or thriller fan. Even if you're not, just check this movie out. 10/10
Optimus Prime #1: Optimus Prime - added December 27, 2004 at 8:19pm
Classic movie. One of my favorites.
Deadwired2 #2: Deadwired2 - added July 3, 2005 at 6:19am
I love this movie, but could someone please tear Shelly Duvall's vocal chords out.
crAckerr #3: crAckerr - added July 24, 2005 at 9:36pm
Definately one of the best horror movies of all time.
. #4: . - added September 13, 2005 at 9:09pm
If you don't like this, there is something wrong with you.
bluemeanie #5: bluemeanie - added October 7, 2005 at 8:32pm
Without a doubt, one of the most overrated horror films ever made. Don't get me wrong -- it is a good film, but it is very overrated. This film did not scare me...ever...not even as a child. It still does not scare me. Nicholson is way too over-the-top in the lead role, and Shelley Duvall is almost painful to look at. I know what Kubrick was going for, and I admire that, but I thought the finished product was far too long, not scary enough, and highly overrated. 7.5/10.
Dametria #6: Dametria - added April 24, 2007 at 11:04am
Meh, I was never very impressed with this movie. THe remake was actually better but too painfull to sit thru for 6 hours....
Ginose #7: Ginose - added July 26, 2007 at 12:21pm
This is a masterpeice, but, honestly, I say that about all of Kubrick's flims. Okay, this is a HORROR masterpeice. Take it as you will, it has an incrediblly long runtime, it's dreafully confusing at parts and Shelly Duvall is terrfying to look at, but in the end, that helps define this movie into a classic. As sidefriction says in his review, all the directing, imagery, acting, plot speed, everything is flawless. That's because it's a Kubrick movie. If King didn't like it, tough shit. The book was boring. Kubrick took the source material and improved on incredibly. He seemed to be a master of any genre he aimed to direct. 9.9/10 from me.
Wes #8: Wes - added September 29, 2008 at 7:21pm
This is not only the first epic horror film made, but as far as directing and acting goes, it is by far the best epic horror film ever made. Absolutely perfect.
Tristan #9: Tristan - added September 29, 2008 at 9:19pm
Sorry, but this isn't the "best epic horror movie ever made". It's a damn fine film - all of his are - but it's far from perfect. Still, it was nice to see a director with such a reputation tackle a horror film.

9/10
Greg Follender #10: Greg Follender - added September 30, 2008 at 12:43pm
I'd guess that a lot of the folks that are saying that this film didn't scare them are under 35 years of age...
Too much imitation and visual emulation have dulled our perception of this film. When it was first released, there was very little out there like it in scope or execution.

A horror classic... and one of the few that I still find fairly captivating, regardless of it's shelf life.
Not many screenwriters (or audiences for that matter) have the patience for accurate slow-burn insanity in film anymore... it's always the rush for the body count that permeates modern horror these days.

Too bad.
bluemeanie #11: bluemeanie - added September 30, 2008 at 1:37pm
Your point is a good one, but none of that explains why I didn't like it. This is typically the type of horror film I go for, but I could not stand Jack Nicholson in the lead role, nor Shelley Duvall. I loved the book with a passion, and thought Kubrick's vision was interesting and well-executed, but with few scares and little in terms of genuine horror.

I still give it a 7.5/10 for execution and because it's beautiful to look at, but as a horror film, I find is a little dull.
johannesfaust #12: johannesfaust - added February 27, 2009 at 7:54pm
not so scary but Nicholson gave it that quality of madness that I really like...8/10
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