Movie Review

The Shining

Tawsif Saleheen

THIS week we step back in time and take a look at one of the quintessential classics in the horror genre. The Shining combines the genius of Stanley Kubrick, Stephen King and Jack Nicholson in a hair-raising thriller that shakes the very foundation of family security.

The movie follows the story of writer Jack Torrance who takes a job as caretaker at the Overlook Hotel during the winter months, when the hotel is empty because of the weather conditions. He takes his wife, Wendy, and son, Danny, with him, despite the hotel manager's warnings that a former caretaker had gone mad from loneliness one winter, murdering his wife and children before killing himself. The first few weeks are spent quite happily, although Danny has hallucinations of past and future events, none of which end well. Then when the snows begin, Jack starts to behave strangely, bullying Wendy even more than usual. Danny is injured one day, but tells Wendy it wasn't his father, it was the woman in room 237, although Jack claims that there is no-one in the room. As Jack's behavior becomes more and more aggressive, Wendy begins to fear for her life and that of her son.

It isn't long before Danny starts to experience terrible visions. Through these flashbacks we glimpse Grady's gruesome killings. The tension builds nicely as these visions begin to coincide with the start of Jack's dramatic mental breakdown.

The reasons behind his sudden decline remain ambiguous throughout the movie. Has Jack been possessed by Grady's evil spirit? Has the Overlook's oppressive atmosphere finally got to him? Or is he just mad? Whatever the cause, Nicholson's performance is outstanding. His final scenes in particular are some of the most unnerving and memorable in horror movie history.

Source: Internetz