THE SHINING (1980) A Film Review by Ted Prigge Copyright 1997 Ted Prigge
Director: Stanley Kubrick Writers: Diane Johnson and Stanley Kubrick (from the book by Stephen King) Starring: Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Danny Lloyd, Scatman Crothers
"The Shining" is a tough film to review. On the surface, it's a faithless adaptation of the novel, but still tells a really creepy story that makes almost no sense. Cinematically, the film is deep with meaning(s), and creates total atmosphere, creating a sense of dread in the viewers. Despite the very, very, very low body count in the film, this film is one of the scariest films I've ever seen. And I'm not easily scared.
You probably know the story about writer Jack Torrence (Jack Nicholson) who accepts a job of looking over a mountain top hotel called the Overlook in its four-month down-period as the snow storms block the only road to the hotel. While there with his wife and son (Shelley Duvall and Danny Lloyd, respectively and obviously), he gradually loses any sanity he once had, and even begins talking with ghosts. At the end, he chases his family around the giant hotel, wielding an axe (a mallet in the book), and screaming out one-liners.
In the both the book and the movie, the son, Danny, is a bit psychic, possessing a little affliction called "Shining," which allows him to perceive some of the past, and talk through brain waves with other people who have the shining. He meets the cook (Scatman Crothers) of the hotel who also has it, and who warns him of some kind of old psychic power the hotel has. But Danny is too young to totally comprehend it, and he watches as his father's sanity decreases.
In the book, the hotel's ghosts had power over Jack and were trying to silence Danny throughout the story. In the end, Jack was under the power of the hotel, instead of really being totally insane. Stanley Kubrick, who is, in my humble opinion, more interesting than Stephen King, didn't like that idea, and decided to make another film with his theory of violence being a part of every human being. He uses some of the stories in the book about Jack, particularly the one where he accidentally broke his son's arm. And when he gets to the hotel, he suddenly goes insane, but not totally until near the ending. The reason? Well, the final frame explains that, although it really doesn't make a whole lot of sense.
Kubrick is never a director to easily comprehend, and "The Shining" is one confusing flick. One viewing is not enough to make sense of all the bizarre sequences, and one explanation cannot cover all the things that occur. Is Jack merely hallucinating these people (each time he's talking to a ghost, he's facing a mirror), or are they really there? Did Danny really bring it out of Jack, since he brought it out in him when he accidentally broke his arm? Is this a satire of violence, and even TV (there are quotes from TV throughout - i.e. "Heeeeere's JOHNNY!")? Or is it even a film about the murders of the native americans slain on the very site of the hotel?
I have no clue what this film means, but someday I hope to figure it out. But even if the film makes no real sense, there's the sense of depth to everything that goes on. And, of course, there's the direction.
Stanley Kubrick has made one of the truly horrific films ever made. I mean, this film is actually frightening. There are moments where I was scared to breathe, as scared as some of the people in this film. Kubrick paints dread over everything that goes on, even the childish bit of Danny riding his little mini-three-wheeler around the hotel. And there aren't any scenes where someone just jumps out of nowhere like in a slasher film. When Jack is chopping down the bathroom door where Duvall is hiding, Kubrick shoots it head on. When Jack jumps out of nowhere to attack someone, we see him way before it happens.
Last year's mini-series with Steven Weber and Rebecca DeMournay (!!!) went by the book, but lacked any of the depth and creepiness this film mastered. It also lacked any of the fun acting that this film posesses. Jack Nicholson's twisted performance is, yes, more campy than Guy Pearce in "Priscilla." But it's one of the more darkly comic and creepy ones in horror history. He starts off as kind of reserved and maybe a little twisted, but by the end is drooling and howling like a dog.
Duvall, who I think was nominated for a highly coveted Razzie award for her performance, is pretty annoying. But I think it works with this film. I mean, he's supposed to want to kill her, right? Okay, so I'm kidding. She's annoying. Danny Lloyd, who never did another film I think (what a shock, I mean, he was a child actor!), is pretty good as the quiet son (much better than that annoying buck toothed kid in the mini-series). And Scatman Crothers...well, he's the man, and we all know it.
The major complaint of this film, other than it just doesn't make any sense, is that it's not faithful to the book. Now, I've read the book, seen this movie, and even watched all 6 hours of that horrible mini-series (that kid was annoying as hell, wasn't he?), and this was the best of all of them. The book is good and all, but the ending just didn't live up to the rest of the story. And the mini-series didn't help. Playing like a basic outline of the book, it created zero suspense, hokey scenes, and even tried to revert to cheap thrills along the way. I like how the movie never pulls its punches. Jack has gone insane, and there's no way he's going to go back just because his son starts crying. It's popular knowledge that the book is ALWAYS better than the movie adaptation (not the other way around though), but this film disproves that. While Stephen King is a very good writer, Stanley Kubrick's just a better director in this little analogy of mine.
Kubrick's adaption and direction might diss the book, but I think it works better the way he did it. It's one of the few times the film was better than the book. Yes, the book fills in a lot of the gaps in the film (well, in the first half). But it's creepier to watch it this way. Don't tell me you weren't shaking when he walked into the off-limits room and that chick was in the bath tub. Don't tell me you weren't breathing shallow when Jack talks to the ghost of the father who killed his family before. This is a film that may make no sense the first 100 viewings, but it's so well done and so absolutely scary that it works.
MY RATING (out of 4): ***1/2
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