The Shining (1980)

The Scariest Movie EVER Made? Well upon its initial release forty-five years ago, not many critics saw it that way INCLUDING the author of the original novel which this film was based on, Stephen King.  But over time, this psychological thriller directed by the late, great Stanley Kubrick (2001: A Space Odyssey, A Clockwork Orange, Eyes Wide Shut) has garnerned not only a devoted following but a never-ending stream of speculation about what it meant.  Many love it for the memorable main lead performance by Oscar-winner Jack Nicholson (Chinatown, One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest, Batman)  as Jack Torrance, an aspiring writer whose family ends up situated at a VERY remote location known as the Overlook Hotel....he's an aspiring writer but as the winter progresses, he starts to lose his mind.  Also with him are his beleaguered wife Wendy played by the late, great Shelley Duvall (Popeye, 3 Women, Roxanne) and their young son Danny (Danny Lloyd) who has begun to experience a sort of psychic power known as.....THE SHINING. :o Also co-starring Scatman Crothers, Joe Turkel, and Barry Nelson, this horror classic has launched spin-off documentaries, weak imitations, and loads of memes - let's head to the Overlook Hotel! 

Host & Editor: Geoff Gershon

Editor: Ella Gershon

Producer: Marlene Gershon

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Transcript

THE SHINING – 1980

Directed by Stanley Kubrick

Starring Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Danny Lloyd, Barry Nelson, Philip Stone, Joe Turkel, Tony Burton, and Scatman Crothers

Genre: Horror Thriller (Audio clip)

While I have never quite gotten the hype about this movie being a horror masterpiece - I just never found it THAT scary and in retrospect it feels like one of Kubrick's weaker films - wow is it a technical marvel! It honestly feels as if Kubrick was using some genuinely creepy source material from Stephen King as a raw foundation to just REALLY strut his stuff. :) The production design from Roy Walker (and boy do we get to see EVERY minute detail of it) is just next-level. The Overlook Hotel convincingly feels like no other hotel on the planet....strange, endless, gawdy, like an open wound...to the point where we would just be disappointed if we DIDN'T see blood pouring out of that elevator door at some point. 😆

And to follow DP John Alcott's camera as it follows Danny's (Danny Lloyd) tricycle zooming through those endless hallways...it undoubtedly grabs you and of course sets you up later for the ONE legit jump scare in the movie: the agonizing buildup to Halloran's (Scatman Crothers) axe in the chest. 🫣 And of course the bombastic score from Wendy Carlos....yeah it lays it on a bit thick at points but when those strings are synced up with the late, great Shelly Duvall's elastic facial contortions, this movie's just firing on all cylinder! 

Though I DO have some issues with his performance – which I’ll get to in just a bit -  Jack still COMMANDS the screen whenever necessary...he might not always be particularly scary but he's always entertaining. ;) And did this film need to be almost 150 minutes....did we need around 20 minutes of just TOURING through every main room with detailed descriptions of that room's contents? Probably not...the movie feels a bit padded, Stanley was clearly showing off a bit. I get why of course and the result is still a highly entertaining piece of genre pulp from on one of our true masters.

Best Needledrop (best song cue or score used throughout runtime of film): 

Now back to Pawtucket, Rhode Island’s OWN Wendy Carlos…..she remains one of THE great innovators of synthesized music and her score is doing a significant amount of the emotional heavy lifting for this movie, always keeping you on edge with blaring horns, droning percussion, and the occasional altered human shriek. (Audio clip) 

She and co-composer Rachel Elkind also do incorporate various modern classical pieces from Eastern Europe resulting in a FEW distinct themes heard throughout….most NOTABLY the “Main Title” theme which is brilliantly used over the opening credits.  It’s not only a suitably unsettling tone-setter for the film but also oddly beautiful at points – we’re basically following just behind the Torrance family OVERHEAD as they drive through the Colorado Rockies to the Overlook Hotel….which was actually in Oregon but no matter.  I don’t know HOW he’s able to film some of these stuff SO fluidly but it looks not only awe-inspiring but suitably frightening as it becomes increasingly clear just HOW remote this location IS.  It remains of THE great opening credits sequences and that theme plays a big part in that. (Audio clip) 

Wasted Talent (most under-utilized talent involved with film): 

Now here’s one which I’m not FULLY committing to – I’m honestly not 100% on this -  as for a potential hot take: is it POSSIBLE Nicholson's as Jack Torrance COULD be the film's biggest weakness? 😁 Well not quite because few actors at their peak could convincingly go bat-shit like he does here...he is sometimes a BIT too reliant on random ticks and/or grunts which from my standpoint makes the character a little less menacing than he needs to be. And the bigger issue is that the starting point for this character is not THAT far from madness. Off the bat just the way he says in that opening car ride, "You SEE? He saw it on the television!" with that trademark Jack arched eyebrow smile....we know right away that HE'S the villain, that he's completely ambivalent about the safety of his own child. I'm pretty sure that was King's biggest criticism of this adaptation and I get why....and for me personally, I realize that this might be a controversial opinion as this film just has a RABID following…but when your KEY character at the center of your film feels as if he has a less-than-convincing arc AND when he goes full-on villain, you DON’T find him particularly scary, that DOES leave a hole at its core.  As to whether that was more acting choices by Nicholson OR simply what he was given on the page by Kubrick and Diane Johnnson, we’ll never quite know. 

Trailer Moment (scene or moment that best describes this movie):

Ok there are probably a few OBVIOUS choices here and undoubtedly my personal highlight is one of them – it’s an ICONIC scene for a reason, they even did a great parody of it on “The Simpsons.  And it occurs roughly 100 minutes into the movie –Wendy and Jack have BARELY spoken in several days, she has been leaving him mostly on his own to WRITE his Great American Novel.  So one afternoon when she’s at her wit’s end NOT knowing what’s going on and also increasingly worried about young Danny who is seeming more and more remote….she comes down to the main open hall where Jack has been TYPING….FURIOUSLY….for days.  He’s not there….but the typewriter is…..with paper in it….and pages and pages of typed material right next to it too.  And just WHAT does she discover when she closely glances at what he’s been writing?? (Audio clip) 

Talk about this being the textbook DEFINITION of a “Shit Just Got Real” moment….because what Wendy discovers is of course just ONE phrase typed again and again and again and again…..filling dozens of pages…..NOTHING this one phrase, the only variations being how it’s SPACED on the page and a smattering of spelling errors: 

ALL WORK AND NO PLAY MAKE JACK A DULL BOY….ALL WORK AND NO PLAY MAKE JACK A DULL BOY….ALL WORK AND NO PLAY MAKE JACK A DULL BOY……the hopeless, shattered LOOK on her face as she’s rifling through pages and pages of this between the score, the voyeuristic manner with which this is shot and OF COURSE Duvall’s eye-poppingly disturbed performance results in a true MASTER-CLASS of pulling horror from the mundane. (Audio clip) 

MVP (person or people most responsible for the success of this film):

Now let’s get back to Shelley D….her role can feel pretty thankless at points but I'm convinced now more than ever that SHE gives this movie's standout performance. From what I understand, the director often unfairly put the actress through the ringer but regardless, she commits to this character at a level not often seen within most genre horror films like this. It's about more than just shrieking or looking scared...I wish I could explain it better but let’s just say that for comparison’s sake, it's on the RARIFIED level of Toni Collette in Hereditary or Mickey Rourke in Angel Heart. (Audio clip) 

I mean those ICONIC saucer-shaped eyes of her certainly play a part but it goes beyond just the physical on the actresses’ part.  With the increasingly shattered tone of her voice and the WAY she finally screams when it finally comes out….it literally feels like Duvall is outside of herself at points – not only paralyzed with fear but aggressively trying to claw herself back to a more functional place...it's this film's BIGGEST strength and for that reason, Shelley Duvall is the MVP.  (Audio clip) 

Final Rating: 4 stars out of 5 

And no I’m not gonna get into ALL of the SPECULATIVE stuff which has followed this film over the past several decades….the Room 237, faked moon landing, Indian burial ground stuff….but undoubtedly I DO find it to be a testament to the art form of cinema that so many could veer off in SO many different directions from 140 minutes of film.  Happy 45th Anniversary to one of the more ICONIC films of the modern era, coming from a true master of its artform.  More to come of course from Kubrick….

Streaming on Max & Prime Video

And that ends another REDRUM review!