The Shining

I can sympathize with Jack Nicholson. Were I trapped anywhere with his wife, I would want to kill her too. And I probably wouldn't have lasted as long as he did.

The Shining is a very schizophrenic thriller. It is in constant struggle between two colossal forces. One seeks to make the film utterly moronic and a waste, the other strives to raise it above the bog of stupidity. The Shining is a movie that is only half good. The other half is colossally bad.

Let's start with the good! Fighting for the forces of good (or, in this case I suppose, good horror) is Stanley Kubrick and Jack Nicholson.
Kubrick is an amazing director, and he is one of my favorites. Two of my favorite films, A Clockwork Orange and Dr. Strangelove were directed by him. The camera placement in this film is meticulous, the organization fluid and brilliant. Kubrick, in his time, directed many, many different genres and played them all masterfully (some better than others, I'll admit). What he brought to this horror was his strong knack for interweaving music into the film (the film has some truly chilling "musical" numbers, one's that made me jump slightly without any images to back it up). The cameras are also placed meticulously and the action rises and falls so well that it feels a bit like a rollercoaster.
Of course, being the director and producer, he is, in a way, responsible for EVERYTHING in the film. More on that later, though.

Jack's performance in The Shining is excellent, in a genre where acting is often... overlooked... Jack gives his character (Jack) an incredible energy and believability. That's right! Believability! In a horror film? NO.
BUT IT'S TRUE. Jack Nicholson did it! His character's evolution is brilliant, there never seems to be something quite right about him... and when he truly starts to lose it... BOY DOES HE LOSE IT! The changes in intonation, the movement and energy... it's wonderful to watch. At times, I actually found myself smiling because I was enjoying Jack's performance so much.

HOWEVER. Speaking of performances! ....Wooo-ee! Jack's wife?
uh.
I don't even know, you guys. When the camera would switch from Jack to her... it was as if someone flipped a switch and the lights just went off.
First off, I hate to be mean, but, um, what is with her mouth? I feel like there is something wrong with her mouth? Maybe it's just the way she keeps having it hang open like some neanderthal. And her running? Oh God. When you get to the climactic chase scenes around the end of the movie, and she is running around the house? Watch how she moves. Watch her hands, her head... her legs... HECK, look at any part of her body! IT LOOKS RETARDED. Like someone took a ragdoll, tied a string to its back, and then jerked it up and down while moving it forward, hoping it would resemble some sort of run.
Well, it doesn't.
Remember I was smiling when Jack was on screen? Because I liked his portrayal so much? Well, I was laughing when the wife was on screen... it was because it was retarded. I'm going to be honest, that is how I felt. I'm sorry if its insensitive. But her acting was retarded.
And, besides the wife... the kid? I don't know. I always tend to dislike children in movies who say lots of things. I mean, I can't expect them to be amazing actors. But still, the things that that kid was saying, and the things that that kid was doing? You would laugh too. And then you would cry.
Example? How about that his imaginary friend spoke by the kid lifting his index finger and bending and straigtening it over and over and then talking like he had a sore throat?
Or how about saying "Redrum" over and over again with a sore throat voice?

Yes. Well. That was one thing. That whole "redrum" business. Probably one of the dumbest things I've seen in a horror movie. In case you haven't figured it out yet, it's murder backwards.
Oh? You already figured that out? Well, guess what? NO. It's cryptic! We're gonna make the kid say it as if he's been chain smoking all his life over and over and over and over and over... AAAAAGH.

And. Well. I save this for last. The final force working for the axis of retarded horror movie is... Stephen King.
Folks, the Shining is written by Stephen King. And folks, Stephen King can't write.
And is it just me, or is this starting to sound formulaic? Family moves someplace new... kid thinks there's something bad gonna happen... father goes insane... this sounds a lot like Pet Sematary.
OH. DID I MENTION THE HOTEL THEY ARE STAYING AT IS BUILT OVER AN ANCIENT INDIAN BURIAL GROUND?
It must have slipped my mind.

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Final words?
Well, the movie is half very good, and half very bad. There were plenty of parts that were just unnecessary... like the parts where the meaning of the title "shining" is revealed... why the little boy needs to be able to listen to buildings is beyond me. And why the hotel needs to be on an ancient indian burial ground is beyond me. And why the wife has to flail about like a fish is beyond me.
But nevertheless... Jack Nicholson's performance is wonderful. And the music used mounts the suspense very well. It is just too bad that that was only half, if not less, of the movie.

what was the scariest part of this movie?
well...

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old woman breasts
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