The Shining

Ladies and gentlemen, may I first start off by saying that this is the way that horror is meant to be done. Stanley Kubrick shows his genius in this movie, based off the Stephen King novel. Quite possibly one of the freakiest and scariest movies I've ever seen. This movie in no way compares to any normal horror flick with an unknown killer maiming some random teens, but a man by the name of Jack Terrance is in a "ghostly time warp of madness and murder." If you're asking yourself, why is it called The Shining, it is clearly defined in the movie as "the ability to communicate without speaking".

Jack Nicholson plays Jack Terrance who gets a job as a caretaker at the Overlook Hotel with his family there too, son and wife. All he knows is that a grisly murder had taken place at the hotel years before involving a former caretaker taking an axe to his two daughters and wife. This movie is difficult to be explained, but it takes more to watch than the simple "O, look, he killed someone...ok, onto the next killing..." The movie is, shall we say...an intelligible horror flick? Mind-bending to say the least.

You can obviously tell that it is Stanley Kubrick directed because of all the interesting camera angles with no camera tricks or no "special effects". Some of the most intense moments came from the scenes that, even if you've never seen the movie, were made famous through use throughout history. Redrum being on the wall with the little boy saying as if he were possessed, the little boy on the big-wheel riding it through the hallways and then running into the twins (who are dead), thousands of gallons of blood rushing from the elevator, and, of course, Jack breaking through a wooden door with an axe only to utter the infamous words of "Heeeeeeeere's Johnny!"

This movie had me freaked from beginning to end, with the original score just like any other Stanley Kubrick movie. This movie is honestly, one of the only movies to really scare the shit out of me (no not literally)...

Overall Review
+Directed by Stanley Kubrick
+It's got the Jack, baby
+Truly unique cinematography, but expected from Kubrick
+Had me freaked from beginning to end
+The soundtrack often heightens the horror, even when it may not be all that horrifying.
+"Heeeeeeeere's Johnny" and "Redrum"...so classic and after all of these years of using them, I see their origin
-Naked grandma *shudders like Bart and Lisa going to see their Aunt Selma and Betty*
-A few unanswered questions
-I expected Jack to go out with a bang, but o well

****1/2/*****
4.5 out of 5.0