Starring:
Jack Nicholson as Jack Torrance Shelley
Duvall as Wendy Torrance Danny Lloyd
as Danny Torrance Scatman Crothers as
Dick Hallorann
Stanley Kubrick, the director of the film adaptation of the
Stephen King novel The Shining, has a long history
of powerful and impactful movies. Lolita, the
Kubrick film from 1962, began the string of well-known cinematic power
that continued with Dr. Strangelove (1964), 2001:
A space Odyssey (1968) and Clockwork Orange
(1971).
Kubrick directed, produced and
wrote the screenplay (with co-writer Diane Johnson) for The
Shining, and so this film demonstrates the strength of his
ability to create and communicate disturbing, horrifying
images.
The Shining
begins when Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) accepts a seasonal job as
caretaker at a mountain resort. With family in tow (Shelley Duvall and
Danny Lloyd) he heads to the mountain paradise looking forward to
having peace and quiet to finish his novel and bond
with his wife and child.
Trouble
is, when the snow hits the mountainous region of the resort there is no
communication possible with the rest of the world. Roads are
snowed in, phone lines are down, and a simple ham radio is the only
touch point with civilization. The isolation of this environment had
caused a lesser man to crack and turn homicidal on
his brood years ago…and the spirit of this unstable man has
his sights set on leading dear old Jack down the same path…
Jack
Nicholson absolutely makes this movie. If there ever was a man that can
believably play “crazy”, it’s Nicholson.
Shelley Duvall (Olive Oyl???) does an exceptional job also as the mousy
wife Wendy. And then there’s Danny (Danny Lloyd).
Danny plays the only son of Wendy and Jack Torrance, and provides the creep-factor
necessary to elevate The Shining to a status
reserved for horror movie legends.
Danny has “the
shine”, which is a psychic ability to see things that most of
us can’t see. Visions of terror and doom
are seen by the young boy, and he has an imaginary friend that has a
tendency to take over Danny’s body and spout out creepy quips
(REDRUM!! REDRUM!!!) that punctuate the film’s explosive
moments and lead to a showdown between father and son where
only one can survive.
The Shining
is the
story of a man slowly going insane, with murderous
results. The slow build of tension, suspense and doubt will grab hold
of you the viewer and will not let you take a breath until the final,
dramatic moments of the movie. We as viewers of this classic are played
like a violin – and we love every minute of it.
Questions
or Comments about The Shining? Contact us!
Horror Movie Freaks
is the FREE eZine from Best-Horror-Movies.com
that will give you the new horror releases, the new horror news and the
new horror reviews that you CANNOT LIVE WITHOUT!!
Subscribing is easy, painless and free.
Do it NOW!!
Trouble
is, when the snow hits the mountainous region of the resort there is no
communication possible with the rest of the world. Roads are
snowed in, phone lines are down, and a simple ham radio is the only
touch point with civilization. The isolation of this environment had
caused a lesser man to crack and turn homicidal on
his brood years ago…and the spirit of this unstable man has
his sights set on leading dear old Jack down the same path… 
Jack
Nicholson absolutely makes this movie. If there ever was a man that can
believably play “crazy”, it’s Nicholson.
Shelley Duvall (Olive Oyl???) does an exceptional job also as the mousy
wife Wendy. And then there’s Danny (Danny Lloyd).
Danny plays the only son of Wendy and Jack Torrance, and provides the creep-factor
necessary to elevate The Shining to a status
reserved for horror movie legends.
