The Shining

UK Release Date: 07 November 1980
Director: Stanley Kubrick

Cast: Scatman Crothers, Shelley Duvall, Danny Lloyd, Barry Nelson, Jack Nicholson, Philip Stone, Joe Turkel

Runtime: 144 mins

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Review:

Opening with an overpowering sound of synthesisers mimicking brass instruments, The Shining is immediately awakening. Wendy Carlos and Rachel Elkind craft a score that frightens and mocks both the Torrance's and the audience. Taking inspiration from Goblin's work on Suspiria with an array of unsettling harp plucks and haunting shrieks. Incorporating Latin 13th-century hymn, Dies Irae into Main Title (The Shining) to amplify the sensation of impending doom. It is that blend of devilish originality and classical symphonies that succeeds in creating a jolty and jagged sound that feels alive, as if it can physically harm. 

An audibly ominous atmosphere aided by thunderous sound design. Unapologetically loud and obnoxious. Whether that be chilling swings of an axe, the growing rumble of Danny's Big Wheel   or the satanic screech of The Shine itself. There comes a point that the sheer, relentless fury of it all becomes effectively overwhelming. Predominantly engaging with the startling noise rather than pondering the imminent horror that hides behind. 

A distraction that evidently blinds Jack Torrance to the incessant evil of the Overlook Hotel. Admittedly, a man who is already far from the perfect role model - a seemingly absent, alcoholic and neglectful father - but Jack Nicholson portrays the frenzied dissent into insanity almost effortlessly. There's a persistent crazed look in his eyes that is nothing short of mesmeric. An increasingly unhinged performance that becomes completely demonic and hysteric by the time the film reaches its conclusion. 

A level of lunacy also realised through Roy Walker's twisted production design. Windows in impossible locations, the hedge maze's differing designs, moving barstools - continuity errors or deliberate decisions made to unnerve? Walker, in collaboration with Stanley Kubrick, places emphasise on the unreliable nature of the film's narrator as well as leaning into the supernatural elements of Stephen King's novel in order to provide a lasting fear. In fact it is Kubrick's meticulous approach that lends itself extraordinarily to the escalating tidal wave of horror within The Shining.