The Shining (1980) directed by Stanley Kubrick is one of the very few horror films I enjoy. thanks to my squeamish self and many nights of sleep paralysis I can get a bit too anxious to watch a horror film however this masterpiece by Kubrick makes me feel welcome into the genre. with his signature zoom in long shots, it makes me feel like i’m in the film myself at the Overlook Hotel running from my manic father who has just decided everyone around him should die… feels like home! being in the mind of Danny Torrance and what he sees feels less voyeuristic but more inclusive like I’m Danny himself. the film gives the eerie tone you would want in a horror film without giving any typical jump scares or unnecessary screaming just to give you that rush of adrenaline. it made me want to keep watching to see what secrets this hotel had to offer and why the previous caretaker went so mad and murdered his wife and children. the contrasts in the film made it even more interesting with the wholesomeness of Shelley Duvall’s character Wendy Torrance with her wide eyes and gorgeous smile, which makes it more uneasy to watch when the bathroom door is being slashed open by her own husband as she cries for help.

the casting in this film makes it a brilliant adaption from the Stephen King novel with Jack Nicholson’s natural evil look to him that still has that tint of charm to make him more alluring. his psychotic reassurance to Wendy makes you feel like you want to trust him but the angled eyebrows and the menacing twang in his eye gives you that shiver down your spine, like someone has just walked over your cold grave.

the artistic abilities from Kubrick and cinematographer John Alcott makes it aesthetically pleasing to watch a young boy see dead people and pools of blood while his murderous father lays his lips on a dead corpse. there is so much memorabilia from the film itself that makes you wish you were there when it was first released to see the pop culture references appear one by one to see the real iconic-ness of this cinematic masterpiece. for it’s genre it steps outside of the box, adding more to that ‘uneasy’ feeling as the bright colours invite you in instead of the cliché colours of black and red. it outlines what the 70s were with the saturation of colours and it brings a tear to my eye as i admire it.

this film easily inspired me from the first few minutes of watching it and it makes you wish why films aren’t being made like this anymore but this type of artiste can only really come from the man himself, Stanley Kubrick.