Entry#153: The Shining

Trailer

Stanley Kubrick is, without a doubt, one of the greatest filmmakers that ever lived. Starting small with films like Killer's Kiss, his films progressively got larger and more thematically-complex until he began making masterpieces such as 2001: A Space Odyssey, A Clockwork Orange, Full Metal Jacket, etc. The Shining, based on the Stephen King novel of the same name, is just another example of Kubrick's brilliance and significance in cinematic history. What Kubrick created in The Shining was more than "just a horror film". It was a world of madness and atmosphere that was occupied by the horrific and the supernatural.

In the film, we follow Jack Torrance, an aspiring novelist, and his family, Wendy and Danny, as they move into the Overlook Hotel for the winter. Jack, recently hired for the position of caretaker, and his family are expected to watch over the empty hotel for the next five months, maintaining the boiler room, keeping the hotel in good condition, etc. and so forth. While Jack and Wendy are optimistic about the stay, as Jack should get some writing time in and Wendy believes the trip will ease her abusive husband, Danny is very wary of staying at the Overlook. Because of his psychic abilities, or "shine", Danny is able to catch a brief, yet horrific, glance at what lies ahead for his family - madness, murder, and interaction with the dead residents of the Overlook Hotel.

Kubrick, the master that he is, is able to set this film up brilliantly. From the start, we're able to feel the upcoming moments of unease and insanity as the camera carefully watches the Torrances as they slowly drive to the Overlook Hotel. The creeping music and fantastic visuals quickly add atmosphere to the film, and we're soon given a flashback showcasing the Torrances' lives before moving into the hotel. Immediately, we get to know all of the major players within Kubrick and King's narrative very, very well. Even in moments of silence and small-talk, we get to see and understand this crumbling family. The characters are fantastically-written - watching their descent into turmoil is both troubling and fascinating, making for some truly great cinema. Never once did I ever find any of the characters, Torrance member or not, unbelievable or uninteresting. The characters have in-depth personalities, the haunting images of the apparitions are truly nerve-wracking, and the sheer madness of it all makes the characterization just as fascinating as the more horrific elements.

If a great character-orientated narrative weren't enough, the film's cinematography is beyond gorgeous. In typical Kubrick-style, virtually every detail, angle, lens, and shot is used in the most precise and flowing manner. The film will always look fantastic to me, and the visual atmosphere created by the Hotel is marvelous. Take, for example, how great in size the Hotel is. It's grand, large, and almost all of the rooms have an echo factor in them. This subconsciously informs the viewer of how dark and unknown the Hotel is, and of how small in comparison the characters are. Never once does the film seem inviting, instead using its visuals, music, and script to make the Hotel as menacing as possible. The Gold Room, the maze, the long and winding corridors - the film is out to make you feel unnerved and it certainly succeeds.

The pacing in the film is brilliant as well. Though it does have a runtime of 2 1/2 hours, you can barely feel the time pass as you watch the film unfold itself like a perfectly-pieced puzzle. The mood, the characters, and the visuals are all so enticing, horrifying, and enrapturing that it's easy to get sucked into the world of The Shining. It's foreboding, dark, lonesome, and it'll keep your attention until the chilling conclusion.

It's ironic that the hotel's called "the Overlook", as much of the symbolism is overlooked by most modern audiences. At first glance, the film may appear to be a very effective and high-quality horror film, but the layers of meaning and foreshadowing in the film add so much to the narrative. For instance, references to Native American genocides and attacks are very important within the film. Not only does the film criticize these killings, but it also explains how the supernatural got into the Hotel to begin with. Narrative-wise, the hotel was built on top of a Indian burial ground and, during construction, was attacked several times by groups of Native American tribes. Because cursed land is cursed land, regardless of tribe, why would groups of Indians attack the hotel workers to begin with? To save their land or, perhaps, to actually save the workers from eternal damnation? In a symbolic way, the Native American presence can be recognized in numerous ways - the soundtrack has music that contains Indian-like chanting and women screaming, Native American carpets and rugs can be seen throughout the hotel, food products with Natives labels can be seen during two key moments of the film, and Jack oftentimes brings up his contract with the government before attempting to murder Wendy. What's coincidental (or not perhaps) is that the man who hires Jack, a smooth-talking worker, actually wears red, white, and blue during Jack's interview. Is it possible that Kubrick was trying to instill hidden messages about the Native American genocides in this film? If so, it wouldn't be too difficult to believe as we see a white man, hired by the government, trying to kill his Native American-looking wife. That, and Kubrick's later war film, Full Metal Jacket, was filled with Indian-related symbolism during the last third act. Even if the Native American symbols appear too "out there', you can't deny the film's themes on the destruction of the family and self-reflection (is is a coincidence that a ghost usually appears near a mirror in the film?).

Whatever you believe about its symbolic nature, The Shining is a masterpiece through and through. Fascinating characters, macabre spirits, amazing visuals, and a terrific atmosphere make the film a horror masterpiece and one of Stanley Kubrick's best films.