A Stanley Kubrick Retrospective: ‘The Shining (1980)’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

As I started my voyage through some of Stanley Kubrick's body of work, I found myself excited and anxious to power through his earlier films so that I could revisit the movie that introduced me to his genius in the first place, one that has stayed with me ever since I saw it, The Shining. Because this incredible film of his is truly unlike anything else in the horror genre and it's one that I  honestly revisit often because I find myself drawn time, and time again to Stanley's iteration of Stephen King's novel, and my desire to watch this movie yet again got me to thinking...what is it about this particular version of this iconic story that has allowed for it to endure after all this time? 

Because for a horror film to become timeless is quite the accomplishment and Kubrick's Shining has achieved just that. This is a film that has been picked apart in every sense of the word. Every potential theme examined, any meaning poured over, or in some cases manufactured and this is a motion that has even prompted a documentary regarding its power. Which in and of itself is amazing, simply because we cannot forget the fact that the author of the original story himself decried this version of the film, citing the lack of character development and focus upon Jack's madness without properly letting him descend into said insanity. Yet, the irony is, King's chief complaint is really what gives the film its strength and power. 

Stanley Kubrick's vision of The Shining is indeed a stripped-down version of the novel, but with good reason. Kubrick saw an opportunity to tell a different kind of ghost story. One that focused less on the why and the how of things and locked in on one important factor...the experience of pure terror. On the technical side, it is well documented how much poor Shelley Duvall and Scatman Crothers went through in order to achieve the perfect take for their director for one simple reason. He needed these talented folks to convey true fear, the kind where the audience would believe that something awful was about to happen and that the character's lives were genuinely in danger, and well...that incredible work paid off in spades because at its core, this film is terrifying through and through. 

---

Despite the fact that there is calm before the storm in the opening minutes of the film, the audience never quite feels safe. From the ominous opening credits to the way those early scenes are designed, there is a sense of claustrophobia and doom permeating over every single second of the film, and by simplifying Jack's downward spiral into insanity, he becomes a more dynamic character; a man that is desperately trying to hold onto his sanity and as it turns out, all he needs to completely and utterly lose his mind is a little push from the power waiting in the shadows of the hotel. It takes several viewings to appreciate the nuanced performance from Jack Nicholson, but once it settles in, you realize that this family was always doomed, the hotel simply made the inevitable happen a lot sooner.

Of course things only get worse for the audience once Jack does begin to crack and that's when Kubrick accomplishes his mission. The viewer is now trapped with this family, forced to watch a father turn upon his wife and son and commit to a powerful bloodlust that claims the unlucky souls in his path and that's when Kubrick unleashes his final fury, putting forth demented yet powerful imagery where the hotel comes to life. Suddenly we are treated to images that are truly the stuff of nightmares, forced to watch in order to see if a respite is coming our way or if safety will arrive for the characters, before we are once more pulled into a jarring moment. It seems as though the terror will never end, until we are finally treated to that all-important happy ending where Wendy and Danny escape to safety, and the hotel claims the soul it so desired.

But what matters most, is that Kubrick's grand experiment is a rousing success. He essentially froze a moment in time, one filled to the brim with fear and let us experience it first hand as well and you'd be hard pressed to find another horror film out there that is as raw and powerful as this one, all because Stanley Kubrick was curious about what this genre would be like if you stripped away the standard trappings and simply struck at the raw nerve and the end result is a flawless horror film, one that inspires dread and fear on a primal level and one that dares you to come back for more. 

---