The Shining

It’s hard to find a better horror film than Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining. While its relationship to the source text has long been argued — with Stephen King himself infamously critical of Kubrick’s work — The Shining is more than a mere adaptation. As Jack Torrance, with his wife and son, move into the isolated Overlook Hotel for the winter, a spasming spiral into madness follows. The Shining has produced some of the most iconic images in cinema history: twin girls standing in a corridor, blood flowing down said corridor, and — of course — Jack Nicholson’s derangement framed in a half-splintered bathroom door. Speaking of, Jack Nicholson is nothing short of unforgettable here — quite what he channeled to produce this performance one may never know. Nicholson’s madness is complimented perfectly by Kubrick’s choice and framing of space; the yawning corridors of the Overlook are felt to be just as isolated as the mountaintop environment outside, with their vivid carpeting doing wonders to disorientate the viewers themselves. The myriad of interpretations offered by The Shining — whether Jack’s madness be that induced by the US government’s MK Ultra program or the film (unbelievably) representing an extended apology by Kubrick for his role in the supposedly faked moon landings — contribute to the narrative’s blurred sense of reality and objectivity; The Shining’s is a world in which all is swirling, as epitomised by the fragmented sense of time that the film’s final shot propounds. The many mysteries at work in The Shining will never be truly clear, but that is key to its eternal popularity. So, whether this be your first viewing or that of many, come to L3 and experience the masterpiece of modern horror like never before.

Sam Ripley

“Here’s Johnny!” and he’s back on the big screen with neurotic, yet submissive wife Wendy (Shelley Duvall), and their preternaturally gifted son Danny (Danny Lloyd). When writer, Jack Torrence (Jack Nicholson), accepts a job as an out-of-season caretaker in the isolated Overlook Hotel, built on ancient Native American burial grounds, he uproots his dysfunctional family to spend the long winter living alone in the hotel. The manager’s foreboding warning that the previous caretaker killed his family foreshadows the terrifying series of events that lead to Jack’s steep descent into madness.

As a snowstorm traps them inside and supernatural forces begin to manipulate Jack’s growing cabin fever, Wendy and Danny find themselves at threat from his escalating and unpredictable violence. Danny’s psychic ability remains all that can save them from his father’s brutal insanity.

Stanley Kubrick’s 1980 adaptation of Stephen King’s infamous novel has often been hailed one of the most outstanding psychological thrillers of all time. His expert cinematography unites improbably complex film challenges such as elevators that gush blood, realistically representing psychic abilities, and infusing the film with an inherent element of the supernatural. The Shining also delivers one of the most iconic musical scores in history, compiled by editor Gordon Stainforth. This seminal classic has been regarded as one of the greatest and most influential films in the horror genre.

Georgie Rawson