For my first post after an extended working break, I've decided to offer a few thoughts on one of the greatest horror films of all time just hours before Halloween. It's my personal favorite horror film of all time, having been traumatized by it as a young child. The film is Stanley Kubrick's The Shining.
It's important to stress that we're discussing Stanley Kubrick's take on Stephen King's 1977 psychological thriller novel, not the television miniseries endorsed by King himself or the Simpsons parody, The Shinning. King's tale of a writer gone mad while serving as a winter caretaker at an isolated hotel serves as the framework for the 1980 film, but Kubrick's distinct spin made it a truly iconic and unforgettable story.
Though King himself has disagreed, Kubrick's Shining is one of the few instances in which I would say a film completely surpassed the book upon which it was based. King's novel is full of plenty of genuinely disturbing elements and imaginatively spooky moments, but Kubrick truly brings us to the haunting Overlook Hotel, creating a visceral experience which comes about as close to recreating a nightmare as any filmmaker ever could.
It's hard to pick the single most notable feature of the film as the "star", but the atmosphere is undeniably one of them. While there are a handful of shocks, the film relies less on making
the audience scream and more on haunting them long after they've seen
the film. There are many lingering, wide shots of the dimly lit lobby or a simply mesmerizing hallway, creating unease of something lingering around the corner. More than half the time, it turns out to be nothing, but there's enough tension in the cold expanse of the hotel set and its lifeless color scheme to turn knuckles white before the first ghost makes an appearance.The film's score drives the chilling atmosphere as much as the visuals. From the monstrous horns set to the winding labyrinth of the Rockies in the film's intro to the vaguely Native motifs heard in the more shocking cues, Wendy Carlos' soundtrack is easily one of the most disturbing and iconic when it comes to modern horror.
The film's spooky atmosphere would be the star of the film if not for two words on the marquee: Jack Nicholson. In easily one of his most iconic performances, Nicholson brings his trademark sardonic attitude and effortless craziness which truly brings the Jack Torrance character to life onscreen. Viewers are already rendered uneasy before any of the madness or mayhem begins, thanks to Nicholson's natural menace. Of course, the rest of the cast serves as the perfect foil to his descent into madness. I remember as a child (what kind of parents show this to their 9 year old??), my parents would make merciless fun of Shelley Duvall, remarking on her ghostly appearance and often over the top hysterics. Danny Lloyd turns in a prodigious performance as the clairvoyant son Danny, whose innocence is downright frightening when he makes a psychic prediction as his alter ego "Tony".
There is a great deal of contention regarding the film's "message", if there is one. Indeed, it almost seems as if Kubrick littered the film with contradictions to confuse the viewer. Was this an attempt to place us in the ghostly mental haze of the Overlook Hotel? That in itself would be one of a hundred ways to explain why the "Grady" characters have two different first names, or why Jack's undeniable connection to hotel is explained with only a photograph. Was he "always" the caretaker in the sense that his reincarnations keep returning to the hotel in a sort of generational ritual? Unlike King's novel, there aren't any clear explanations. The sense of mystique makes the film all the more intriguing and unsettling.
One of the more common interpretations of the film is that it's a statement against Native American genocide. This theory is hard to ignore, with one line essentially explaining the reason for the hotel's haunted history being that it's built on an Indian burial ground. True to Kubrick's bid for mystery in the film, the line evades most audiences on the first view. However, there are fairly obvious undertones that support this theory throughout the film, from the Native-inspired imagery throughout the hotel's decor to aforementioned musical cues that have a vague Native flavor. The hotel itself can represent white settlers' disregard for indigenous history, as they have no qualms about creating a new place to live in at the expense of Native lives. The blood that flows from the elevator can be interpreted as the blood of people who are buried (both literally and figuratively) beneath a behemoth of white colonialism.
I read all of these theories and made these analyses long after I decided The Shining was my favorite horror film. I'm sure all of this cohesiveness (or lack thereof) was Kubrick's intent, but what matters is that it all culminated in one of the most truly unsettling, albeit slow-paced films in the genre. It revels not in jump scares or gore, but in dread and atmosphere. It says more not with what it shows, but what it doesn't show. For myself, some of the most frightening moments in the film are of characters simply having a discussion or walking through the hotel.
It's a must see for horror fans and film fans alike. I think everyone should watch it at least once. Just be prepared for a few sleepless nights.
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