A family heads to an isolated hotel for the winter where an evil and spiritual presence influences the father into violence, while his psychic son sees horrific forebodings from the past and of the future.

Starring Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Danny Lloyd

Directed by Stanley Kubrick

Year 1980

        

I wholeheartedly give this movie 5 eyeballs because it is beautiful, but would only insist upon watching it occasionally. You might call me a weenie, but this movie is terrifying. The combination of storytelling, sounds, music, and environment is the stuff my nightmares are actually made of. I can’t even render reading the book, although I know I need to.

Let’s talk about beauty. My mouth watered at how skillfully each scene was shot. It is 100% quality work. The shots are long, which in turn can exhibit a person’s ample acting abilities. Kubrick must have been a sucker for torment as this film took a long time to get right. **INTERESTING TIDBIT** It took a year just to plan the bloody elevator scene. The work that went into this film is, no doubt, monumental. There is even beauty in the sound production. The music was spot on in every way and it mixed perfectly with the organic sounds in each scene. Very well done! I didn’t realize that the noises of a typewriter along with various horns would be so tormenting.

This movie is quintessential Nicholson material. Behaving like a psycho must be one of his talents (and we are so glad!). Duvall grows on you as the film progresses. She isn’t quite fitting at the start, but boy does she finish. Danny Lloyd was amazing. I can’t get over his faces and voice work. Also, the sweaters he wears really deserve a mention because they are soooo flipping adorable!

Anyways! If you want to have nightmares every night, by all means, watch this movie again and again and again… Don’t say that I didn’t warn you.

~ View Trailer ~ Tomatometer ~