So, for Halloween, here is a review of The Shining, one of Stanley Kubrick's best films, which was hated by Stephen King, who wrote the novel, because it went a different way. Now, the Shining film is well-made and really scary. The fact that this family goes to the Overlook Hotel, which has a history of many murders and was built on native land, a place I don't think anyone wants to stay or be the caretakers for, is particularly unsettling. The film focuses on Jack Torrance, a family man with a son, Danny, and a wife named Wendy. He takes up to the hotel in the mountains of Colorado, and one of Stephen King's biggest complaints about Jack in this film is betrayed as a mean father, while in the books. Jack is a very loving and caring father, and you feel bad for him and what he does as the hotel drives him crazy, and he wants to murder his family.
In the film, as the head chef Dick Halloran tells Danny, who knows he has the shining, not to enter room 237. Months pass, and some strange, unattractive things happen, like Danny having a seizure and seeing ghosts in the hallway. Jack begins to go insane because he gets writer's block, and it's all work and no play. The film gets more intense, and the mystery of this hotel is scary because of all the past murders, and don't even get me started on the gross naked lady in the bathroom of 237.
This film had many great quotes, such as "Here's Johnny!" and the maze scene at the end, which is intense. You don't want Danny to die, and when he escapes, he, along with his mom, does so by taking Dick's truck. Jack, of course, freezes to death, and we see that picture of that party, and Jack is there.
The cast of the film all did a good job, including Jack Nicholson and Shelley Duvall, who was emotionally affected by the movie due to the abusive behavior on set. The rest of the cast and the way the movie was shot were great. They eventually made a sequel with Ewan McGregor called Dr. Sleep, which I heard was good and a good follow-up to the first film. I know Stephen King hated the film, I get it, but I still liked it. I give it an 8 out of 10.