The Shining (1980)

Kubrick's adaptation of King's novel chills rather than shocks through stealth and eerie discomfort, with an overpowering Steadicam technique and Nicholson's hammy yet deeply disturbing performance.

Kubrick elevates horror with meticulous technique and psychological depth, ditching formulaic elements for a study in madness. The film is technically unmatched in the genre, with unforgettable imagery and sound design that unsettles rather than shocks directly.

Thomson calls The Shining the Kubrick film he loves most and finds it a mysterious, rapturous work of beauty. He singles out the Gold Room scenes with the ghostly barman and Grady for their exquisite, fiction-like descent and luminous atmosphere.

Kubrick's horror film is spellbinding and diabolical in its depiction of the Torrance family's tour of the Overlook Hotel. The director excels at building an atmosphere of dread through the isolated setting and performances.

The critic calls it a masterpiece that demands big-screen viewing, praising how Kubrick transforms the Overlook Hotel into a warped environment of mental instability and supernatural menace. The review notes some daft scare shots and length issues in the longer US cut but affirms its status as essential cinema.

The critic views The Shining as a characteristically Kubrickian work that prioritizes formal and spatial concerns over conventional horror tropes or jump scares. He singles out the innovative Steadicam tracking shots and the film's geometric treatment of the Overlook Hotel's spaces for particular praise.

The critic praises Kubrick's film as a radical distillation of the novel that enhances its unnerving domestic and psychological horror through meticulous form, Steadicam cinematography, and ambiguous themes rather than conventional scares. The review highlights the experience of isolation and terror over plot specifics, noting how the film stretches genre boundaries.

Robey deems Kubrick’s film definitive and unforgettable despite mixed original reviews and Stephen King’s reservations. He highlights its eerie power, the iconic Overlook Hotel imagery, and Nicholson’s performance as the elements that make it a horror masterwork.

Kubrick's adaptation turns the story into a Freudian exploration of the family psyche amid the hotel's evil history. The film emphasizes psychological horror over straightforward terror from the source novel.

Kubrick has retreated further into personal auteurism after Barry Lyndon, turning the film into an abstract exploration of space, ambition and isolation rather than a conventional horror. Nicholson's performance is eerily apt as a man primed for demonic promotion.

The critic struggles to discern if Kubrick intends serious artistic statement or mere entertainment in this adaptation, finding the narrative ambiguous and unsatisfying. He praises the striking winter cinematography by John Alcott and the effective, tension-building score compiled from modern composers.

The review sees the film as a progression of Kubrick's bleak vision of humanity dehumanised, focusing on a man isolated in his own void where bloody madness seems an escape. It criticises how the horror genre exacts too great a price, with Nicholson's performance encouraging laughter as much as fear and illogical plot twists.

Kael finds the film technically impressive but ultimately distancing and unengaging as horror, with overly calculated Steadicam tracking shots that dissipate suspense and a talky, metaphysical approach that fails to deliver scares or emotional investment. She singles out the virtuoso technique and Nicholson's early performance for admiration while criticizing the lack of integration of horror elements, the puppet-like acting, and the failure to make the family dynamics or ghosts compelling.

Kubrick and Nicholson have ruined the terror of King's novel by straying far from the source material and making the characters unconvincing. The performances, especially Duvall's, undermine the horror.

The critic celebrates Kubrick's reimagining of the story as an optimistic Christmas parable focused on internal evil and family dynamics rather than external supernatural forces. He singles out the performances, symbolism, and the Overlook Hotel itself as a major character for praise.

The review lauds the extended cut re-release for retaining the film's timeless psychological terror and meticulous construction, emphasizing its predestined doom, strong performances (including Duvall's), and iconic unsettling imagery and score. It calls the film one of the most viscerally disturbing ever made.

Kubrick’s chilling masterpiece has become a state of mind and a cultural brand thanks to its labyrinthine qualities and aesthetics. The critic highlights its meditation on grievances, irritability, and the inevitability of things falling apart, along with its enduring mythical impenetrability.

Kubrick’s The Shining is a masterpiece of composition and design and the single most distinctive horror film ever made, even if not a faithful adaptation of King’s novel. The critic singles out its droning soundtrack, innovative Steadicam shots, singular images, and standout performances from Jack Nicholson and Shelley Duvall for praise.