This film is underrated if you ask me, it's always been one of my favorites if not my favorite horror movies. The best part, I think, is that it manages to be scary even though very few people die, as opposed to modern horror movies that fail to be scary even though everybody dies.

One of the most over-rated horror pictures, yet based on one of Stephen King's finest novels. How could it go wrong? The primary problem is that the film simply isn't scary. I'll give it creepy, but only mildly. And only one scene stands out as being anything close to King's vision of supernatural fear ("Room 237"). Sure Nicholson is fun, and really, the cast is fine. But the secondary problem this film has is a critical fail: the movie's aim and thrust is completely muddled.… Expand

Kubrick presented the interchangeable nature of internal disturbance and external terror, establishing an ominous undertone that accompanied the creepiness of the foreground imagery. The film doesn't settle for superficial scare tactics,instead, it quietly sustains an level of palpable menace throughout the entire piece.

By FAR, the creepiest, scariest movie I've ever seen. To this day, when I'm in a long, deserted hallway in a hotel, especially staring at an elevator, I think of those two little girls on trikes. Chilling!... Heeeeere's Johnny!

A classic is the only word that can truly define this film. Really well shot, great acting for the most part (some little flaws here and there) and great character development. I highly recommend this film.

Possibly the dumbest movie I've seen. Not scary at all. The characters and their acting were laughably bad, especially the wife... every time she walked, talked or screamed, I could not take her seriously.

Each scene is meticulously crafted to perfection as only Kubrick can. Though not a huge hit when it came out, in the test of time it has imparted a host of icons and one liners on to our culture. Towards the end, the rooms full of scary things was deviantly anticlimactic, as the real horror was always what was happening in Nicholson's head. But consider the beginning: Kubrick made Glacier Park, the most beautiful place on the planet, the doorway to the 10th level of hell. As a film opening it rates right up there with the first Star Wars movie. It's just totally too good.… Expand

I'll be honest, I hate horror. The Shining is possibly the only horror film that has ever ingnited something within my interest. It's brilliant,daring and most importantly, not cliche. Surely the highlight of the film is the use of steadicam following the child around the place like some haunting ghost. Another superb achievement from Kubrick.

Kubrick fastidiously detailed about the claustrophobic horror and suspenseful and hysteric moments. However, it is true that Kubrick failed to transform the original main point of the novel and deviated to make his own point of view.

My first viewing of Stanley Kubrick's classic 'The Shining' left me somewhat...underwhelmed. As a 15 year old boy, my underdeveloped, action oriented brain, desired gore and cheap thrills...something that this film avoids. Viewing 'The Shining' as an adult however, was a truly unforgettable experience. So here are my two cents.... Hearing the term 'adaptation of a Stephen King novel' makes me want to vomit. With such duds as 'Storm of the Century', 'Rose Red' and 'Tommyknockers' falling within this category, I was sceptical. But thankfully, Kubrick diverts drastically from the source material, playing down the supernatural elements of horror. The fear of the characters' deteriorating mental health, and the potential of what they could do to one another, is far more terrifying than the threat of ghosts. This makes for a human, relatable, and intelligent horror; more frightening than the typical ghost story. Kudos to the screenwriters for taking a chance. Like most Kubrick films, the performances are strangely enigmatic. Shelly Duvall's portrayal of the seemingly 'desperate to please' Wendy, was irritating in the initial stages of the film. There was a self-consciousness to the performance, that felt slightly superficial. HOWEVER, when the hysteria sets in, Duvall delivers the goods. She is chillingly authentic, and utterly electrifying. It actually heightens the experience in the final third of the film. Apparently Kubrick was a prick to her on set in order to 'push her' into that place...so thankyou for that! It's magic. I find Jack Nicholson a difficult actor to really warm to, and his performance here is no exception to that. It's over the top, comical, frightening...and unpredictably mad. I think I would have preferred Jack Torrance to be a more likeable character in the developing stages, but nonetheless, he is fascinating. And Danny Lloyd would have to go on the list of 'best child performances ever'. The facial expressions, body language, and the eyes, are completely believable and nuanced! They struck gold with him. Typical of Kubrick, the film is a visual spectacle. Even by todays standards, the cinematography is mesmerising - a testament to Kubrick and John Alcott. Visually, the film is so absorbing. The camera rarely stops moving, in inventive (but non-distracting) ways. There is a sense that the characters are being watched by 'another presence' that is constantly tracking their movements. The camera work is subtly unsettling. It is so refreshing for a modern audience to watch a film like this, that relies on a slow and contemplative build up, and resonating images for scares. There is a genuinely creepy tone throughout, and the climax absolutely soars with thrills. And, strangely enough for this genre, 'The Shining' gets better with every single viewing. A well deserved classic!… Expand

My favourite horror film, possibly even my favourite film in general. The atmosphere is immensly creepy from beginning to end. The music, the camera work, all spells dread and impending horror. Those two girls still send shivers down my spine whenever I see them. Talk about stmosphere, this film has me gripped from begginning to end every time. Every scene is firmly etched into my mind, every image. Yeah I Ilike it just a bit....to be honest I feel a bit like Jack sometimes...Wendy!!… Expand

Great, scary, intense atmosphere and superb Jack Nicholson mixed with the mediocre performance by Shelley Duvall. Anyway, I think that this film was underrated for many years.

Unflinchingly directed - There has certainly been a good number of well made and thrilling horror-films in the last thirty years, but few possesses the psychological tension that Stanley Kubrick created in 1980 with his adaptation of Stephen King`s novel "The Shining" which he wrote with novelist Diane Johnson, that stringently tells the fictional story about writer, husband and father Jack Torrance, who travels from the city with his wife Wendy and son Danny to attend a job interview during the winter at the Overlook Hotel considering an off-season job as a caretaker. Torrance's intension is to use the remote and isolated hotel to find peace while he is writing, but as he get's into his writing his mental state starts to change. From the majestic and long opening scene where the camera moves transversal through a dead silent landscape and towards the films main location, to the grand finale, this is a throughout captivating and mind-puzzling tale mostly seen through the eyes of a psychic young boy who receives frightening premonitions about the place his parents have brought him to and a grown man who unknowingly is faced with his own mind's evanescence. This increasingly chilling character study uses repeated imagery, shifts from regular to extreme close ups, concentrated, repetitive and no dialog whatsoever, short and long takes and frequently changes from scenes of eerie silence to scenes of climactic noise.This is the type of film such as, without making any comparison, Peter Weir's "Picnic at Hanging Rock" (1975) or David Lynch's "Eraserhead" (1976), where the mood is crucial for the films atmosphere, and in this case the mood is composed by Jack Nicholson's versatile mood-swings and the classic and orchestral music. Several stories are intersected in "The Shining", and they differ from the story of a writer's block, a horrible tragedy that happened in the past, a wife unable to reach her husband, a son unable to connect with his father and a man's broadening psychosis. It's impossible to overlook Jack Nicholson's electric presence as he transforms into a character that bewilders himself as far as conceivably possible in an oblivious mind. His multi-layered performance stands as a milestone in acting and Nicholson is as frightening as he is entertaining in his nearly exaggerated interpretation. With that said, this film wouldn't be as good as it is without the performances of Shelley Duvall, Scatman Crothers and Danny Lloyd, who's presence is just as effective as Nicholsons. The ingenious about "The Shining" is that it achieves a high level of tension without being overly violent. Yes, there is a flood of blood, but the greatest horrors of the film is the words, the sounds, the images, the faces, the moods, and how these cinematic elements spark the viewers imagination. This inner an outer mind maze is a vivid examination of supernatural spookiness that truly captures the feeling and perception of fear. Kubrick knew no boundaries as a film maker and his eleventh feature is photographically aesthetic and unflinchingly directed.… Expand

An atmospheric, slow-burning horror film that charts a man's descent into madness. Though the directing and writing is top notch, Nicholson is the real star of the show. His character is fantastically deranged and believable and is the commanding force in each scene he is in. Although not terrifying, the movie effectively builds tension and suspense culminating in a dramatic third act.

Very slow and boring movie, I've ever seen. I actually fell asleep at the scene where danny is riding his bike. I want realy horror movie, not a b-budget, childish horror movie.

This is by far my favorite movie! In my opinion it is more of a thriller than a horror film. Jack Nicholson plays the role amazingly well, Shelley Duvall's portrayal of Wendy is great, even though in the bookthe character is very different in the book. The kid is actually very creepy though.

A horror classic. An unforgettable performance by Jack Nicholson as the tortured soul of Jack Torrance. Stanley Kubrick's direction pushes all the right buttons.

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. If there's one pure horror film that deserves the Best Picture Oscar just for its overall terrific (and terrifying) atmosphere, it's THE SHINING. I've only seen one of Stanley Kubrick's other films, which was 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY, and if you think that Stanley Kubrick only makes those kinds of films, think again. This brilliant man takes mastermind Stephen King's already-horrific novel and crafts it into his own ingenious, twisted work that is probably more frightening than the book itself. And there's Jack Nicholson, who does an outstanding performance as psychopath Jack Torrance. When I saw this film, my immediate thought was that Nicholson's character was just as I imagined Torrance's personality while reading the source novel. It's possible to admit that sometimes Jack Nicholson does go a little loopy with his role, making it often seem more like his role as the Joker in BATMAN nine years later, but he never seems to go overboard, and his character always enhances the eerie-ness of the entire film. All in all, THE SHINING is a must-see. It's certainly not one of those "spewing guts" films where everything is grotesque blood and gore. Instead, the horror comes from the creepy, sadistic, intense mood, as this is a well-molded psychological horror. Add this to your shopping list (or your renting list) if you haven't seen it. See it again if you have already.… Expand

I like this movie, i though the whole concept of the family going to an isolated hotel, where strange things start to happen (the spiritual forces and stuff like that), i think it was original. "Heeere's Johnny!", i though that scene was awesome, although the choice of the female actress and the child should have been more efficient, like they kind of took a tool on the movie, with the way they perform, but Jack Nicholson was able to put a hell of a performance, like he usually does.… Expand

Another great example of how Stanley Kubrick had that ability to connect you with a movie, is not only the story what is spooky the great work of Jack Nicholson and the great elements that Kubrick increased is what make this film one of the must terrifying films of all of the time

My favorite film of Kubrick's. You feel like you're becoming as mad as Johnny while watching, building up cabin fever and fear in a mixture of nauseous scenes.