by Jacquie Russo
Staff Writer

It’s Time for Horror

The classic horror movie “The Shining” is one movie that is sure to keep its audience glued to their seats with their eyes peeking out of their hands.

When “The Shining” first hit theaters in May 1980, it received mixed reviews from its audiences. Opening weekend the movie made $622,337 while other movies from the ‘80s madeit well into the millions (found on boxofficemojo.com). Even Stephen King, the author of the book, said the movie was “cold” (found on Wikipedia.org).

King was upset with how the characters were portrayed and the lack of depth into the physical abuse and alcoholism that were some of the main themes in his novel.

I for one loved director Stanley Kubrick and co-screenwriter Diane Johnson’s film version of “The Shining” but I have also not read King’s novel. This movie drew me in from the verybeginning, when the father, Jack Torrance, played by Jack Nicholson, is being interviewed for a The job is for that of caretaker of the isolated Outlook Hotel for five months during the winter.

He accepts the position so he has time to write his novel every day in quiet. He brings his wife Wendy (Shelley Duvall) and his talented son, Danny (Danny Lloyd), along for the ride. Arriving at the hotel, the Torrance’s are given a tour where they meet head cook Dick Hallorann, (Scatman Crothers.) Over some ice cream, Danny asks Hallorann questions about Room 237, of which Hallorann quickly instructs him to stay out. Room 237 starts the mystery of what’s

I loved the emotions the movie brings out in the viewers. The music is powerful and made me scared with anticipation. Jack Nicholson’s performance, on the other hand, had me laughing along with the audience at how crazy he is.

More than a horror movie, this film examines Jack Torrance’s psyche.

Michel Ciment, a French film critic said, “‘The Shining’ “seemed to strike an extraordinary balance between the psychological and the supernatural in such a way as to lead you to think that the supernatural would eventually be explained by the psychological.”

The movie is a classic and has since inspired many filmmakers. Famous lines like Jack Torrance’s, “Here’s Johnny” and scenes like the two young girls dressed in blue holding hands, have haunted viewers’ minds for years. Another famous scene, my favorite, is the gushing of blood from the elevator that’s so powerful it picks up a sofa chair. All of these scenes and lines bring fear and a spark of mystery to the film.

Although “The Shinning” has its critics, it has found its way on to many websites as one of the best horror movies of all time. Hi-Def Digest horror reviewer, Peter Bracke, reviewed the Blu-Ray version of “The Shining”, saying the movie “has somehow risen from the ashes of its own bad press to redefine itself not only as a seminal work of the genre, but perhaps the most stately,