Reviewing this movie I must start off by saying I was at first disappointed with the way the film bares little resemblance to the book. One of which being how the movie starts off with Jack already interviewing for the job at the hotel. We know very little about this character when he's first shown and don't have any idea about his background. At least with the story we get an opening in which we are introduced to Jack who has a much more clearer background and is more believable as a character than the one shown in the film. One can just look at Jack Nicholson's character in the film and know right off the bat that he looks like a trouble maker and everything he says during the interview is a clear indication that he is in fact already full of evil energy. In the book the character of Jack is painted as a regular-looking guy who is a writer and actually admits that he accidently harmed Danny when he was drunk as in the movie Wendy admits to the doctor that Jack was drunk and harmed Danny. This really made it seem as if Jack wasn't really sorry for what he did as in the book he admitted that he did wrong. The wolf-mask wearing man in the hotel made sense in the book but in the movie this character is wasted and only has about 5 or 10 seconds on screen in this movie. Another thing that separated the film from the novel was how Jack dies in the end. In the end of the book he is blown up in the boiler room as in the movie he freezes to death when chasing Danny in the maze. Also in the book there is no mention of a hedge maze only animal bush-sculptures coming to life to attack Danny when he's outside.
Now that I pointed out the differences I will say that the tv-series version of The Shining was really dreadfully attempted even though it does fulfill the version of the novel more accurately. The tv-series is so long and boring, and really drawn out. There's literally very little scares that aren't clichéd or hilariously bad. I could point out all of the scary scenes that aren't even scary but again this review is for Stanley Kubrick's The Shining. So Stanley Kubrick's version does offer a lot of great scenery namely the hedge maze when it snows and the Native-themed paintings and flooring. The giant structure of the hotel makes it's viewers' focus search around the entire room with every far away shot of the characters walking in view. Like how Danny rides his back into view of the twin sisters. The viewer knows something bad was going to happen it was just the timing that took us all by surprise. Making it one of the most effective jump scares in this movie. I'll admit from this scene onwards into the movie is where the movie builds excitement and really leaves the audience in the driver's seat. The music is another thing to note that adds to the movie's enjoyment. Overall, it's far from the book version but it really has impacted the fans views over which is better and I have to admit I enjoyed the movie over the book much like films such as Jaws and Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.
If you're looking for a film that matches the book's perception on what makes the hotel scary you should at least consider watching this movie to compare with the book's version. This movie shows no mercy when it comes to absolutely fill the viewer with it's subliminal messages, ascension into madness, and it's cycle of violence. The film deserves at least an 8 rating because it completely squashed the book's light-hearted version and made it much more scary.
Review of The Shining
