Movie Mondays: The Shining

Kevin Sanchez

 

Stanley Kubrick's, The Shining, is a 1980s British-American horror film starring Jack Nicholson and Shelley Duvall. The film is based on Stephen King's 1977 'The Shining' novel, however, the film and novel differ in various ways. Unlike previous films produced by Kubrick, which developed an audience mainly on word-of-mouth, The Shining was released as a mass-market film, opening first in just two cities, then nationwide a month later.

The film focuses on the character Jack Torrance, a writer who takes a job as an off-season caretaker at an isolated hotel. His young son possesses psychic abilities allowing him to see things from the past and future. A while after settling in, the family is stuck in the hotel due to a snowstorm, and Jack becomes influenced by a supernatural presence that inhabits the hotel. He gradually descends into madness, and ultimately tries to murder his wife and son. 

Although initial response to the film was mixed, later critical assessment was more favorable and it is now being viewed among the greatest of movies. We finish this installment of 'Movie Mondays' with one of Jack's iconic, psychotic quotes: "Wendy? Darling? Light, of my life. I'm not gonna hurt ya. You didn't let me finish my sentence. I said, I'm not gonna hurt ya. I'm just going to bash your brains in."

- Kevin Sanchez

More Editorials

See All