This rum is red, man! In spite of author Stephen King not being happy with Stanley Kubrick's adaptation of his novel, The Shining (1980) has proved to be a critical and commercial darling. It may not be in the spirit that King wanted, but it's undeniably a skillful piece of film making, a mixture of beauty and terror, of bravura techniques and simple but effective scares. With quality acting performances to match as well. The story unfolds at a deliberately slow pace, claustrophobia oozes from practically every frame, while the narrative smarts brings to bear the ghosts of the human and supernatural kind, all bone chillingly rendered for great effect by the vast spaces - the cold winter grounds outside - of the Overlook Hotel. It's not all perfect, the screenplay is very average, which makes Kubrick's work even more impressive, but with that comes the wave of feeling about style over substance. A churlish gripe? Maybe? But with Jack Nicholson on scenery chewing overdrive and Kubrick pulling the strings, The Shining still represents a highlight in horror. A horror movie that all horror fans should see at least once - and in the best format available as well! 8/10

Probably my favorite of the Stephen King adaptations (though not much for many of the others save for a one or two) but not amongst Stanley Kubrick's, watched this one for the first time in many years (maybe a decade) and while I did immensely enjoyed it, and really liked Nicholson towards the end, I never really bought into him early on. Still, atmospherically it was amazing and at times creepy. But can't place this as some sort of classic in my book, anyway. **4.0/5**

"Darling, I'm not gonna hurt you. I'm just gonna bash your brains in." <i>The Shining</i> is a great example of how musical score and cinematography can elevate a movie to the best-of-the-best. I tend to agree with Stephen King that Jack Nicholson looked like a crazy loon from the beginning, making his decent into madness less dramatic. But that can be forgiven by all the iconic scenes masterfully weaved into a horror classic.

"Darling, I'm not gonna hurt you. I'm just gonna bash your brains in." The Shining is a great example of how musical score and cinematography can elevate a movie to the best-of-the-best. I tend to agree with Stephen King that Jack Nicholson looked like a crazy loon from the beginning, making his decent into madness less dramatic. But that can be forgiven by all the iconic scenes masterfully weaved into a horror classic.

"Jack Torrance" is a writer who suffers from a chronic lack of inspiration. To help overcome his block, he takes a job as a winter caretaker and relocates his family to the remote, huge, "Overlook Hotel" where he hopes he can focus! Gradually, the bleak Arctic conditions outside and the never ending, brightly lit, corridors and rooms long since abandoned start to affect his mind. When he ventures towards the expressly off-limits room 237 it all begins to get truly out of hand. Shelley Duvall is fabulous as his put-upon wife "Wendy" as is Danny Lloyd as their gifted, but largely terrified son "Danny". Kubrick is on top form as he cleverly capitalises on Stephen King's terrifying story helping the star create a wonderful sense of madness and menace tinged with quite a bit of comedy that leaves us with an horror film that is truly scary for a change! Credit also to the make up folks - they manage to help Nicholson transfer from obnoxious writer to axe-wielding psychopath; especially around the eyes, with real impact. 40 yeas on, it still packs a punch.