A mother and son trapped at an empty hotel with an axe-wielding killer are the ones I’m supposed to rooting for, but I’m hoping he chops them both to bits so I’ll no longer have to look at their asinine facial expressions. They’re terrified; if an axe to the face isn’t scary enough, the hotel is also haunted by ghosts; but Stanley Kubrick doesn’t seem to realize it’s possible to be terrified with a straight face. Exaggerated grimaces, especially in the case of the mother; the pathetic victim type a villain in this type of movie thrives on; takes away from any realism The Shining has to offer.

Even worse is the story itself, which, thanks mostly to an unnecessary reliance on paranormal activity; “Shining” apparently means a form of telepathy; is often nonsensical or, at best, confusing. Is Jack Torrance going crazy or is he really seeing ghosts? That seems like a valid question until his wife starts seeing them too. The answer should be that he’s not going crazy, but he obviously is, so the answer must be both, which is convenient for the plot, which is now allowed to lazily throw logic out the hotel room window in favor of creepiness for the sake of being creepy.

my rating : 2 of 5

1980