With the sad passing of Shelly Duvall, I decided it was time for me to give The Shining another chance. “Another chance” some of you may be saying, but the truth of the matter is, The Shining has never been a movie that clicked with me the way that it did for so many others. I say this as someone who is a massive Stephen King fan, I have read many of his books and seen the majority of all the adaptations of his work.
How to Download The Shining
The Shining was released on May 23, 1980. You can download or stream the film from a digital platform. Click on the Download button at the end of this review and make your choice. If you want to see more movies based on Stephen King’s works, check out 1408, Pet Sematary, or The Boogyeman.
The Movie Review
Yet for some reason, The Shining is not one that I have ever been a huge fan of. It does have a few great scenes, Jack chasing Wendy through the hotel is just so damn creepy and puts you on edge and worried for her. Plus, the scene with the lady in the bathtub is gross and very creepy too. However, The Shining is a movie that has never actually scared me.
Iconic Performances
Jack is amazing as… Jack. You can see his descent into crazy town and it is easily one of Jack Nicholson’s most iconic roles. The way Shelly Duvall looks terrified all the time is very well done too, I am pretty sure she was legit scared as her performance is so believable. I love the idea of this family being stuck in a haunted hotel and the dad going crazy, the kid having a spooky ability, and so on.
Yet, even after this recent viewing and wanting to like it more than I have ever liked it before due to the passing of Shelly Duvall. I came to the realization, I simply do not like The Shinning and nothing is ever going to change that. It is a movie that I feel I should like, but I find it rather boring and dare I say, pretentious in many ways. It certainly has some fun moments and fun scenes, but I would say this is one of my least favorite Stephen King adaptations.
Respecting the Legacy
If you are a huge fan of The Shining, more power to you and I am happy for you. However, nothing you can say will make me like this movie, just like nothing I say will make you not like it. I much preferred the TV mini-series and Dr. Sleep over this which I am sure is making some of you trying to embrace your supernatural powers to put an end to me.
While I do not like the movie, I certainly respect it and the acting here is fantastic. Jack Nicholson and Shelly Duvall are amazing together and I bet seeing this get filmed was an incredible experience. My favorite take on The Shining is the parody that The Simpsons do (shh, you want to get sued?) in one of their Halloween Treehouse of Terror specials. There have been other parodies and references to it as it is such a classic, the movie Ready Player One has an amazing tribute to The Shining.
Final Thoughts
If you are a fan of The Shining, you are cursing my name right now. This is a movie that I wish I did like, it is a movie that I feel I should like, but I don’t. I can appreciate that so many people hold this movie in high regard and consider it to be bone-chilling, but I am at a point now where I think I will go the rest of my life without ever watching The Shining again. Hopefully, I have explained myself well enough that you fans do not hate me too much.
