In the middle of the movie, when the title 'Tuesday' appeared, I jumped. That I believe is Kubrick's magic.

It took me long, probably due to age factor, to recognise the genius of Kubrick as a story teller and filmmaker. I will get into that one of these days. Its just that there are so much to talk about this gifted director.

The movie is about Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) who takes the caretaking job of a hotel, Outlook, which is closed for the winter. He brings along his wife, Wendy (Shelley Duvall) and son Danny (Danny Lloyd) who may or may not be a psychic. Strange occurances takes place, including encounters with ghosts, that slowly drives everyone mad and Jack homicidal.

Now, this movie is generally known as a horror movie. So was Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey, which was a sci-fi fantasy first. The horror comes from the realisation of what the whole damn thing is all about. 2001 is, as most critics say, an open-ended film. It is up to us individuals to interpret it and that's why its fun to revisit the film again and again. I find the same with The Shining.

There are horror elements in The Shining. But not in a way, say, Spielberg of William Friedkin might present it. I don't know about others, but the things that scared me in this movie was not the river of blood bursting out of the elevator (lift), or the sudden appearance of the twins or the nude women who ages suddenly and attempts to strangle Jack. It was something else. There had been many quiet moments in the movie that stirred my stomach. The titles like 'A month later", 'Tuesday" or '4 O'Clock', appears with a bang - so sudden, at the least expected moment that you jump. Yet there's nothing scary about them. When Jack talks to the 'bartender', your hair will stand. The conversation Halloran has with Danny got me onto the edge of the seat, even though it is quiet innocent (wait a minute, not that quiet innocent). There are moments and moments that are so creepy that any such attempts by other director would not have worked. Kubrick did it.

Above all, the scariest factor in this film is Jack Nicholson. He didn't need monster make-up. He IS scary. While the rest of the cast are subtle and even at times uninteresting, Nicholson goes over the top and becomes the monster of this movie. Even during the initial seemingly normal interview scene between him and the hotel manager (Barry Nelson, the first Bond, go figure) reveals to us that Jack is not particularly a normal guy. That eyebrow. That damned eyebrow of his deserves an Oscar for best acting facial component. And you know what's the usual news? He was never nominated.

Again, Kubrick delights us with his exemplary skill as a filmmaker with fantastic collaboration with the cinematographer. There are many many tracking shots, some innocent and some to accentuate the horror. The Steadicam shot of Danny cycling around the huge hotel passageway are breathtaking. There are hundreds of shots worth taking note of. A wannabe filmmaker's dream.

Now, the interpretation part. Many would argue that the hotel is indeed haunted and it only worsened the sense of isolation especially in Jack's part. I see it differently. The isolation has drive him mad. He is already unstable. I would like to think of the images he saw as his own. So is the visions seen by Danny. Isolation and loneliness can do things to human. This is the horror factor in this film that makes it so special.

Most knows that the film is adopted from Stephen King's novel. I have never read King and I read elsewhere that King didn't like the way it was filmed. If that is the case, I'm glad that I didn't read the book first. This film is that good.

Note: After watching the movie you may wanna read this. It gives you a whole new perspective on the film. Not to intellectualise or what, just for fun:

Click here http://www.drummerman.net/shining/essays.html