In the dead of winter, a father and his family visit a remote motel. The Hotel has a shady history and is haunted by sinister ghosts impacting Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson). 

This film is engaging from the start, and it has a distinct atmosphere and tone that intensifies as the story unfolds. In this film, Jack Nicholson is excellent and portrays perfection. 

It isn't easy to picture someone else is doing a superior job to you. But, in addition to Jack's outstanding performance, however humorous in his role, Jack Nicholson is funny. 

The excellent camera work, especially involved, processes views that effectively convey a sense of solitude and add to the highly unsettling mood. 

The eerie music is also very effective at setting the mood. As the movie progresses, it creates a true sense of suspense and dread in the last half-hour and has one of the most satisfying endings ever seen in a film.

I am sure when this film was released, it was terrifying. Unfortunately, I only watched The Shining relatively recently. 

While I can't say I was terrified watching this, I find it an incredibly creepy experience, and it deserves a high rating.

Review:

After Carrie and Salem's Lot, Stephen King's third novel was The Shining. It was released in 1977 to primarily excellent reviews, and it's easy to understand why. 

It's unquestionably a horror classic, but it's extreme and effective at combining a captivating story with psychological reality and understanding, which isn't often the case in King's work but certainly is here.

Stephen King concedes that he tried to aim a bit higher in the preface to this beautifully crafted Folio Society edition. 

It's a simple start to what is, after all, a rather sophisticated book, published in 2001, yet King confesses that it was a crossroads work for him.

The work has a great deal of bravery. But unfortunately, it's primarily recounted from the perspective of anti-hero Jack Torrance. 

A dissatisfied writer plagued by an unpleasant mix of guilt and the ever-present danger of drinking, resulting in a short temper and a strained marriage. 

Torrance has a lot of King in him. But unfortunately, it's not as easy for an author to put themselves underneath the microscope and follow the negative underbelly of their brain towards its rational conclusion as most people believe.

One of the most pivotal scenes in the novel occurs inside the hotel restaurant, which has suddenly become well-stocked and bustling after being empty. 

He is more tempted to murder his family as he takes more alcoholic drinks. The argument is well-made: drinking facilitates Torrance's self-destruction and the external manifestation of his issues.

During the off-season inside The Shining, Jack Torrance accepted a janitor at the Overlook Hotel, intending to use the time to write. 

His spouse Wendy plus their five-year-old son Danny are accompanying him. The hotel, however, has a dark and morbid history, which Danny, who can see ghosts, experiences in flashes. 

So when he sneaks into one of the hotel rooms and discovers a female suicide in the bath, it is one of the most horrifying sequences in the novel.

As the novel progresses, it becomes increasingly brutal, with scenes of cutting razor blades and self-mutilation. It's not for the faint of heart. 

Edward Kinsella's beautiful full-page, full-color graphics with a nightmare feel are included in this version. 

They aren't entirely realistic, but their use of color creates an effect. The book is hardback with a protective case.

It's simple to understand why The Shining has become a horror classic. It is a captivating book that catches the imagination. 

To this day, the narrative continues to inspire others: the new TV series American Horror Story: Hotel pays an obvious homage to it. 

But, as is typical of King, its biggest flaw is that it is overwritten. As a result, vast sections of material don't add to the tale, and it's not the quickest read at over 500 pages. 

In addition, there are so many different points of view that it becomes overwhelming. King alternates between the three members of the Torrance family to divide the family up, which helps to portray how broken they are. 

Still, when other characters take over the narrative, it fails to express how fragmented they are.

However, this is King at his most pleasing stylistically. Most authors would be pleased to claim it according to their work because it is excellent. 

As a best-seller and horror classic, The Shining has earned a position in the Folio Society's canon among literary classics and works of historical significance. 

This is a terrific place to start when you've never read something by King. 

Expect it to be substantially different from the Kubrick film adaption, except for the core idea. In addition, the film is chilly, whereas King's novel is emotionally raw, making it far more effective.

Jack gradually devolves into madness. Then, while their father is losing his sanity, their son acquires the Shining, a psychic power that enables him to go and see ghosts and be controlled by them.

Hope you enjoyed my review on The Shining.