The Shining (1980)

The Shining is a creepy scary movie that leaves the viewer frightened hours after watching it. I think the scariest character of this film was the little boy, Danny who had different voices and rode his mini bike through the hallways. What also added to the scary tactic of the film was the music. Even before something creepy happened, we heard the music so we knew something was about to happen. Even though this film did not have as much killing and brutality as other horror films, it still does its job of getting the audience scared and leaving them with the plot still going through their head.

The Shining is the story of Jack Torrence who applies for a job as a caretaker of The Overlook Hotel in the Rocky Mountains. This hotel has been abandoned for years and when he goes for the interview, he is told that the last caretaker shot and killed his family due to the loneliness he experienced. He decided to take the job and after he says this we see a shot of his son visualizing the hotel and the old caretakers two murdered daughters. When the family finally arrives and settles in, we see a change in Jack as his temper grows and he is continuously yelling at his wife. As winter becomes worse, we see Danny's shinings (voices) getting more intense. After Jack has a terrible dream about killing both Wendy and Danny, we see Danny emerge from upstairs with scrapes all over his neck. Soon after this, we see Jack going crazy and entering a 1920's ballroom where he meets up with Mr. Grady, the old caretaker who tells Jack how he corrected his famiy and how Jack should do the same thing. We see Jack going crazy, trying to kill his wife and son. Jack dies in a maze and in the last scene there is a photo that says Overlook Hotel, July 4th Ball, 1921 with Jack in the front row.

Through sounds, symbolism, and cinematography, this film provides great horror and sometimes humor. This film definitely makes the audience jump and does a good job of completely freaking everyone out. I would highly recommend this film for those that love a good fright.