𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 (𝟏𝟗𝟖𝟎)

The Shining is a psychological horror masterpiece directed by Stanley Kubrick and loosely based on Stephen King’s 1977 novel. Released in 1980, the film initially received mixed reviews but has since become a classic of the horror genre, widely studied for its storytelling, technical innovations, and psychological depth.

Kubrick’s adaptation is notable for its divergence from King’s source material, focusing more on atmosphere, ambiguity, and Jack Torrance’s psychological decline than the novel’s overt supernatural elements. It remains one of the most discussed and analyzed films in cinema history.

Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson), a struggling writer and recovering alcoholic, takes a job as the winter caretaker of the remote Overlook Hotel, a luxurious resort in the Colorado Rockies. He moves into the hotel with his wife, Wendy (Shelley Duvall), and his young son, Danny (Danny Lloyd). Danny has psychic abilities called “the shining,” which allow him to see disturbing visions of the hotel’s past and future.

As winter progresses, the family becomes increasingly isolated due to heavy snow. Jack, struggling with writer’s block and cabin fever, begins to succumb to the hotel’s malevolent influence. Danny’s psychic visions grow more intense, revealing the dark history of the Overlook, including murders and ghostly apparitions. The hotel’s spirit, embodied by the mysterious bartender Lloyd and other ghostly figures, manipulates Jack into turning against his family.

In a climactic descent into madness, Jack attempts to murder Wendy and Danny. The film concludes with Danny outsmarting his father in a hedge maze and escaping with Wendy, leaving Jack to freeze to death. The final shot of the film shows a photograph from 1921 in which Jack inexplicably appears, hinting at the cyclical and timeless nature of the Overlook’s horrors.