In the spirit of Halloween, I decided it is the perfect time to watch a scary movie, so I chose The Shining. When scrolling through Vudu for Halloween movies, I was surprised to see The Shining because I would consider it a psychological thriller rather than an old fashioned horror movie. Spoiler alert: when the movie began, I was bored by the lack of traditional horror. The first hour of the movie consisted of prolonged descriptions of the characters and setting.

The movie began with main the  character Jack Torrance, played by Jack Nicholson, interviewing for a new job as the grounds keeper at The Overlook Hotel during the winter months. Right after he is offered the job, they inform him that the last grounds keeper went crazy and killed his family with an ax. Of course Jack just laughs it off. At first I found strange, but by the end of the movie it made sense. Once Jack brings his wife Wendy and son Danny to the hotel, things become more interestin; the characters only have each other to rely on to.

Since the characters are in isolation, they begin having visions and voices apart from each other in their heads. For the first part of the movie, I sat there confused and lost on when this movie was going to end. As the movie progressed, I noticed the characters each became crazier and more suspicious of each other. In a crazy turn of events, the movie ends abruptly after a confusing and deadly family chase through a maze when Jack decides to go after his son Danny,  because the voices tell him to. The Shining then returns to the hotel, where the audience sees Jack back in 1921. While the movie takes place in the 1980’s. It then immediately cuts to the credits.

Overall, I really loved the movie. It was like nothing I had watched before and made me really think about the whole storyline. I slowly realized movies written in the seventies and eighties were based on making viewers think and try and figure out the motives of the killers, spirits, and hauntings. I liked The Shining more because of this reason exactly. The original movie was made decades ago and was based more on the mental suspense rather than the jump scares and cheesy makeup you find in today’s horror movies.

For these reasons, I give The Shining a 8.5/10 and recommend it for anyone who loves a good classic horror movie.

Claire Delaney 

A&E Assistant Editor