Movie Review: The Shining (1980)

★★★★★

The Shining is creepy in all the right ways. That hotel, those twins, Jack losing it, nightmare fuel, but I can't look away.

Melo S.

Michigan

Some horror films hit you with shocks and jump scares. The Shining doesn’t need them. It seeps into your mind slowly, patiently, until you start feeling uneasy even in the quiet moments, especially in the quiet moments.

As a reviewer for BoxReview.com, I’ve revisited this film more times than I can count, and it never loses its power. If anything, it gets more unsettling with each viewing because you start noticing details you missed before, little things that tell you something is very wrong long before the characters realize it.

The Premise: Isolation in a Living, Breathing Hotel

The story follows Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson), a struggling writer who takes a job as winter caretaker of the remote Overlook Hotel. He brings his wife, Wendy (Shelley Duvall), and young son Danny (Danny Lloyd), planning to use the solitude to work on his book.

But as snow traps them inside, the Overlook’s dark history begins to stir, and it’s not just ghosts lurking in the halls. Danny has a psychic ability called “the shining,” allowing him to sense the hotel’s evil presence, while Jack begins to unravel under the combined weight of isolation and supernatural influence.

Jack Nicholson’s Jack Torrance: Unhinged but Calculated

Nicholson’s performance is one of horror’s most famous and often parodied, but what people sometimes miss is how gradual his transformation is. Yes, he has those wild-eyed grins and manic outbursts, but early on, there’s a simmering resentment in Jack that makes you wonder if the hotel is corrupting him or simply amplifying what was already there.

Kubrick and Nicholson make it ambiguous, which is why the character is so chilling.

Shelley Duvall’s Wendy: Fragility and Strength

Duvall’s performance has been criticized by some as “too hysterical,” but that misses the point. Wendy starts the film as a meek, almost apologetic presence, but by the end, she’s fighting tooth and nail to protect her son.

What’s often overlooked is how Kubrick frames Wendy in wide, oppressive shots, making her seem small in the cavernous spaces of the Overlook, a visual way of showing how overwhelming her environment is.

Danny Lloyd as Danny: Innocence with a Burden

Danny’s ability to “shine” is the heart of the story. His conversations with Hallorann (Scatman Crothers) about the hotel’s history give the film its mythic weight.

What doesn’t get enough attention is how natural Lloyd’s performance is. He plays Danny like a real kid, curious, scared, and trying to make sense of a world that doesn’t make sense. His imaginary friend “Tony” adds a layer of mystery that makes his gift feel both fascinating and terrifying.

The Overlook Hotel: More Than Just a Setting

Kubrick treats the Overlook like a character, a shifting, impossible maze of hallways, ballrooms, and empty spaces that feel wrong in ways you can’t quite explain.

Eagle-eyed viewers have noticed that the hotel’s layout doesn’t make architectural sense. Kubrick deliberately designed it this way to create a subconscious feeling of disorientation. You’re never sure exactly where you are or where something might be lurking.

The Sound Design: Unease in Every Note

While many talk about the visuals, The Shining’s sound design is just as important. From the distant echo of typewriter keys to the scraping of Jack’s axe, every sound feels amplified in the empty hotel.

The score, with its low, ominous drones and bursts of high-pitched strings, works less like traditional music and more like a sustained note of anxiety running under the whole film.

Underappreciated Element: The Sense of Time Slipping

Kubrick doesn’t just trap the characters in the hotel; he traps us in time with them. Title cards like “Tuesday” and “4 p.m.” feel oddly arbitrary, as if the film is daring you to keep track. The days blur together, making you feel the same creeping disorientation as the Torrances.

The Supernatural vs. Psychological Debate

One of the most discussed aspects of The Shining is whether the ghosts are “real” or if they’re manifestations of Jack’s mental breakdown. Kubrick never answers this directly, and that’s why it works so well.

Scenes like Jack talking to Lloyd, the bartender, or Wendy seeing the hotel’s macabre “guests” suggest a supernatural presence, but they could also be shared hallucinations driven by stress, fear, and isolation.

The Maze and the Finale

The hedge maze chase is one of the most tense sequences in horror history. The snow muffles sound, the cold hangs heavy in the air, and the twisting paths mirror the mental labyrinth Jack has been lost in for much of the film.

Danny’s clever escape walking backward in his own footprints to confuse Jack is a reminder that in this story, survival comes from wit as much as strength.

Why The Shining Still Works Today

Released in 1980, The Shining remains one of the most studied horror films ever made. Its deliberate pacing, meticulous framing, and ambiguous storytelling give it a timeless quality. It doesn’t rely on dated effects or genre clichés; instead, it builds dread from mood, performance, and detail.

Every rewatch reveals something new: a figure hiding in the shadows, a strange piece of hotel décor, or a line that takes on new meaning in hindsight.

Final Thoughts

The Shining isn’t just a haunted house story; it’s a story about isolation, family tensions, and the spaces we inhabit becoming something unfamiliar and threatening. Kubrick’s precision and the performances of Nicholson, Duvall, and Lloyd make it a horror film that lingers long after the credits roll.

If you’ve never seen it, you’re in for a masterclass in atmospheric dread. And if you have, it’s worth revisiting, just maybe not alone, and definitely not in a snowed-in hotel.