By: Antawn Salinas
Twitter: @OwlFeedAntawn

This is it. This is what many consider the most iconic and scariest horror films of alltime. I am of course talking about The Shining. Whether you’ve heard of this film or not, you know the references because they are parodied everywhere.

Tell me if this sounds familiar. “HERE’S JOHNNY!!!”. Yup, from this film. The two creepy twins, and the elevators flowing with blood originated from this film. The real question is, does this 1980 Stephen King adaptation hold up? Well, it’s in this series, so yeah, yes it does.

A few things first, this movie is on Netflix. It’s a few clicks away if you want to check it out. Also it is rated R. Just to add more, it’s a rated R movie from the 80’s, so it’s really not for younger audiences. If you’re in high school like me and feel like you can handle it, with parents’ permission, check it out.

Like I said earlier, The Shining is a 1980 film based off of the Stephen King novel of the same name. It was directed by Stanley Kubrick (director of Full Metal Jacket, 2001:A Space Odyssey, and many more) and stars Hollywood legend Jack Nicholson (Batman, The Departed). When Jack and his family try to watch over the Overlook hotel during the winter, strange things happen. And slowly over time, they begin to lose their sanity.

My favorite thing about this film is Nicholson’s performance. Sure he plays a villain in many of his movies, but I can’t help but like the guy. Everytime he’s on screen, he can quickly go from a calm and cool everyday guy to an insane psychopath without trying too hard. The other performances, while not as great, are good.

The kid played by Danny Lloyd is pretty good for a child actor. Jack’s wife played by Shelley Duvall is a mixed bag. Later on in the film she’s pretty good, but for many parts, she is not that great. In fact, I’ve heard that when directing the film, Kubrick hated working with Duvall, so I guess that makes sense why she’s just okay.

Also, center stage is Kubrick’s direction. There are many quiet moments just building up suspense. Sometimes, it just builds up suspense for no reason, just to play with you. People who are easily scared are going to be terrified. You won’t want to walk down a long hallway or explore a hotel alone ever after watching this. Just like I said in my Babadook review, this film goes beyond the jumpscares.

While I love this film the more I think of it, I feel like the rest of pop culture ruined it for me. I wasn’t entirely scared by it because I had seen many of the iconic moments parodied and used everywhere else. The first time I had heard of the film was thanks to The Simpsons, where they made fun of it in one of their Halloween specials. It’s a great bit. I just wished that the film wasn’t at one point over exposed.

Man, I talked a lot about this. I mean, this is over 500 words (600 if I don’t shut up). As much as I want to go on, I need to stop. That’s what a good film does to you. And that’s why The Shining is a classic.

A Modernized Trailer:http://bit.ly/10mG8LT Interesting Facts: http://bit.ly/2mHxSSR