Stanley Kubrick's The Shining

The Shining: Revised Draft When it comes to classic horror films, what is a conversation without The Shining? 1980’s The Shining directed by legendary filmmaker Stanley Kubrick is a chilling movie with themes of isolation, the supernatural, and contorted time. Kubrick’s use of unique and complex visual styles along with many subtle details often confuses the viewer at a subconscious level. With Jack Torrance being influenced by an evil, spiritual presence in the hotel and his son witnessing the supernatural, The Shining is a terrifying movie with an ominous feel throughout. The various techniques and plot used by Kubrick in The Shining often puzzles the viewer into thinking, maybe there is a deeper message. What really happened in infamous …show more content…
The parallels between the two characters as a father trying to take care of his family and then goes crazy due to isolation is mind boggling. Furthermore, when Wendy is serving Jack breakfast in bed, they talk about their first impressions of the hotel with Jack making a comment about being there before. He was the only member of the Torrance family who seemed to be alright with the hotel, even after knowing its violent and mysterious past. Along with the hotel having its own violent past, Jack keeps relieving and remembering how bad his father was when he was younger. It is clear that as the movie goes on that Jack starts to mimic his abusive father. Ironically, the thing that can help any situation and cure anything: time, is a serious cause of Jack’s …show more content…
This can be to communicate with the living, to scare them, or even something else. Ghosts are featured many times throughout the film. One of the first supernatural figures mentioned is “Tony”. Although Tony isn’t necessarily a ghost, he is a form of supernatural. When Danny is brushing his teeth, his imaginary friend tells him that he doesn’t want to go to the Overlook hotel followed soon after by one of the infamous scenes of blood gushing out of the elevator. Oddly enough, it is mentioned early on in the movie that Jack is to blame for Tony, as he is brought upon by an “accident” involving alcohol. Was Danny somehow given this power to save his family? Was it the supernatural that caused both Jack and Grady to descent into madness? Grady had twin daughters who he both murdered, these two girls are shown many years later while the Torrance’s are in the Hotel. Danny is the only one who can see them. Do these girls represent a form of failed foreshadowing, as they dress in the same manner as Wendy? Was Wendy supposed to be murdered by Jack and those girls were warning