The Shining
By: Adam K

As deliberately paced as any movie ever, Stanley Kubrick's "The Shining" is probably as "love-it-or-hate-it" as it gets.  Many will call it the scariest movie ever, but just as many will call it pretentious, boring, and slow.  I am unique, as I am between those two extremes, but I'm closer to the "scariest movie ever" group.  What "The Shining" loses in plot and characterization it almost certainly gains in pure filmmaking.  The poorly-conceived or explained ending is saved by the relentless track through the snow-covered hedge maze.  Jack Nicholson's over-the-top performance is saved by the fact that he's so great a being a murderous psycho.  The young child actor who plays Danny Lloyd is probably the only good performance, and he is great at looking scared.  So said, the movie is not for the quickie horror fan who wants gore and an hour-and-a-half of violence; it's for the true horror film afficionado, who knows excellent filmmaking when he/she sees it.  Treat yourself.  3 out of 5 stars for plot / acting / etc., 5 out of 5 for technique