What Makes The Shining So Endearing?

There are not many ways to describe why The Shining is a stunning masterpiece of the art of cinema. It is a film where even knowing the entire plot simply won't do it justice; you must experience the story for yourself to really understand its hypnotic quality. Such is the case that when one attempts to talk about the film they inevitably end up talking more about what's behind the imagery than the story itself.

The 1980 film by legendary filmmaker Stanley Kubrick has made such an immense impact in American popular culture that it has left what can best be described as a humongous collection of interpretations, giving it a really good case of being one of the most interpreted in film history. Analysis range from thorough and deep academic research to insane and bat-shit-crazy-yet-very-appealing conspiracy theories that make you stand in awe of what the human mind is capable of when trying to fill a gap in a puzzle. While these aspects of The Shining are entertaining (and in their own twisted forms valid), what consistently keeps me going back to the film is the pure master class of technicism and narrative structure.

Most of you have probably already read a semblance of what the movie is about even if you haven't watched it thanks to the many parodies and homages from all over the pop culture spectrum. Writer and family man Jack Torrance is hired by the managers of the Overlook Hotel as the Winter caretaker. Jack brings his wife Wendy and son Danny along with him to perform his duties. However, unbeknownst to Jack and Wendy but clearer to Danny, the hotel appears to be haunted by unknown entities. As the months pass by, Jack begins to slowly go mad, leaving him complete pray to whatever controls the hotel. He continues to deteriorate until going completely insane.

I have learned over time that the best way to demonstrate why The Shining is such a disturbing yet captivating film is to recall what the viewing experiences made me feel. Viewers have consistently mentioned a eerie feeling of doom that makes them extremely uncomfortable despite never being able to properly say what it is. These reactions are what allows the film to develop its layers. For example, my most recent rewatch made me notice a variety of paintings, books, and decorations around the scenes that add another layer to the symbolism of the film. Examples of these subtle additions are what continue to give the The Shining its strong and lasting appeal, but they remain just a gadget for what is the true motor that makes the film work.

A movie, at its core, is only as good as its pace allows it to be, and The Shining is far and away one of the most carefully crafted, compacted, and efficient stories ever put to screen, right up there with Terminator 2: Judgement Day (but that's a different discussion for another day).

Kubrick understood the power of the still image better than most of his contemporaries thanks in large part to his work as a photographer for Look Magazine. Most of his films are based on the photographic approach to framing. This is an aspect of his work that slowly developed until being perfected with the crafting of 2001: A Space Odyssey, further elaborating and perfecting this idea with every subsequent film he made. Add his almost masterful use of music and you will always find a strong, palpable, firm, and enhancing experience ranging from every conceivable emotion.

In The Shining, this method was used to create a space filled with wide open spaces and intricate and decorative designs made to grapple the mind with its many imagery. The hotel feels wide and claustrophobic at the same time. Kubrick achieved this through the juxtaposition of the design and the framing, using close up and zoom shots to get a certain sensation out of the viewer.

With all this being said, Kubrick himself said that the true key to crafting a film is in the process of editing, a process he has described as his absolute favorite to work on; it is here where the film shows the true manifestation of its essence, where The Shining truly comes to life. Many parts of the film just would not have worked without Kubrick's careful crafting of every frame in place. The musical compositions where nothing short of golden, giving it the perfect edge needed to compliment and even guide the film as a pseudo-Greek chorus. You can tell how purposeful it was to create the music the way it was just by how it aligns with the film unedited.

Along with 2001, this is the only other Kubrick film where questions are never fully answered, but unlike 2001, where the mystery is answered subtly in the film itself, The Shining does this on purpose. The ending is forever haunting and ambiguous. It carves and etches a mark of interest in the way it dissolves and leaves the viewer hanging cold. The look of answers is what leads so many theories being nothing more than exercise of closure.

Kubrick was determined to create the ultimate horror movie when he began to craft The Shining. He wanted to create film full of captivating images made to elicit a sense of impending doom in what is a fascinating build-up from start to finish. It is relentless in the way it makes the viewer uncomfortable. Even when things seem normal, like the moments when Wendy talks to the child therapist or walks through the maze with Danny, something feels lurking.

Kubrick was intensely more interested in creating a more psychological experience, focusing more in the abstract and the mystery this unknown builds. There's a certain Lovecraftian quality to its execution. The horror is too incomprehensible to explain or truly grasp, and it is shown in Kubrick's decision to never explicitly show a supernatural act take place. This just further causes discomfort, raising more questions than answers.

Despite the mystery and apparent bleak ending, Kubrick perfectly crafted this atmosphere by having a concise and solid plan for what he wanted to achieve visually. The technical foundations are what guided the construction of the story. This in itself gives us a solid idea to the way Kubrick approaches the craft of film, and why many of his films seem to find a way to hypnotize its viewers to a captivative state. It is all on the technique and what you want to capture with such abilities.