I’ve seen over 3000 Horror/Thrillers and putting aside personal opinion, the Top 10 are hard to argue. They’re the titles you know must be conquered at some point if you’re even curious about the genre. I decided to acknowledge the Hall of Fame rather than lose all credibility up front by attempting to argue against them or push in a personal favorite. All of these films I like. Four of them would be in my personal Top 10.
It’s taken a lifetime for me to come around on The Shining. It’s unusually slow for a Horror film, full of nonsensical moments both micro (the bear man pictured above) and macro (the contradictory layout of the Hotel.) It’s unclear how the Hotel is drawn to Danny’s gift since most of the time is spent driving Jack insane, and Nicholson’s performance starts pretty close to where it finishes. The main difference is he goes from quietly imploding to exploding.
However, these unusual decisions is what sets The Shining apart from other Haunted House films. Everything is familiar, but just a little off. Even the drive to the Overlook creates the unease that something isn’t as it should be. The twins, the maze, Jack’s manuscript are unbalanced so precisely that they stay in your mind like a nightmare you can’t shake. The bear man is a perfect example, something I remember from my first viewing that’s always the first image I conjure when The Shining is mentioned.
