“The Shining” (1980) is a psychological horror film directed by Stanley Kubrick, who co-wrote the screenplay with novelist Diane Johnson. The film is based on Stephen King’s 1977 novel. It stars Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Danny Lloyd, and Scatman Crothers. Set almost entirely inside the isolated Overlook Hotel in the Rocky Mountains, the film explores madness, isolation, and supernatural influence as a family slowly unravels during a long winter.
The story follows Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson), an aspiring writer and recovering alcoholic who accepts a job as the winter caretaker of the remote Overlook Hotel in Colorado. The position requires Jack to live in the hotel with his wife, Wendy (Shelley Duvall), and their young son, Danny (Danny Lloyd), during the winter months, when the hotel is completely closed due to heavy snowfall.
During the job interview, the hotel manager, Stuart Ullman (Barry Nelson), informs Jack of a disturbing incident in the hotel’s past: a previous caretaker, Charles Grady, murdered his wife and two daughters before taking his own life. Jack dismisses the story as irrelevant and enthusiastically accepts the job, believing the isolation will allow him to focus on writing his long-delayed novel.
Before the Torrances leave for the hotel, Danny is examined by a doctor after experiencing a disturbing vision. Danny possesses a psychic ability known as “the shining,” which allows him to see disturbing glimpses of the past and future. He communicates silently with an imaginary companion, Tony, who warns him of dangers ahead.
When the family arrives at the Overlook Hotel, Danny meets Dick Hallorann (Scatman Crothers), the hotel’s cook. Hallorann immediately senses Danny’s psychic gift and explains that he shares the same ability. He tells Danny that certain places—like the Overlook—hold powerful memories that people with “the shining” can perceive. Hallorann warns Danny to stay away from Room 237, a place he implies contains something dangerous.
As winter begins and the hotel closes, the Torrances become completely isolated in the vast, empty building. At first, Jack enjoys the quiet environment and begins working on his writing, while Wendy maintains the hotel and cares for Danny. However, Danny’s visions intensify. He sees ghostly images of the murdered Grady twins standing in the hotel hallway and terrifying flashes of blood pouring from the hotel’s elevators.
Meanwhile, Jack’s mental state begins to deteriorate. Struggling with writer’s block and simmering resentment toward his family, he becomes increasingly irritable and withdrawn. Strange occurrences begin to surround him. While wandering the hotel’s grand ballroom, Jack imagines the room filled with guests from an elegant 1920s party. He meets a ghostly bartender named Lloyd, who serves him drinks despite the hotel being closed.
Danny’s fears deepen when he enters Room 237 and emerges traumatized by an encounter with the unseen. Wendy suspects Jack may have harmed their son, further straining their fragile relationship. As Jack’s behavior grows more unstable, the hotel’s supernatural presence appears to manipulate him. In a vision inside the hotel’s red bathroom, Jack meets the ghost of Delbert Grady, who tells him that Danny and Wendy are attempting to interfere with the hotel’s will. Grady encourages Jack to “correct” his family.
Jack’s madness finally erupts when Wendy discovers that the manuscript he has been “working on” consists entirely of the same repeated phrase: “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.” Realizing that Jack has completely lost his sanity, Wendy attempts to protect Danny. Jack attacks her with an axe, chasing her through the corridors of the hotel.
As the terror escalates, Danny uses his psychic ability to call Hallorann for help from hundreds of miles away. Hallorann rushes back to the hotel through the snowstorm. However, when he arrives, Jack murders him with an axe shortly after he enters the building.
Wendy flees through the hotel, encountering horrifying supernatural visions—including skeletal figures and ghostly party guests—while Jack relentlessly hunts Danny through the snowy hedge maze outside the hotel. Danny manages to escape by cleverly retracing his steps in the snow to confuse his father. Jack becomes lost in the freezing labyrinth and eventually collapses in the cold.
The film concludes with a haunting final image: a photograph hanging in the Overlook Hotel showing a 1921 ballroom celebration. In the center of the picture stands Jack Torrance, smiling among the guests, suggesting that he has somehow always been part of the hotel’s dark history.
Main Cast
- Jack Nicholson as Jack Torrance
- Shelley Duvall as Wendy Torrance
- Danny Lloyd as Danny Torrance
- Scatman Crothers as Dick Hallorann
- Barry Nelson as Stuart Ullman
The Other Cinema 