Originally Posted by
Tragicallyhip
I found The Shining to be one of the most overrated horror classics. I don't know whether it was Kubrick's decision or Jack Nicholson's (given Kubrick's megalomania, I'm guessing it was his), but playing Jack Torrance that way was pointless. He's a threatening, unpleasant character from the start, when he's supposed to be normal. So there is no sense of horror associated with discovering you're locked in close quarters with a lunatic, because Shelley Duvall is the only person who doesn't already know that her husband is a deeply dangerous man. It undercuts the effect of the hotel, because from the start you're just waiting for Nicholson to go insane. Zero character progress or development. Shelley Duvall is irritating, although she's got an uphill task trying to portray a woman who for some reason doesn't know her husband is a wacko. Individual scenes function well, but as usual, Kubrick focuses to getting the minutiae absolutely right and fails to address the major issues of plot and character. "Here's Johnny!" doesn't make a movie by itself.