When hearing about the opportunity to live in an isolated lodge in the middle of an uninhabited forest, twenty five miles away from the nearest town, in the midst of heavy winter –  the majority of us would instantly decline. Such was not the case for Jack Torrence, played by Jack Nicholson, in The Shining, the infamous horror film directed by cinematic genius, Stanley Kubrick.

The film deals with the effect of isolation, violence and disintegration of family in the midst of nothingness. But the themes of the film is not what makes it so interesting to analyze, rather it is the effect that the movie had on its viewers and critics when it came out and then decades later. Being one of the most controversial and misunderstood movie of all time, The Shining is an excellent example of a film being a form of art to express the director’s point of view of society, regardless if it is a best hit or not.

One of the main issues dealt in the movie is Jack’s descent into madness, which eventually causes him to want to murder his wife, Wendy, and their son, Danny. No one really knows what was the trigger that causes Jack to snap, but there is a variety of factors. He is a recovering alcoholic, he fell into what is known as Cabin Fever (a claustrophobic reaction that takes place when a person or group ends up in an isolated or solitary location, or stuck indoors in confined quarters for an extended period), or it could be the the location itself- The Overlook Lodge, which was built on top of a Native American Burial ground, and used various Native American art to decorate its interiors.

Many have claimed it is the violence (and ultimately the massacre of the Native Americans) that most likely took place on the grounds of the Overlook hotel, that lead to the circle of violence to continue within its inhabitants.

But the issue is, is that no one knows which factor is considered more heavily. Kubrick designs his film in a way where everything and nothing is possible. This initially aggravated critics, but later exhilarated them, and caused them to reconsider their first response.

While it was released, critics gave the movie mostly negative reviews, Janet Maslin of the New York Times reported that “the supernatural story knows frustratingly little rhyme or reason […] Even the film’s most startling horrific images seem overbearing and perhaps even irrelevant” (Maslin, 1980). In fact, most reviews talked about Kubrick’s ambiguity and omitting important moments from the plot of the novel it was based on (Of the same name, by Stephen King).

Although I did not read the book, I could agree that throughout the film, there are moments that are unclear. Specifically the slow pace of the film that ends rapidly and without a proper conclusion: We never find out the true fate of Jack, and later see him on a framed picture on the hotel dated 1921.

This vagueness causes unease throughout the entire film.  The unease is only fueled further by the use of the music, switching between awkward moments of silence or static sound, followed by bursts of dramatic violin, indicating danger, and old fashioned singles, which stand alone, are quite pleasing, but put into the context of the film, creating an eerie sense, that whatever happened in the past of the hotel, will forever remain.  As put by Jeremy Barham, “the film’s musical sound world acts in many different ways as a potent aesthetic, intellectual and personal signifier of the very greatest and the very worst — the sublime, ridiculous and monstrous — of human culture and identity” (Berham). This style of music was wildly disapproved at the time, but is now the cornerstone for all horror movie soundtracks for its residual effects on the viewer.

Fast forward a couple of decades, and the reviews, just like the music in the film, took a sharp turn. With every screening of The Shining, the audience became more understanding of Kubrick’s intention, while still not understanding the plot of the movie, which was exactly the point!

Robert Ebert, the famous movie critic stated, “Stanley Kubrick’s cold and frightening The Shining challenges us to decide: Who is the reliable observer? Whose idea of events can we trust? […] It is this elusive open-endedness that makes Kubrick’s film so strangely disturbing” (Ebert).

This path of negatives to positive appreciation of the film is similar to what I felt after my viewing of the film. For full disclosure, I am not a horror movie watcher, and even used the occasional pillow during the film to conceal a scene that I thought freighting. However, upon finishing the film, I realized I used the pillow less than expected, or when I watch other horror films. So I initially, like the original critics disregarded the film.

But I found that every time I close my eyes the night after I watched the movie, I would get a sequence of scenes from the film. From the twins, appearing disfigured, to Jack’s frozen grinning body. And the realization that the film is unsolved is what kept me from falling asleep.

I believe that was Kubrick’s intention.

After critically analyzing the movie, I have come to understand that every part of the film has no finite point, there is always a piece missing. From the actual screenplay to the theatrical poster release.

The actual screenplay, such as the infamous scene when Wendy finds Jack’s manuscript that repeatedly reads, “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy”, alluding to the well known proverb, with no known origin.

Or the poster, which at first sight seems very bland, a simple yellow background and the writing of the film’s title. However once you begin to explore the reason for the poster choices, a larger picture emerges. According to color psychology, yellow signifies the color of “acquired knowledge, the color which resonates with the left or logic side of the brain stimulating our mental faculties and creating mental agility and perception” (Empower yourself color psychology). Within the movie it is the imagination, or loss of reality, of a Jack that results in the murderous plot of the movie. In addition we see a faint face in the poster, which could be the fear of a child (perhaps Danny, Jack’s son), or his wife, maybe it is The Shining itself, we will never know.

He twisted the classic phrase “Ignorance is bliss” into a sinister “Not knowing might get you killed”. As humans we are obsessed with trying to figure out all the events surrounding us, we crave gossip about anyone, follow the news, and socialize daily for multiple hours. Kubrick used our own instincts against us, and that is what makes this movie so incredible!