The Shining, directed by Stanley Kubrick (1980) surrounds an isolated hotel with an average family being its current

residents. As the feeling of solitary and an unknown spooky presence gets heavier, the more insane the father of the family becomes. Having outbursts of anger, hallucinations and episodes of no self-control, whilst his psychic son starts to learn the gruesome history of the hotel.

Figure 1 - Jack embracing Danny

For this film Kubrick has stepped away from the sci-fi conventions and the special effects, as elaborated by EmpireOnline Kubrick, akin to his trippy treatment of the sci-fi genre, was elevating horror to a different plane, removing its camp wiggeries and bogeymen to infuriate and bedazzle with sinewy suggestion and sumptuous, awe-inspiring technique (Nathan, Anon). As the film explores the psychological effects solitary and disturbances can have on the human brain we start to see the hotel become less welcoming and more of a maze, as Luckhurst describes the film as a mesmerising maze of a movie (Luckhurst, 15/11/13).

Figure 2 - Danny in corridor

The labyrinth effect comes into place starting at the hotel and its gardens then slowly seeps into the mind of Jack Torrance (acted by Jack Nicholson). The hotel itself is uncomfortable, not only with its unsettling ghost stories but with the long, narrow corridors lit with fluorescents and the dark doors which emanate a factory-like atmosphere. The nauseating colours of the hexagon-patterned carpet which are forever repeated; without a break in the pattern, suggesting that there is no way out of the madness, as if you are trapped within the hotel and your own mind. Not only is Jack losing his mind he is also losing respect and patience with his family as he starts to disrespect and threaten his wife. Later on when he is investigating room 237 as Danny (acted by Danny Lloyd) claims to have seen a woman who had caused the bruises on his neck, Jack sees a younger and beautiful woman who is inviting him to take advantage; and so he does. He has now possibly lost all respect for his marriage as he commits infidelity, the madness in his mind could have caused him to act on his instincts and cravings, becoming less human and more animalistic. However, this fantasy is quickly turned into a nightmare when the seducer transforms into an elderly woman who seems to be a rotting corpse as she cackles at Jacks shocked expression.

Figure 3 - Woman in Bathroom

When we come to the end of the film we see Jacks body frozen in the snow outside the hotels garden maze. The odd element comes in when we see a long, slow zoom into a photograph of partiers at the hotel, taken in 1921; however, Jack is amongst the crowd. This leaves the ending open to interpretation as Roger Ebert mentions It is this elusive openendedness that makes Kubrick's film so strangely disturbing (Ebert, 18/6/06). An interpretation of this could possibly be that the soul or person of Jack will forever be tormented by his own madness due to reincarnation and always ending up at the hotel, as if it is written for him, as the waiter informs Jack, You have always been here.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Ebert. R, 18/6/2006, RogerEbert http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-the-shining-1980

(accessed on 2/12/13) Luckhurst, R, 15/11/13, The Guardian http://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/nov/15/shiningroger-luckhurst-review#top (Accessed on 2/12/13)

Nathan. I, Anon, EmpireOnline

http://www.empireonline.com/reviews/reviewcomplete.asp?FID=132700 (Accessed on 2/12/13)

ILLUSTRATIONS

Fig 1 Jack embracing Danny, (1980), The Shining, Stanley Kubrick, [Film Still}, United Kingdom/United States, Peregrine Productions http://skew.dailyskew.com/wpcontent/uploads/2011/05/the-shining-review.jpg (Accessed on 2/12/13) Fig 2 Danny in Corridor , (1980), The Shining, Stanley Kubrick, [Film Still}, United Kingdom/United States, Peregrine Productions http://www.indiewire.com/static/dims4/INDIEWIRE/f210d6f/2147483647/thumbnail/680x478/?url =http%3A%2F%2Fd1oi7t5trwfj5d.cloudfront.net%2Fab%2Fc5%2F669f370a42debf00c91758bad13c% 2Fthe-shining-apollo-11.jpg (Accessed on 2/12/13) Fig 3 Woman in bathroom, (1980), The Shining, Stanley Kubrick, [Film Still}, United Kingdom/United States, Peregrine Productions http://www.toplessrobot.com/Tub2.jpg (Accessed on 2/12/13)