Jack Torrance is a writer and a recovering alcoholic. He brings his wife Wendy and their young son Danny to the Overlook Hotel where he has secured a job of winter caretaker despite the fact that they will be snowed in and isolated. Oh, also, the last caretaker went mad and killed his family and himself. Fun Christmas. Bit by bit, Jack succumbs to the sinister ambience of the hotel and its many ghosts and demons. He chats amiably to a ghost in the bar called Lloyd and his sobriety goes down the swanny. Grady, the ghost of the previous caretaker appears to Jack and tells him that he must 'take care' of his family. After Wendy discovers the "all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy" manuscript, she realises he is insane and she must try and protect Danny and herself from harm. Jack Nicholson has great fun rampaging around the hotel and its grounds, trying to kill his wife and child. He really takes the portrayal of madness to levels rarely matched on the screen in terms of commitment and intensity. It is clear from the start of the film that Jack is not right in the head and when he begins talking to ghosts like Lloyd and Grady, you know that doesn't bode well. Jack Torrance is the very definition of the term 'mad man' and a brilliant horror icon.
My first film watched was Carrie aged 2 on my dad's knee. Educated at The University of St Andrews and Trinity College Dublin. Fan of Arthouse, Exploitation, Horror, Euro Trash, Giallo, New French Extremism. Weaned at the bosom of a Russ Meyer starlet. The bleaker, artier or sleazier the better!
