Yes, The Shining is the movie about the writer (Jack Nicholson) that goes crazy and tries to murder his wife (Shelley Duvall) and child (Danny Lloyd), the latter of which has ghostly visions and whom can communicate with people using just his mind. But Stanley Kubrick's Stephen King adaptation is no pulpy horror movie, even if it is splattered with blood and host to the most crazed Jack Nicholson performance this side of Tim Burton's Batman. While parts of Kubrick's film may seem like everyday horror fare - the twin girls, the blood-weeping elevator and the axe through the door have become iconic spooky sights - repeated viewings only allow the viewer to go deeper and deeper into the maze, with new layers of this masterpiece revealed with each watch. If the recent documentary Room 237 is anything to go by, The Shining is open to so many interpretations that it's an almost infinitely rewatchable movie; it's not the scary goings-on, but the chance of figuring out the mystery of what it all means that keeps bringing fans back.
Lover of film, writer of words, pretentious beyond belief. Thinks Scorsese and Kubrick are the kings of cinema, but PT Anderson and David Fincher are the dashing young princes. Follow Brogan on twitter if you can take shameless self-promotion: @BroganMorris1
