I will say that THE SHINING is probably the most beautifully photographed horror film ever made. The scene where Jack Torrance sells his soul for a glass of beer to the patient, creepy Lloyd the bartender hints at the evil behind the Overlook Hotel. Satan closing that simple deal in the cavernous ballroom is one of the film's highlights for me.
But the movie never gets any momentum.
I've read as many Stanley Kubrick biographies as I can find (some good, some really bad) and I believe the reason THE SHINING doesn't work is fairly simple: Kubrick never believed in an afterlife. He believed in evil in the world, evil in human beings, but the idea of Satan, ghosts, the supernatural eluded him.

Stephen King said in an interview back in 1980 that Kubrick would call him at all hours to pepper him with questions during production. Questions like, "Do you believe in God?"
(In the Argosy article back then, King said that he told Kubrick that he didn't. Since his horrible accident, King now tells the same story--except that he now says he told Kubrick he did).

And, in my opinion, when you keep this in mind while watching the film, you understand that Kubrick's normally razor-sharp perceptions as a filmmaker appear a little vague and out of focus. The emphasis shifts from a malevolent haunted house to one guy losing his sanity.

The DVD is worth it for Kubrick's daughter's documentary, "The Making of THE SHINING." As a lifelong Kubrick fan (DR. STRANGELOVE is, in modern terms, still Da Bomb), I'd never heard the reclusive director's voice until this DVD came out a few years ago.
What I really missed though was the second trailer from 1980, the one they played on TV just before the film was released. The DVD includes the first trailer--the single shot of the elevator opening to release a tidal wave of blood in the hotel--but does anyone remember the TV commercial? Wendy Carlos' throbbing main title plays as different shots from the film roll. No dialogue. And one of the last shots is Jack with his face pushed through the shattered door--but not the shot from the film! It's some alternate take (and there were a slew of them). He's laughing hysterically, his face locked in satanic glee, all teeth and eyebrows...and his eyes are dead with evil. Somebody, please dig that out! Over 20 years later and I still remember that!

As the lead character, Jack Nicholson is about as close to perfect as you can possibly be, and in such a movie it would be easy to solely concentrate on him. However, thanks to the winning performances by Duvall as his wife and that of the child Danny, we are also made to worry for the safety of his family. Duvall's wide-eyed performance is masterful, implying not only innocence and vulnerability but also the cold determination to protect her son. The boy who plays Danny is also immensely talented in a role today that would seem tailor-made for Haley Joel Osmont. His terror and innocence are emphasised to the max, although interestingly enough the actor never continued a career in film-making.

Many people have criticised The Shining due to the fact that it isn't very faithful to the book. Scenes such as the hedge animal attack aren't included and there's a completely different ending. However, both are really excellent in their own way and if Kubrick's film isn't a by the letter adaptation of Stephen King's novel then it at least follows it in spirit. The grim and gory hallucination and psychic vision scenes are genuinely horrific, in particular the woman who rises from the bathtub only for Jack to realise that she's dead. Many of these have become a much-parodied part of pop culture, especially the lift that opens with a gush of blood, and rightly so too. This is generally regarded as one of Kubrick's best films, and it probably is. It's original, scary, disturbing and brilliantly acted. Not only that but it's an adult horror picture, a genre that is so few and far between that it has all but become extinct.

Jack Nicholson's performance as the father figure of the piece has caused wildly divergent opinions; he's either maniacally right or too far over-the-top. All I can say is that it worked for me, especially with his "Here's Johnny!!" line.

I can't think of too many horror movies whose camera work and production design are anywhere in the class of this particular film; these elements are almost every bit as chilling as the movie itself. Kubrick also uses very dissonant classical works by such composers as Bartok, Ligeti, and Penderecki to underlie the film's atmosphere. The film also achieves one of the horror genre's greatest moments by showing a huge tidal wave of blood spilling out in slow-motion from the hotel's elevators.

Like anything Kubrick made in his life (and like the more recent Kubrick/Spielberg collaboration A.I.), THE SHINING must be seen with an open mind. Just for myself, this film is one of the best horror films ever made because Kubrick's images linger in the mind long after the film itself has ended.