Very conflicted over this one. The first 30-45 minutes, I
was entranced: the camera work was FLAWLESS. The start of the movie begins with
an extreme long shot and same intro music as the original Shining film. The
camera work throughout continued to be amazing - lots of cool transitions and
extreme long shots, especially during car scenes. The movement and panning was
masterful. There was a plethora of references to the original movie as well,
but they didn’t beat you over the head with them - alas, no Nicholson in the
flesh here, but his presence is in all the alcohol Danny struggles with
throughout the film. On its hinges, it’s a film about addiction and facing your
past.
Unfortunately, as is typical of King film adaptations, the
movie takes multiple hard left turns, but never gets it right. The majority of
the meat of the plot turns into some sort of weird vampire film and a battle of
good shines against bad shines. And while I admire the original Shining
immensely - I was fearful that this adaptation would be a shot-for-shot remake
or over-reliance on the original - I wanted some more of what made the original
so compelling: the Overlook. We get a glimmer of it towards the very end of the
film, and I feel that some of the most gripping moments occurred here. Good job
for this film that it can stand alone, but it stands alone almost too much.
Great metaphorical allusions to addiction, mental health, and specifically, existentialism; a great line by Danny during a conversation with a dying hospice patient: “The world is one big hospice with fresh air.” Unfortunately, the moments of good writing were few and far between, and while it’s a fun enough movie to watch, it didn’t really unsettle me psychologically as The Shining did. But hey, it wasn’t the worst piece of crap I’ve ever seen and it certainly could have done worse, especially considering you’re talking iconic/legendary horror preceding it.
6.5/10
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