Rent The Shining (1980)

Haunting and now in high definition! - The Shining review by CP Customer

The Shining is a classic film, with great performances from Nicholson and most of all Duvall. Kubrick does horror in such a visually lavish style that he raised the benchmark for years to come. The blu ray transfer here is excellent, remarkable for a film this old. Kubrick was a stickler for detail and not cutting corners financially to ensure his standard was maintained. This means the clarity of the print is worth the price alone. The production team have gone that extra mile by including several informative documentaries, including one directed by Stanley's daughter. As a relative she had total access during filming, thereby putting together a behind-the-scenes like no other for its time. The Shining remains an atmospheric entry in the arsenal of Kubrick, all the added extras make this a superb package.

Hexagons of Horror - The Shining review by griggs

The Shining disorients by design. Kubrick builds unease not through chaos but control—gliding camera movements, symmetrical framing, and rooms that feel just a few degrees off reality. The Overlook isn’t merely haunted; it’s oppressive, surreal, and meticulously composed to keep you on edge.

What’s striking is the beauty. The visuals are lush, almost regal, but that elegance curdles into menace. The dread creeps in slowly—through the hush of empty corridors, the repetition of patterns, the mounting sense that logic has quietly exited the building.

The performances teeter between theatrical and uncanny, like everyone’s reading lines from someone else’s nightmare. Nothing is fully explained, which is part of the point. It’s not a puzzle to solve—it’s a feeling to endure. A descent into madness orchestrated with such precision it feels ritualistic. Terrifying, in a way that’s hard to shake, and harder to define.

A Masterpiece. A Tangibly Frightening Ghost Story - The Shining review by GI

Now hailed as one of the greatest horror films ever made it's not too surprising that back in 1980 audiences just didn't get this film. It's almost incomparable to any other film either before or since and was misunderstood and perhaps a little too deep for general audiences of the time. In essence it's a ghost/haunted house story with a study of madness thrown in for good measure and as a film it is highly impactive and very clever. The suspense of the film is almost tangible and it's quite frightening in parts. Jack Nicholson, in one of his most famous roles, plays Jack Torrance, a former teacher and budding writer. He takes the job of caretaker of the massive, remote and luxurious Overlook Hotel when it closes for the winter. Jack, his wife Wendy (Shelley Duvall) and their young son Danny (Danny Lloyd) are effectively isolated for the duration of the winter while Jack attempts to use the solitude to write. But influenced by the Hotel's dark past Jack slowly becomes homicidal and insane putting his family in danger. Danny, unbeknown to his parents, has a unique gift of being able to sense bad things and he sees the Hotel for what it is and begins to see the strange presence that haunts it. This film has been pawed over by so many fans with ever more bizarre theories about it but it should be seen for the unique experience that it provides, a very dark story about deep emotions being forced to the surface of an unstable man affected by forces unseen by normal people. The actors are fantastic and Nicholson's extreme performance often overshadows Duvall's, which is some of the finest acting you'll ever get to see. There are really two versions of the film, the longer and original one that was released in the US and then a shorter one released for the European and UK markets. Director Stanley Kubrick put together both and acknowledged both but I would recommend the longer version as it has scenes that enhance the backstory especially with the central and important character of Danny. This is a post modern horror film and a masterpiece of cinema. Definitely a film to make sure you see.