Best-selling Horror author Stephen King has notoriously hated Stanley Kubrick’s 1980 adaptation of ‘The Shining’ since its release. Whilst vastly different from King’s classic horror-novel, Kubrick’s vision is my favourite adaptation and interpretation of King’s classic material. ‘The Shining’ follows the Torrance family after they head to the isolated ‘Overlook Hotel’, where a sinister presence influences Jack Torrance (played marvellously by Jack Nicholson) into violence, whilst his psychic son sees horrific forebodings from both past and future. So how is ‘The Shining’ and does it still hold-up? ‘The Shining’ is one of my favourite horror films of all time. Stanley Kubrick directs one of the most concise and thrilling filmmaking ventures of the 1980s. The film oozes atmosphere with the ‘Overlook Hotel’ feeling like its own character, it feels alive and in many aspects it is. Every frame of this film is hiding a secret with fans of the film analysing this film quite deeply, finding Easter eggs that Kubrick hid there for repeat viewings. The film is not complete without Jack Nicholson’s masterful performance. Initially Nicholson’s performance was not admired like it is today, in-fact critics panned his performance, which is insane. Jack Torrance is one of cinema's most iconic monsters, we see his descent into madness through Nicholson’s off-putting and unsettling portrayal of a man descending into madness and it is truly mesmerising. Nicholson feels realistic and disturbed during the films entire runtime and that is a testament to how talented Nicholson is as an actor and how Kubrick understands his performers as well. Shelley Duvall is amazing in the film too, playing Wendy Torrance (Jack's wife). Kubrick infamously played the two actors off one another during the filming of ‘The Shining’ which brought out authentic performances from both Nicholson and Duvall. This made the two characters feel as though they were actually experiencing this descent into madness together. As an audience we feel isolated with these characters, we feel the cold, harsh exterior of the Overlook Hotel and we can feel the tension rising as Jack slowly descends into madness. This is through beautiful craftsmanship from director Stanley Kubrick The sequences of horror are handled with craft and nuance. ‘The Shining’ still holds up to this day because of the way these sequences of horror are handled. Kubrick moves the camera in subtle and nuanced ways that add to the tension and horror of the film. Audiences are not subjected to countless jump scares but rather treated to a slow-burn descent into madness, with subtle hints of the supernatural and paranormal. The ghosts of the Overlook Hotel, whilst frightening is utilised sparingly but thematically, they add to the characters as well as they are an extension of the characters themselves. ‘The Shining’ is the ultimate isolation film, with tense and well realised horror and suspense, grounded by terrific performances led by the terrific Jack Nicholson as Jack Torrance. ‘The Shining’ is one of my favourite films of all time and I am giving it a 10/10. The film looks absolutely incredible in 4K UHD as well, pick up yours today! Chris has written this movie review for Sanity.