Just got through watching this with the wife last night.
Gotta say it doesn't hold up well with time. Maybe it's because I've seen Jack Nicholson's other work (and therefore KNOW he's a few clowns short of a circus) or maybe I've seen/heard too many references to this film.
It's a Kubrick fill, so you can expect a METRIC TON of establishing shots and huge sets, but for some reason this seemed like it was a bit much for this flick. All this really could could've been shot in a quaint bed & breakfast in Maine somewhere (Stephen King, who the novel this was based on, usually has state as a backdrop for his stories).
From the first time you see Jack (main character), you already tell he's crazy. So just throw in the same old horror/thriler cliche check list:
- PREVIOUS caretaker going nuts and chopping up his family like firewood: CHECK
- the hotel is built on Native American burial land (gotta add that): CHECK
- a comically spineless wife (played by Shelley Duvall): CHECK
- a grizzled grade-schooler with an imaginary friend: CHECK
- mysterious black guy (who was the FIRST one to die; another movie staple): CHECK
This movie movie wasn't as much as thrilling/scary as it was comicsl. FOR ALL THE WRONG REASON!
3.5/5 WEDGES
