This movie has two things going for it: style and eyebrows.
The visual style is quite handsome and well done. Intriguing sets, odd colors, and a sense of large, sinister space inside the hotel. This was the first movie to utilize the Steadicam camera, and it's put to good use.
The musical style is also effective. Bizarre 20th-century classical works (similar to the ones in Kubrick's 2001) enhance the spooky and creepy nature of the action.
And of course, we have Jack Nicholson's eyebrows. I don't believe they've been put to the test before or since. They're very effective in letting us know what's on his mind.
But if you take all this away, you're left with a very confusing story. Okay, so the hotel is haunted. Somehow along the way we find that one of the characters may be from the past, and then that seems to be confirmed at the end. But so what? What does that have to do with the story? Why is that important? What does that have to do with the hotel? Why do the scenes from the past matter and how do they fit in with the story in the present?
I saw the movie when it first came out, and just watched it tonight, 30 years later. I wanted to give it a second chance. But I felt exactly the same way both times. I found it boring, not scary, somewhat predictable, and ultimately unsatisfying. Style is grand, but it cannot make up for a story that doesn't make any sense.
The visual style is quite handsome and well done. Intriguing sets, odd colors, and a sense of large, sinister space inside the hotel. This was the first movie to utilize the Steadicam camera, and it's put to good use.
The musical style is also effective. Bizarre 20th-century classical works (similar to the ones in Kubrick's 2001) enhance the spooky and creepy nature of the action.
And of course, we have Jack Nicholson's eyebrows. I don't believe they've been put to the test before or since. They're very effective in letting us know what's on his mind.
But if you take all this away, you're left with a very confusing story. Okay, so the hotel is haunted. Somehow along the way we find that one of the characters may be from the past, and then that seems to be confirmed at the end. But so what? What does that have to do with the story? Why is that important? What does that have to do with the hotel? Why do the scenes from the past matter and how do they fit in with the story in the present?
I saw the movie when it first came out, and just watched it tonight, 30 years later. I wanted to give it a second chance. But I felt exactly the same way both times. I found it boring, not scary, somewhat predictable, and ultimately unsatisfying. Style is grand, but it cannot make up for a story that doesn't make any sense.