'The Shining' - Psychological Thriller

'The Shining' is one of the best classic 1980 horror films, directed and produced by Stanley Kubrick, which uses almost all the conventions of a psychological thriller; from the general narrative and events which happen in the plot, to the use of camera work, sound and the editing of the scenes. By how the director conveys the genre of the narrative, the audience can see how the characters not only need to use physical actions, but are also reliant and need to involve mental resources in order to overcome the antagonist, in this case, Jack Torrance.
      The film is set at the haunted Overlook Hotel, where Jack Torrance is employed as the winter caretaker; here he and his family are staying for the winter as Jack looks to work on his writing. Things turn for the worst as Jack and Danny (son) visualise the unexpected haunting from the previous caretaker and his family who were murdered and mutilated - from here Jack is overcome by the forces as he becomes mentally unstable, following the footsteps of the past caretaker, and on the hunt to kill his own family. Danny, however, has a paranormal telepathic ability to see into the past and future and also interact with another being (the cook) who coincidentally also has the ability. This comes into use later on in the film to get help and, therefore, get himself and his mother to safety.
     From the plot of the story you can immediately see the psychological aspects of the thriller; the mental state that Jack is in shows the elements that relate to the mind controlling him and what actions he takes in result of this. How Jack is shown actually visualising the characters who are 'ghosts' such as the past caretaker Delbert Grady, shows his change in mentality as it seems his imagination is coming to life and telling him what to do.
     Danny also conveys the psychological aspects as his telepathic ability shows the audience scenes of the past and future; we can see this is all processed from the mind and is not physically happening. On the other hand, the use of Danny's ability to contact another human, as a sign to call for help, shows how his mind and thoughts are coming into physical use as the cook travels in order to help the child. We can see this is all due to Danny's ability which then results in him and his mother (Wendy) escaping in the cook's vehicle.

     The steadicam technique was used in a number of scenes to create uneasiness, anxiety and suspense. The slow movement and smoothness of motion in the shots create discomfort in the audience, Kubrick slowly introduces and increases the tension and intensity layer by layer in order to build up the horror and keep the audience on edge - Kubrick would use this technique rather than the hand-held camera movement which is commonly and widely used in horror films to convey a realistic feel, mood and atmosphere, but however, give a sudden throw of terror all at once. The wide use of different camera shots and angles give aid to the horror and a similar impact on the audience.
     The music and sounds in many of the scenes from 'The Shining' create an eerie and creepy atmosphere as we can clearly hear the harsh and discomforting dissonant music which is applied when leading up to the horror. We can see how Kubrick has developed his music and diegetic sounds to increase the tension, while also changing the mood of the scene very suddenly, when the mood of the music is also changed. This we know is extremely effective in building up the suspense and unease of the scene; the audience immediately feel something isn't right, while the long silences which are used time and time again creates an unsettling sense. A prime example of how sound is portrayed is when Danny rides his tricycle onto the floorboards then onto carpet, here the rattling of the tricycle and then to the sudden silence of the carpet can convey and hint to the audience that something soon is about to unravel.
     Kubrick uses a range of elements in editing which is essential in creating an unique and terrifying psychological theme in many scenes. The continuity editing used, such as parallel editing, is greatly efficient when trying to produce a developing build of tension and expand suspense, while also giving the audience more information and excitement about what is happening in the film - an example of this would be at the beginning of the film, when it cuts from Wendy and Danny entering the maze to Jack gazing the 3-D model of the maze; this implies to the audience that Jack is watching Wendy and Danny. The cutaways used in a particular scene - when Danny has a vision of two girls (Delbert Grady's twin daughters) - are increasingly startling, horrific and disturbing. Kubrick allows the audience to view one scene of "innocence" when the girls are standing side by side, this then imports flashes of blood and mutilation as we can see the bodies of the girls lying in the narrow hallway and an axe positioned at the front.
     We can see how the clever use of camera work, sound and editing can affect how characters and scenes are portrayed. These techniques all add to the aspects of the psychological thriller and therefore, producing a successful, exciting and horrific psychological film.