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Sunday Classics: The Shining (1980)

The psychological horror might just liven up your Sunday

Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining remains a gold standard for horror cinema 40 years after its release. Based on the 1977 Stephen King novel, the film is a masterpiece in cinematic technique and visuals. The reason behind The Shining’s indelible presence in pop culture is not the enormity of its terror or a single momentary payoff but the atmospheric nuance it creates with silences.

The premise is simple: a struggling writer takes his family to a secluded hotel where he takes up the job of a winter caretaker and slowly begins losing his sanity as paranormal forces take over his life. Jack Nicholson’s outstanding portrayal of Jack Torrance is a brilliant chronicle of a man’s slow descent into madness. Shelly Duvall also shines as the traumatised and horror-stricken Wendy.

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