"The Shining"

Warning: Contains spoilers.

I finally got around to watching "The Shining". I have to say that it really did not live up to its hype. I have so many questions! I didn't get it. At all. I realize that back in the 80s or whenever it was made, Hollywood didn't have reliable CGI or the demented ideas it does now. But still... I kept waiting for something that would tie it all together and all I got was a photograph at the end. Does that mean that A) he went to live with the ghosts that haunted the place, or B) he had been there the whole time and he was some sort of eternal spirit that never died from the 1920s? Or am I completely missing it?

And what was the point of the chef facing so much danger to make it from Miami to the Overlook Hotel just to be killed in the first 3 minutes he gets there? Why couldn't it have been some sort of less important character like a random person who needed a warm place for the night? And then Danny/Tony... when Tony says that Danny has gone away... I thought it was pretty clear that it was Danny, not Tony that was running from Jack in the maze.

And why did he say "Here's Johnny!"? His name is Jack. Unless John was his name when he was maybe alive in the 1920s. And what in the name of all that is holy was with the beaver man giving a blow job to the bartender? That was borderline original "Exorcist" corny. And, I'm sorry, but the part where Jack kisses the decaying woman is just stupid. So stupid that I laughed.

I did, however, like when they marked down the time like "One month", days of the week, then the actual time of day as the story got more intense. But overall, I was disappointed. It wasn't a really in-depth movie to me. It sort of seemed to skim over several parts that could have easily been expanded on. I plan on reading the book, though. I was planning on reading the book years ago but I never got to it. I'm hoping that the book will give me more closure. It would have to.

I don't like horror movies. I don't like to be scared. Especially by Hollywood's version of ghosts. Mainly because I've had my own experiences with ghosts and I feel that Hollywood is either completely off, which is really annoying, or they're pretty close to dead-on (haha... no pun intended), which scares the hell out of me. But when there are hallways spilling blood and a physical ghost that decays in someone's arms, I have to roll my eyes. There is no way that is close to realistic.

I have to give props to Jack Nicholson and Danny Lloyd, who did an excellent job portraying Jack and Danny. But other than that... I'll stick to Ghost Hunter's investigation of The Stanley Hotel, which is the real hotel that Steven King based "The Shining" on, to be scared.