The Shining: Psychological Thrill Ride

I believe that The Shining is one of the greatest films ever made, not just one of the best psychological horror films. The reason I believe this is because of the story it tells. It's not a horror film that is simply dependent on blood and gore or jump scares. The Shining is the type of film that chills the audience to its core because The Shining is at its base a story about a family. Everyone has a family and everyone has emotions, but what happens when those emotions are pushed to the brink because of ghosts or psychological ills. Another great aspect of The Shining that sets it apart from horror movies of its kind is that it has a multitude of meanings. At the end when the audience sees that Jack Torrance in an old picture of the hotel staff, are we lead to believe that this entire time he was a ghost? Most horror movies do not leave the audience with such open-ended questions. Most audiences are scared of the unknown of what Jack Torrance was going to do. Was he really going to kill his family? Also, Danny's shining lead the audience to believe that maybe all hope was not lost. The Shining is a great horror movie because it strikes fear into the core of its audiences. The Shining is a great movie in general because visually, its magnificently made and acted. The Shining, from the very beginning's opening credits sets up the ominous tone that follows throughout the film.