Okay, its not Stanley Kubrick and it isn't Jack Nicholson, but I seriously think that this is a decent adaptation of one of the greatest stories ever. The Kubrick movie is by far superior obviously but its great to see the entire book brought to life in this adaptation. And though some would disagree I did find some of this genuinely creepy. It started out too slow for my liking, and having the occasional door or window close by itself is a bit of a cheesy way of building suspense, but when you reach part two we're repaid for the tedious waiting they've made us go through in part one. The woman in 217 was handled in a slightly less disgusting way that Kubrick did it in the original but lack of nudity and the fact the woman's face was only on screen for about thirty seconds is great, its creepier to leave more to the imagination. Not that I'm flaming Kubrick's way of handling the scene, its just this is what we can see without it mentally traumatising us for life. The living topiary were handled really well in this, I think if they had tried the full on moving effect it would have looked a bit too cheesy. The Kubrick version shows the best example of how you can be scared by gross things happening. This version shows how your imagination can be just as terrifying. As for casting, of course following in the footsteps of Jack Nicholson is near enough impossible. And sometimes its hard to believe that Steven Webber is actually going insane, but I admire him for attempting to go up against Jack Nicholson in playing Mr Torrance. Rebbecca de Mornay was a great choice for Wendy even though her acting style isn't exactly the same as Shelly Duvall, she plays the loving caring mother very well, and unlike Steven Webber we can always tell how scared she really is. I'm not going to say anything about the Courtland Mead except he was probably the most annoying child actor ever. Overall, its not as good as the Kubrick version but I say it comes pretty damn close.
Review of The Shining
