By Dave Bradley

With the sights and sounds of Halloween everywhere around Derry it felt like the perfect time to go see a classic 1980s horror movie on the big screen at the Nerve Centre.

There was a different film showing each night and I choose the one that I’ve never seen before, The Shining.

It is one of those films with iconic scenes that have repeatedly appeared in popular culture and satire. Many people will remember the little boy on the tricycle in the hotel hallway and the creepy appearance of ghostly twin girls. The most famous scene being Jack Nicholson breaking through the bedroom door with an axe and saying, ‘Here’s Johnny.’

Adapted from the Stephen King novel of the same name it was produced and directed by Stanley Kubrick and starred Jack Nicholson, Danny Lloyd, Shelley Duvall.

It follows the story of a wannabe writer and his family who takes on the job of live in caretaker in a hotel in the Colorado mountains that is closed and snow bound for the winter months

Jack Nicholson accepts the job to concentrate on writing even though he receives an ominous warning that a previous caretaker murdered his family and himself during the isolation of the long winter.

I went along with an open mind as I haven’t read the book and avoided any old reviews before watching it accompanied by my friend who saw the original in 1980.

There was a small enough crowd so you didn’t get the atmosphere you would in a packed cinema, but we settled into comfy seats to enjoy the chance of seeing the film on the big screen.

My immediate reaction afterwards was that there were aspects of the film I loved but there was no stage where I was terrified or had to cover my eyes. For me the standout take away was Jack Nicholson’s decent into insanity but even though I’d just watched it I wasn’t sure why exactly it happened. Was it alcohol or the hotel?

The hairs did stand up on my neck when it was revealed what he had been writing all the time he had been there.

There is a real sense of fear and panic from Shelley Duvall who plays Nicholson’s wife and from Danny Lloyd  whoplays their son and sees the spirits roaming the hotel.

My friend summed it up when he said, “My recollection from 40 years ago was that Jack Nicholson was the centre of it and it was very unsettling and unnerving. This time round it wasn’t unnerving, but it was gripping for other reasons. Even though I knew the outcome I just felt ‘wow’ this is really good in terms of watching somebody losing their mind over 90 minutes.”

The film was visually impressive from the opening ariel shots to the scenes in the hotel and a maze always gives me the creeps. Even the wallpaper is striking looking.

After a slow start in the US box office 27 minutes were cut from the original for the European release. I felt the lost minutes showed and it felt like there were details missing from the version we saw. Stephen King has said in interviews that he did not like the movie and described it as “A Cadillac without an engine.”

That said it’s well worth a look and even though there’s probably no need for a spoiler alert for a 1980s movie I have left out plenty of details so viewers can make up their own mind.

There is always a lot happening at the Nerve Centre but if film is your thing there are plenty to see during the week of The Foyle Film Festival 2024.

Further details available from:

www.nervecentre.org

www.foylefilmfestival.org