All Work And No Play Makes Greystones A Dull Town

Let me take you down…

hen the Library Of Congress selected The Shining in 2018 for preservation in the United States National Film Registry as being ‘culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant’, hey, they wasn’t wrong.

They could have also said that Stanley Kubrick’s 1980 adaptation of Stephen King’s eponymous 1977 novel can brown, season and thicken the underpants of even the toughest Bisto kid.

That The Shining wasn’t quite as loved upon its release as it is today is therefore surprising, with King criticising Kubrick for deviating from the novel, whilst in 1981, at the first Golden Raspberry Awards (a parody of the Oscars), the film was nominated for Worst Director and Worst Actress. The latter was rescinded in 2022 after Kubrick’s harsh on-set treatment of leading lady Shelly Duvall became apparent.

Now regarded as one of the finest horror films of all time, The Shining tells the story of writer Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) taking a winter caretaker position at the remote and shuttered Overlook Hotel in the Colorado Rocky Mountains, bringing along his wife (Duvall) and young son (Danny Lloyd). That a previous winter caretaker killed his wife and two young daughters doesn’t seem to bother Jack. Nor does his son’s premonitions and psychic, blood-soaked visions.

They should.

The Greystones Film Club managed an outdoor screening The Shining in Greystones back in 2016, taking over the car park of the then-derelict La Touche Hotel, and now, having gotten approval from the Kubrick estate to show this classic film once again, The Whale’s Cotton Club-era decor might just be what Stanley would have wanted for Halloween night.

So, you might want to grab your €12 tickets early for Thursday, October 31st 2024 at 8pm – available here.