How is Suspense created in the shining?

The Shining remains as a timeless and classic Thriller film that achieves thrills,scares and horror through it's use of brilliant cinematography,sound and acting. Out of these three I think the sound is perhaps the strongest element in the film.When you couple this with the disturbing imagery,surreal set pieces and brilliant script and acting, you get an amazing Thriller film.

As I have already mentioned, the film's soundtrack has a very powerful place in the mood and psychology of the film.The film plays on viewer emotion with this powerful sound,as any good thriller should, and defines the meaning of dread and suspense.The opening title sequence contains what is perhaps the best track of the film with it's overbearing organs and droning sounds creating a sense of the terror that ensues.The cinematography in the title sequence is a breathtaking glimpse of the Oregon landscape, showing us the isolation and windy roads of the snowy mountain tops.Although this is not scary pare say, the majestic nature of shots of this type certainly communicate with the viewer, grabbing their interest from the get-go.

You would think it odd to start off a thriller with shots of a small yellow car climbing a mountain road, but this is where I believe the blueprints for the following suspense are created and where the character development and dialogue really come into place.I believe the long periods of calm in the hotel is where the viewer begins the cycle of suspense and climax.Particularly in the case of Jack Torrance,brilliantly portrayed by Jack Nicholson,we get to see his transformation from working father into maniacal psycho.The character of Jack is punctuated by Nicholsons expressive face and acting which make the viewer constantly guessing what he will do next.These insights into the characters also need the viewers concentration to work, as the shock horror elements in the film would not be achieved without it.Of course getting the concentration from a viewer only makes the level of suspense higher which is one of the key ways in which it is created in the film.

This merging of perfectly placed sound,cinematography and brilliant acting is completed by the surreal and disturbing scenes which are scattered throughout the film.The suspense is really created in the way that the film builds up to these moments. One of my favourite moments is the scene in which the beautiful woman in the bathtub transforms into a grotesque hag. The build up to this disturbing moment is phenomenal.The POV(point of view) style shows a change of pace from what we'd previously been shown, already setting the viewers mind at unease,not to mention the sparse sounding music in the background.The transformation is captured so well as Jack is holding the woman in his arms.The camera elegantly captures the two together,lulling the viewer into a false sense of security, then as it transitions into a match cut we see Jacks face recoil in horror as the woman is revealed to be a molding,puss leaking,naked dead woman.Still recovering from the shock of this the camera cuts to a shaky camera shot of her stumbling towards us, her ugly face cackling all the way.It is these types of moments which define the film, and also set standards for the thriller genre.

The Suspense created in the shining is credited to it's seamless change of pace from calm,interesting character and environment development to moments of sheer horror underlined by a brilliant film score.