The film has a strong structure yet simple, it has the usual beginning middle and end or exposition climax and resolution, with complications throughout, exposition to establish all the characters and what they are like and so you can get to know them, climax is where "Jack" would be frozen in the snow or when the Jack puts an axe into the chef and the resolution is when the wife and the kid escape away from the hotel. Simple transitions are used to let you know what day it is or how far into the film you are such as "2 weeks later" and "Wednesday" for example. There is a lot of still camera shots and over the shoulder shots, using mise en scene to help establish everything in the shot and set a sort of scene. Lots of magmuffins are used to try and distract you from the actual film and the main narrative, such as the animal blowjob scene, these dont generally mean anything and may have no influence on the film but are a way of keeping attention.
Flashbacks are used during the film using the little boy "Danny", it shows you things that he has already seen which are yet to appear but happen later on in the film, this keeps interest up as you may want to see how it happens or what actually happens, an example of this is the blood flowing round the corner, later on in the film this actually happens, by doing this when you see it as a flashback you may wonder whether it has anything to do with the film, but when it happens it might be part of the story. Deus ex machina is used to keep you guessing, in the photo at the end it shows Jack from a past year, this could suggest that he may have been the caretaker all along, even before he was appointed as it to write his novel. Then it makes you think whether it was all in his head or if he was actually part of the hotel for all those years.
Stanley Kubricks style of film making, i would say would be, simple, lots of non-complicated camera shots, lots of tracking shots, over the shoulder and establishing shots, using the environment and props to create tension among the viewers. This is present when "Danny" is on his little sit down bike driving round the hall ways, going on and off the wooden floor and the carpets, as he turns corners tension builds up as you dont know what may be round the next one. The sound from the wheels alone makes tension build up, and the noise creates a kind of realistic soundtrack to the scene. He uses symmetry to give you a wake up call during the film, so you can realize that you have seen it before, this is present when danny is going through the hallways on his bike, either side of him is the same layout, which also makes you concentrate more on danny than being distracted with unnecessary props in the shot. He allows actors to improvise during filming so that they can create a character that they want and that is in their comfort zone. He uses the narrative concept but if he creates a complicated ending that leaves you hanging, he will leave it and not take much notice that he has done it, its part of his unique style. The sound is important in the film, the soundtrack is not really music, its just a low humming noise, but the sound of the axe and the wife screaming almost add to the sound to give an overall mood of fear and strong emotion.
The scene where "Jack" is trying to axe his way int the bathroom, has a lot of tension in it. It begins with both the wife and "Danny" in the bathroom, but "Danny" escapes just leaving the mother seemingly to her death as he axes further and further through the door as she screams. But as "Jack" hears the sound of a vehicle pull up outside, not wanting to get caught he flees and kills the hotel chef as he comes to inspect. As "Jack" axes his way in he seems calm and is trying to have a genuine conversation with his wife while she screams, this adds a bit of comedy to the crazed character and the use of innocent concepts creates fear, such as the nursery rhyme he starts to mutter as he is attempting to murder his family. During the shots used it keeps showing the little window and the mother trying to escape through it, as she is to big and wont fit, it seems as if her death is imminant until the arrival of the chef. When he is axing into the room, the camera thrashes from side to side and follows the axe, this creates a feeling of intensity during the scene. The colors used create a contrast, inside it seems warm with the use of dark wood colors, red and orange, but when the camera flashes to outside, it looks cold, dark and unpleasant.
The actor chosen to play "jack" Jack Nicholson, was a predictable person to play the part. He had previously played a man in the film "One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest" where he descended into complete madness. Seeing that he was then playing a man, alone in a hotel with his wife and kid, the rest was kind of predictable, but due to the actor in this case Jack Nicholson's stature, you are still drawn to the film and enticed into viewing it. Knowing what he has done before and his high reputation says to you that if you have seen a Jack Nicholson film before then you may want to see this as well.
The use of the steadicam was one of the first to be used in a film. It made all the camera shots smoother and less jittery, such as in the hall way scenes with danny on the bike he could walk behind danny and there would be no wobble on the camera, this wouldn't be possible with a dolly track as the track would be in the way and would be present in the shot. It meant that emotion could be established easier with a more maneuverable camera. The effects of horror could be more present and easier to see.
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