What a bore...
Disclaimer: I haven't read the book, so can't comment on this movie as to how closely it captures the book. On it's own merits though and as a sequel to Kubrick's classic this thing falls way, way short.
i. The sense of dread that pervaded the original is completely absent here. The directing is journeyman... competent but not once was I remotely unnerved, or unsettled.
ii. The story was disjointed. For example, we spend about 15 minutes or so watching the Knot (whatever they were called), tracking and recruiting the 15-year-old blonde. It seemed like she was going to be a major plot point, but then she simply fades into the background.
iii. I thought the Knot were lame. The leader dresses like Stevie Nicks. Their MO is pretty tame compared to say the Southern vampire road gang of Near Dark. Those mofos knew how to slaughter with glee. This group just take bong hits from the mouth of a kid and some coffee thermos'.
iv. Further to iii. above, they literally get the crap kicked out of them EVERY time they go up against the girl and Danny. Sure they score victories when they kill her father and Danny's buddy, but they take far bigger losses than they dish out. Not once do they well and truly get the drop on our heroes.
v. Sometimes I thought I was watching an X-Men movie... The Shining seemed more like some mutant power than anything supernatural, especially when they flashed those goofy white eyes like Storm. During that big shootout I half-expected Magneto with full on cape and helmet to appear and toss their guns aside.
vi. The less said about faux-Jack the better.
vii. In the original, a big part of the dread was due to their isolation in the winter. In this movie, a major fire breaks out and the local fire and police departments arrive promptly.
viii. This Overlook wasn't frightening. It hasn't 'aged' in decades. The ghosts seemed more like vampires, and looked entirely too healthy to be undead. Except for bathtub lady. She was ugly but too energetic. She needed to be more creaky.
The actors were all game... it was the story and directing that undid this movie for me.
Based on the IMDB score, it appears I'm an outlier. Did anyone else NOT find this all that interesting?