There are of course rivals for the crown, but 'The Shining' is widely regarded as one of the greatest horror movies of all time, and arguably director Stanley Kubricks' finest. Here, a group of superfans put forward their interpretations of the movie, exploring the film in entirely different ways.
I wouldn't personally consider 'The Shining' Kubricks' best movie – I think I'd give that accolade to 'A Clockwork Orange' – but it is still an absolutely fantastic film. Genuinely frightening, it boasts what I think is Jack Nicholson's greatest performance and a great climactic sequence. What 'Room 237' does is take the themes of the film and picks at them constantly, sometimes with good effect.
All of the theories put forward in the documentary are very interesting, and it's clear to see that a lot of time and effort has gone into developing them. However, at times, I wondered just why all that time and effort was spent. One of the theorists discusses how, based on where the characters move around, the hotel is not architecturally accurate. Somewhat interesting, yes, but is it really that important? Another theorist explains how he has taken to watching the movie in reverse, back to front, reverse back to front, etc. as watching the movie in these different ways reveals new things about the film. Again, it seems unimportant and preposterous.
But there is also some very engaging exploration too. One of the great mysteries of cinema is the rumour that Stanley Kubrick directed the Moon landing, and many people believe we see allusions to this in 'The Shining'. Similarly, a lot of people believe that the film is actually an allegory on real-life problems, such as the plight of the Native Americans and the Nazis. While it still feels like the theorists are clutching at straws at times, I found it fascinating how they connected moments in the film to their supposedly real-life parallels.
Whether you agree with the stuff being said in this documentary or not, what you can't fault is the passion of the theorists. What stuck with me was just how much these people believed in what they discussed, and there's an admirable quality to that. But I still do believe that the film required too much from me, and it was a suspension of disbelief I wasn't able to have.
I wouldn't personally consider 'The Shining' Kubricks' best movie – I think I'd give that accolade to 'A Clockwork Orange' – but it is still an absolutely fantastic film. Genuinely frightening, it boasts what I think is Jack Nicholson's greatest performance and a great climactic sequence. What 'Room 237' does is take the themes of the film and picks at them constantly, sometimes with good effect.
All of the theories put forward in the documentary are very interesting, and it's clear to see that a lot of time and effort has gone into developing them. However, at times, I wondered just why all that time and effort was spent. One of the theorists discusses how, based on where the characters move around, the hotel is not architecturally accurate. Somewhat interesting, yes, but is it really that important? Another theorist explains how he has taken to watching the movie in reverse, back to front, reverse back to front, etc. as watching the movie in these different ways reveals new things about the film. Again, it seems unimportant and preposterous.
But there is also some very engaging exploration too. One of the great mysteries of cinema is the rumour that Stanley Kubrick directed the Moon landing, and many people believe we see allusions to this in 'The Shining'. Similarly, a lot of people believe that the film is actually an allegory on real-life problems, such as the plight of the Native Americans and the Nazis. While it still feels like the theorists are clutching at straws at times, I found it fascinating how they connected moments in the film to their supposedly real-life parallels.
Whether you agree with the stuff being said in this documentary or not, what you can't fault is the passion of the theorists. What stuck with me was just how much these people believed in what they discussed, and there's an admirable quality to that. But I still do believe that the film required too much from me, and it was a suspension of disbelief I wasn't able to have.