Room 237-2012

Director Rodney Ascher

Starring Bill Blakemore, Geoffrey Cocks

Scott’s Review #150

Reviewed August 6, 2014

Grade: C-

My viewing of the documentary Room 237 (2012) left me with mixed emotions.

On the one hand, it offers an interesting glimpse into the world of the classic horror masterpiece The Shining (1980), with many clips and film facts.

It also features other works by Director Stanley Kubrick and compares them, which is interesting to fans like me.

I love the passion of this film’s fans and admire how well they know every intricate detail of The Shining.

But at the heart of this documentary are conspiracy theories from fans and theorists about The Shining that are downright wacky and become redundant after about fifteen minutes.

What makes these people credible? We only hear their voices, and we never see their faces. Who are they? What walks of life are they? Most of these conspiracy theories are much ado about nothing.

Somehow a camera angle, a photo of a surfer, or an expression on Jack Nicholson’s face turns into a mythological meaning. There is also some gibberish about moon landings and the holocaust that did not interest me.

I bought very little of it, if any.

I would have been quite content with a documentary solely focused on the making of The Shining, interviews with the cast and behind-the-scenes facts, or even bloopers.

It would have been more realistic, interesting, and plausible.

As a tribute to The Shining’s excellence, this documentary succeeds; in all else, it fails.