Room 237: A documentary which examines one of the greatest horror movies of all time. (Halloween reviews)

Today, I look at the independent documentary which gives a lengthy analysis of Stanley Kubrick's The Shining.

Room 237:
In this 2012 documentary, several different people give their theories as to the hidden messages and subtext in the 1980 adaptation of Stephen King's hit novel The Shining. None of the interviewees are physically seen in the film, but heard only through voice-over, and clips from other films (primarily films by Kubrick) are used, but most of the footage is primarily from The Shining. The filmmakers have stated that their views do not necessarily match those of the interviewees, and some of the interviewees opinions ranged from interesting to a bit out-there, in my opinion. One guy in particular connected Kubrick filmed the moon landing, and that although the moon landing was real, the footage was faked. I think that's just a bit crazy. Another guy showed that in the film, the food cans with the Native American chief mascot in the hotel's food pantry are altered in the film, which he connected to the Native American genocide. One woman had an interesting theory about the hedge maze and labyrinth-like hotel from the film being connected to the Greek myth of the Minotaur's labyrinth. The film is very intriguing and looks very deeply into the psychological horror classic, and makes you think about it, and all of Kubrick's films, a little differently. The film is a fantastic examination of The Shining, and it makes you want to watch and examine Kubrick's film over and over again for yourself. Room 237 is a thought-provoking and insightful documentary, and it's great to watch if your a fan of Kubrick or The Shining, even though people who knew Kubrick personally denounced most of the film as utter bullshit, it's still entertaining and provocative. 3.5/5 stars.

 (Image: Wikipedia)