Rodney Ascher’s ROOM 237, which explores various intriguing theories about the true meaning of Stanley Kubrick’s THE SHINING, just came out via VOD and in limited theaters, and anyone looking to dig further into the classic horror film would serve themselves well to check it out. We’ve seen a handful of posters for the documentary these past few months (check out our exclusive from a week ago HERE), and yet another has popped up today, via Movies.com.
As you’ll see below, this one-sheet for ROOM 237 takes two of THE SHINING’S most important elements – the hedge maze and Stanley’s brain – and combines them. Sums it all up quite well.
After the box office failure of Barry Lyndon, Stanley Kubrick decided to embark on a project that might have more commercial appeal. The Shining, Stephen King’s biggest critical and commercial success yet, seemed like a perfect vehicle. After an arduous production, Kubrick’s film received a wide release in the summer of 1980; the reviews were mixed, but the box office, after a slow start, eventually picked up. End of story? Hardly. In the 30 years since the film’s release, a considerable cult of Shining devotees has emerged, fans who claim to have decoded the film’s secret messages addressing everything from the genocide of Native Americans to a range of government conspiracies. Rodney Ascher’s wry and provocative Room 237 fuses fact and fiction through interviews with cultists and scholars, creating a kaleidoscopic deconstruction of Kubrick’s still-controversial classic.
For more on the enigma of ROOM 237, check out our recent article detailing Kubrick’s assistant’s claims it is complete gibberish.
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