If you are a regular reader of this site (and why wouldn’t you be?) then you’ve no doubt caught a few stories on ROOM 237, Rodney Ascher’s documentary about THE SHINING (you can check out the latest trailer for the doc HERE). Our own Jake Dee dug it (see his review HERE), but I found myself at the opposite end of the spectrum, bored by the halfway point and suffering through the remainder of its running time. Oh, well…art is always subjective, right?
Entertainment Weekly got thier hands on a brand new poster for the documentary just ahead of its March 29 theatrical, VOD and digital download release date, which you can peep below.
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.
If ROOM 237 seems like it’ll be right up your alley, catch it on March 29 in theaters, on VOD and on digital download. But if you’re not a fan of out-there conspiracy theories, take the advice of Scatman Crother’s Dick Hallorran and remember: “There ain’t nothin’ in Room 237. But you ain’t got no business goin’ in there anyway. So stay out. You understand? Stay out.” But hey, that’s just my opinion.
I still want someone to offer a reasonable explanation for this shot above.