YARDS OF GRAPEVINE | Movies, TV, Oscars & S'more

There’s a haunting simplicity to The Shining. Those words, combined with the director’s mysterious approach to discussing his films, makes this a work ripe for obsessives. The next gateway to obsession comes by way of accessibility. The Shining, dressed as a horror film, with an enormously recognizable leading man, adapted from a novel by one of the most adapted authors ever, allows many who might have otherwise kept away from Kubrick’s work to come to this one in particular. Additionally, in the horror genre, ambiguity can enhance rather than distance even the most prickly viewer. Unsurprisingly, The Shining has taken on many shapes, from the underwhelming initial response (that left even Stephen King with a sour taste in his mouth) to the long road into masterpiece status. Like all of Stanley Kubrick’s films The Shining begs to be analyzed and vetted. It’s watchability leaves it wide open for speculation, exposing details that the filmmaker must have of course been highly aware of. Or at least that’s what the mythos has us believe. Room 237 may seem like a documentary about a few quirky people who have long over-analyzed Kubrick’s fickle horror film, but really, Room 237 is a film about watching films and how works like these can touch us. Maybe most interestingly, Room 237 is about how we come to art and what we bring to the table as viewers. The film addresses the old adage of applying meaning and looking too deeply to see what you want to see. As such, Room 237 itself grows into an intoxicating experience that leaves you finding your own meanings, both about yourself as a general observer and about the film it puts under the microscope.

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