The Obsessive Viewer

Room 237 (2012)

Release Date: March 29, 2013 (Limited)

I’m excited for this week’s Trailer Tuesday. I love Stephen King. And I love The Shining. Both the book and the movie of the Overlook Hotel’s doomed, alcoholic caretaker are amazing experiences. So my interest was piqued when I heard about a documentary allegedly exposing controversial symbols left in The Shining by Stanley Kubrick.

I heard about Room 237 a few weeks ago while listening to Doug Benson’s “Doug Loves Movies” podcast. He recorded a podcast at Fantastic Fest and Room 237 dominated his panel’s discussion. Although the discussion included a lot of mixed thoughts on the documentary, I was still very interested.

The filmmaker purport to have uncovered hidden meanings and codes laced throughout Kubrick’s horror masterpiece. Some of these symbols allegedly point to evidence that Kubrick was a key player in a moon landing hoax. It’s preposterous, of course. Such allegations are ridiculous. But I’m still extremely interested in seeing the movie.

Our brains are wired to see patterns and, frankly, I want my mind blown. Even if it’s by pretending some off the wall theories have some weight behind them. It also really helps that the trailer for Room 237 is really well done. Much like the film it’s deconstructing, the trailer is creepy and unsettling.

The movie is available to rent on Amazon Instant Video. I will probably watch it within the next couple weeks. I’ll be sure to share my thoughts here. In the meantime, don’t forget to follow me on Twitter: @ObsessiveViewer for live-tweets about movies and shows I’m watching and keep up with the blog on Facebook for all the latest posts and blog news.