Room 237
Room 237 Image
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Metascore
80

Generally favorable reviews - based on 30 Critics What's this?

User Score
6.6

Generally favorable reviews- based on 37 Ratings

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  • Starring: , , , ,
  • Summary: A documentary that explores the numerous theories about the hidden meanings within Stanley Kubrick's The Shining which continues to inspire debate, speculation, and mystery more than thirty years after its release. Using voice over, film clips, animation and dramatic reenactments, Room 237 investigates five very different points of view drawing the audience into a new maze, one with many ways in, but no way out.… Expand

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 26 out of 30
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 30
  3. Negative: 1 out of 30
  1. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Manohla Dargis
    Mar 28, 2013
    100
    Like “The Shining” and its maze within a maze, Mr. Ascher’s movie is something of a labyrinth. Puzzling your way through its compilation of vaguely lucid and crackpot ideas is pleasurable though, for avid movie lovers, it may also feel like a warning.
  2. Empire
    Reviewed by: Ian Freer
    Feb 10, 2013
    100
    Room 237 captures the true nature of viewing, talking about and dissecting movies to the nth degree and it is infectious.
  3. The A.V. Club
    Reviewed by: Noel Murray
    Mar 27, 2013
    91
    The effect of Room 237 is intense. It’s a deep dive into the rabbit hole of semiotics, designed to train viewers to become alert to what they’re really seeing.
  4. Time Out New York
    Reviewed by: Joshua Rothkopf
    Mar 26, 2013
    80
    Room 237 asks that you bring your own noodles; as docs go, it leaves you with questions, some worry and rib-sticking satiation.
  5. Salon.com
    Reviewed by: Andrew O'Hehir
    Mar 29, 2013
    80
    Even these ludicrous notions illustrate the real point of Room 237, as I see it, which is that “The Shining” is a disturbing, complicated and highly unusual creation of pop cinema that works on many levels, and whose slow-acting toxin continues to spread through our cultural veins more than 30 years later.
  6. Chicago Tribune
    Reviewed by: Michael Phillips
    Apr 4, 2013
    75
    I found most of what's actually put forth in the film interpretively ridiculous. But I'm just one theorist among millions, and the film worked for me anyway.
  7. New York Post
    Reviewed by: Kyle Smith
    Mar 28, 2013
    38
    I’m probably more intrigued than 99.3 percent of the American public by the idea of deconstructing the hidden symbols in Stanley Kubrick’s “The Shining,” but the theories proposed in the doc Room 237 aren’t eye-opening. They’re laughable.

See all 30 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

Write a Review
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 16
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 16
  3. Negative: 3 out of 16
  1. Jbles303
    Sep 25, 2013
    9
    Great Documentary!! Huge Kubrick fan and this is a must watch for any of his fans. You will not be disappointed. Very intriguing and pieces a lot of information together from The Shining.… Expand
  2. Thegodfatherson
    Mar 29, 2013
    8
    Room 237 is a documentary on making Stanley Kubrick's masterpiece The Shining... And it's epic. The film has good pace it's a good movie and very good acting. The film is disturbing and good at the same time.… Expand
  3. tomfleet94
    May 31, 2013
    8
    Do not miss t point of this documentary. It is a window into the world of the cinephile conspiracy theorists that is almost as disturbing as The Shining itself at times. Crackpot theories range from connections to moon landing fakery to Holocaust undertones, each put forward by fanatical and obsessed writers and amateurs. The documentary gives these people plenty of opportunity to explain their ideas, but that doesn't mean it agrees with them. It relates how kubrick's movies were so intricate and detailed that they sucked some viewers into an overlook-like world of endless overanalysis and misinterpretation… Expand
  4. nutterjr
    Jun 9, 2013
    5
    The Shining is a great film by a brilliant director known for his attention to detail. Therefore the assumption of this documentary that there is nothing on this film by accident is stretched to the point that every speck of dust is analysed and potentially paraphrased as noone is really in the mind of Stanley Kubrik. And even though parts of it are somewhat interesting as a topic of conversation between cine-files, the full picture carries far to many ludicrous theories to be taken seriously.… Expand
  5. DudeManGuy
    Apr 1, 2013
    4
    For every interesting point these Kubrick "experts" make, there are two Dark-Side-of-the-Moon-played-along-with-The-Wizard-of-Oz leaps of faith. There's value in exploring the intricacies of such a classic film, but the pacing of this documentary suffers due to the inclusion of some pretty silly (and lengthy) conspiracy theories. Unless it's really a movie about ridiculous obsession. In that case, 11/10.… Expand
  6. LamontRaymond
    Apr 8, 2013
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I'm shocked the critics liked this as much as they did. It's strange that you never see the documentarians' faces during the film and the stock footage of old movie-goers is annoying as hell. Most importantly, toward the end, the narrator explains that he was unemployed at home thinking about the movie obsessively and that he has no idea if any of this stuff was really intended by Kubrick. He suggests that the subjective intent of the artist never really matters. Hmmmm. As for the good stuff, all of the Apollo 11 imagery is interesting, but suggesting that Kubrick faked the images of the actual moon landing seems like a stretch even though the never say that the moon landing didn't happen. The Native American images were certainly interesting to dwell on. But to spend so much time on "cool" coincidences in overlapping images when playing the film backwards and forwards at the same time is ridiculous. My final thought is that it's great dwelling on this film again after all these years, but this movie seems like the musings of the film editor for High Times magazine, not fodder for a feature film.… Expand
  7. Bahlemar
    Mar 31, 2013
    0
    An utterly laughable tin-foil hat wearing conspiracy nut fest, possibly the worst thing I've ever had the displeasure of watching, i'd ask for my time back but i doubt the people who made this cares about the viewers.… Expand

See all 16 User Reviews

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