31(ish) Horror Films in 31 Days: Day 3 - Room 237

Well, It's a good thing today didn't happen yesterday. I woke up thinking I'd be able to get some work done while drinking coffee in my boxer shorts. Not boxer briefs, mind you...

Okay...I'm going to go on a tangent here about boxer briefs because I don't see how any man can wear those things and I know a couple who do. Don't ask why I know....just stick with me here. Now, I don't know if I just generate more heat than most dudes but whenever I wear them it feels like I'm wearing a campfire with an elastic waistband. It is seriously, uncomfortably warm down there. Like...I could be sitting, spread-eagle, in front of a fan on Hoth and it would still be a balmy 1200 degrees down there. If Han had to choose between a freshly-deceased Tauntaun and ME...he'd shove Luke right down into my crotchspace without a second thought. (Please hold your jokes about them "smelling bad...on the OUTSIDE!!)

Anyway...what I was getting at was that I thought it would be a pretty relaxing day and it turned out to be anything but. If you read my review for The Loved Ones you'd know why today could not have happened yesterday.

Luckily, today happened today. And, while it tried its best to derail my perfect record, I'm determined to get this review out by midnight (CST) and retain the glory that I, and a tiny amount of friends, even know exists.

Entry #3: Room 237

Anyone who knows me well enough knows that I have a certain fondness for The Shining. I'm a big fan of Stephen King's original novel but I'm an even bigger fan of Kubrick's re-imagining of that story. Every few months, I get an itch to re-watch it or at least jump back into the vastness of that universe by way of reading some material or watching some video that's new to me about the many hidden gems and peculiarities that Kubrick, whether knowingly or unknowingly, stowed away within the many levels of that film. When I heard that a documentary called Room 237 was in production I was very excited, to say the least.

As I learned more and more about the documentary before its release I started to realize that it was just a more "professional" version of what has already been submitted by fans, filmmakers, historians etc. throughout the years. It was going to be people discussing their theories and interpretations of what Kubrick was trying to achieve. I was definitely less excited but I was still planning on watching it as soon as I could because I figured, at the very least, it would be the best of all the theories I'd already read or seen, and maybe a few new ones, gathered into one neat package complete with visuals and detailed explanations.

This evening, I was going over my list of films to watch and checking the new releases on Netflix. Once I noticed Room 237 was recently added I put my list away and immediately fired it up!  Before I got into it I reminded myself of what I'd learned a few months ago; that is wasn't going to be a documentary about the film or the making of the film but, instead, it would be this gathering of theories and interpretations. I wanted to make sure I'd watch it for what it was and not what I wanted it to be to avoid giving an unfair review.

It's a good thing I prepared myself in this way because it turned out to be exactly that. I can't tell if that's a good or a bad thing. I was still kind of hoping to be wowed by at least parts of it but I really just felt like I was watching another Youtube video where people share their thoughts about The Shining.

For starters, there weren't actually any interviews where you'd see the people telling their stories. It was just people talking over scenes from The Shining or 2001: A Space Odyssey or various pieces of stock footage from World War II etc... It gave the whole thing a really impersonal feel. The whole thing would've been better served as a book. At least that way we could highlight specific areas or chapters and, at our leisure, watch the film and see these things for ourselves. Instead, we're forced to watch only the scenes shown during the explanation and at the theorist's/documentarian's  pace. Normally, that would be a good thing. It would save us the time of having to do it ourselves. But I have to think that most people interested in this subject are already huge fans of the film and are willing to take the time and check these things out at their own pace.

As for the theories, themselves: While I don't want to take away from the artistic genius of Stanley Kubrick, some of these theories were just a bit too far-fetched for me to buy into. Now, I know theories are sometimes far-fetched until research has been done and evidence to support the theory is at least close to acceptable, but some of these really were hard to swallow.

For instance: One theory was that, if you superimposed the film on top of itself with one copy playing backward over the other playing forward, you would find that a lot of things would match up perfectly. Like, someone's face being on top of the other's face during a part where they're talking about a similar subject. For one thing, these things are naturally going to line up, visually, because they're the main action that's playing out on-screen. Naturally, they're going to be at the center of the shot or at least end up there or something. That's not enough of a coincidence for me. As far as the two scenes being related by subject matter...there's one main theme playing out through the whole film. Chances are...THAT is what's going to be discussed in most scenes. So, that seemed like a waste of time and film to me.

But then there were other things that made me think "Maybe there IS something to that." For example: there's been talk that Kubrick was the one who directed the faked moon landing videos that conspiracy theorists have debated for years. Well, one theorist in Room 237 points out various "Easter eggs" in The Shining that seem to be Kubrick cleverly telling us that he did, in fact, film the faked moon landing. A lot of it was pretty convincing.

So, there were some believable theories and some unbelievable theories. Some things that have been discussed before and some that were new, to me, anyway. I guess it just depends on how much you're willing to accept and how deeply you care to dig into the mystery of The Shining.

In summation: It was not a well-made documentary, or even a documentary at all, for that matter. It really was just a collection of theories and interpretations. For fans like myself, I will always take the time to watch or read just about any new discussion about the film because there really does seem to be no end to the amount of mind-fuckery contained within it.

My advice: If you're a fan of the film or just a fan of conspiracy theory, in general, check it out. Or, just go online and do some research. I'm sure you'll find everything in Room 237 and a whole lot more fairly easily. I know there are a couple of fan-made Youtube videos out there, like The Shining Code, if you're not in a reading mood. Enjoy!!

Looks like I missed my midnight deadline. I'd like to blame my son who woke up and had to pee but I'll just do what I always do and blame Kanye. Because THAT hasn't gotten old yet...

Day 1: American Mary
Day 2: The Loved Ones