Room 237

Lore & Background

The documentary is structured into nine segments, each focusing on a different element within The Shining that may reveal hidden clues. The title refers to a room in the haunted Overlook Hotel featured in the film. Room 237 was screened in the Directors' Fortnight section at the 2012 Cannes and Sundance film festivals, and its distribution rights were acquired by IFC Midnight, with theatrical and VOD release on March 29, 2013.

Reader's Guide

Room 237 presents a range of theories about The Shining without endorsing them. One theory suggests the film is about the cultural assimilation of Native Americans, citing imagery like Calumet Baking Powder cans. Another claims Kubrick faked the Apollo 11 Moon landing and embedded clues in the film. A third connects the hedge maze to the Minotaur myth, and a fourth interprets the film as a meditation on the Holocaust. The documentary received generally favorable reviews, with a 94% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Critics praised it as a tribute to movie love, though some, including Kubrick's assistant Leon Vitali and author Stephen King, dismissed many theories as unfounded. The film's significance lies in its exploration of obsessive fandom and the multiplicity of meanings that can be read into a single work.

Did You Know?

• One theorist claims that the film contains clues that Kubrick helped fake the Apollo 11 Moon landing.
• The film features narration by Bill Blakemore, Geoffrey Cocks, Juli Kearns, John Fell Ryan, and Jay Weidner.
• Stephen King, author of the novel The Shining, said he watched about half of Room 237 and turned it off, calling the interpretations 'academic bullshit'.