Review of Room 237 (2012) by Elizabeth C — 29 Sep 2013

I've argued many times that Spielberg put all sorts of hidden messages in Saving Private Ryan about America's collective guilt in the jewish holocaust. Spielberg was a huge fan of Kubrick, a director who no doubt did load his movies with hidden themes and messages.

I've always thought The Shining was the best horror movie of all time, and I never for a moment thought about all the little messages in it that I might be missing. And while I've made the case for Spielberg's hidden messages with the challenge of "Why would he deliberately do this or that if this wasn't his intention?", I always wondered if I was maybe reading too much into things.

This movie is about 9 or so people that have spent a lifetime reading into every frame of The Shining. Sounds boring? It's not. It's actually a fascinating exercise in post-modern art criticism; whether or not the artist intends it or not, a rich piece of art takes on a life of it's own.

Therefore, whether intended or not, the perception of the viewer is as valid as the artist's intention. What's mind boggling about what these people have found in The Shining is just how much of a life of it's own The Shining has.

Example: We often see things happening both forwards and backwards in the movie. Danny retracing his steps to fool his dad, Shelly Duvall backing up the stairs as Jack chases her, the changing pattern of the hallway when Danny receives the ball from the twins.

So, this guy gets the idea to play the Shining both backwards and forwards at the same time. The results are just too freaking amazing to be accidental, and yet it's ridiculous to think that Kubrick intended it.

What happens? Watch the movie on Netflix, it just arrived.