Movie Review: Room 237 (2012)

You know, I love The Shining as much as every other horror movie fan or Stephen King fan or just plain old awesome movie fan. Stanley Kubrick was an oddball genius who created films that many people describe as "perfect." So taking into consideration Kubrick's careful filmmaking and attention to detail, is it possible that he had some much deeper meanings in mind when he created one of the most popular movies of all time?

Juli Kearns's Overlook map

The 2012 documentary Room 237 explores this issue, with interviews with several Shining fans giving their different interpretations and theories into what the movie represents. The interviewees are not seen on camera themselves nor are they given any kind of credentials other than the fact that they've obviously watched The Shining way, way, way, way too many times. Their theories are presented to the audience by way of clips from the film and other footage that sort of pertains to what they are talking about. 

This documentary was... hilarious. What, did you think I was going to say "fascinating" or something? No. If anything, I'll give the movie credit for being one of the best comedies I have seen in a while. Had me laughing the whole time. I've always known that there were some Shining fans out there who took the movie a tad bit too seriously and all, but this was my first time actually listening to them talk about this shit. Wait, I lied - I'd heard the stuff about the Native American genocide metaphor. It was funny to actually see them try to prove it to me. Anyway, though I admire the interviewees obvious dedication and perseverance, not a single one of their theories even slightly convinced me that The Shining is any more than it appears to be.

The conspiracy theorists actually do a good job of showing the "proof" of their ideas, even though they are all things that nobody else would have thought of... ever. They all say things like, "if you go frame by frame," or "you really have to look hard to find this one" when talking about their little Kubrick subliminal messages. I've seen the movie a pretty good number of times, okay? I never paid attention to what was in the background, granted. So here's a question for you - why would such a celebrated directed who obviously loved film put all the so-called "important" stuff in the background of his movie? Where did all this conspiracy shit even come from in the first place? Why can't the brilliance of The Shining just be that it is fucking awesome?

Seriously, the things they bring up about the movie are simply laughable. A baking soda can that is - gasp! - seen twice in the movie? A poster of a skier is really a depiction of a minotaur? The window in Ullman's office is improbable? Okay, yeah, I can kinda see where that one is coming from if I was anal retentive about architecture and spacial relations, but I'M NOT. Every time they mention some hidden message or whatever that looks to an outsider like a simple continuity error, the comment is always implied that Kubrick would never make such a mistake and that it has to mean something deeper. They saw what they wanted to see, and that's it. I'll give them that Kubrick was meticulous but not infallible. Continuity errors can happen to anyone. The world is an imperfect place.

My favorite theory was the one about how Kubrick used The Shining to subliminally tell the world that he staged the Apollo moon landing footage. Now that is just downright silly. It would be cool if it were true but you're really going off the deep end with that one, aren't you, sport? Okay, yes, I've always been a little curious about Danny's Apollo 11 sweater. Thought maybe it was just a 70s/80s thing that I wasn't around for and don't understand. There were lots of weird fashion trends going on then. Anyway, this is certainly the wildest theory to be represented in Room 237 and one that they thankfully did not spend that much time indulging.

In a weird way I liked the thing the one guy presented about watching the filming forwards and backwards at the same time, superimposed over one another. Yes, it does seem like you get some cool images from doing this, but seriously - stop and think about that for a second. Think about how much time and effort would have to be put into the filming and editing of that movie to make that happen like you think it's supposed to. It's damn near impossible. So that theory is definitely out for me.

Bah, if I go on thinking about this stuff anymore, I'll probably start to believe some of it myself. Room 237 is definitely something you all need to check out - whether you think you might agree with these fanatics or just laugh at them like I did. I really hate to be harsh, but it was sooooo difficult for me to even try to take any of this foolishness seriously. Maybe I'm just not as much of a deep thinker as these dudes are.

Horror Movie Locations I'd Like to Visit

Last November, I took a fantastical trip to New York City, where about 9 million movies have been shot. Only being there for a few days, I made it to just one famous filming location...

... the firehouse in Tribeca that served as the exterior location for the Ghostbusters firehouse. I also saw The Dakota, the apartment building made (in)famous for being not only the location of the murder of John Lennon, but also was yet another exterior location for the apartment building in Rosemary's Baby (didn't get a picture though... dangit).

Anyway, it turns out that there are a bunch of cool places in the US and abroad that horror fans can visit and relive some of the classic scenes from their favorite films. Here are some places that I personally would like to go to - even though I'll probably never get to see any of them!

The Night of the Living Dead Cemetery

(Evans City Cemetery, Evans City, Pennsylvania)

Thanks to Christine from Fascination with Fear, whose picture of her next to that monument in the middle got me thinking about this post to begin with! On the outside, I'm sure this cemetery is not that much different than many others, but to this zombie film fan, going to the place where modern zombie movies were born would be like going to heaven.

The Poltergeist House

(4267 Roxbury Street, Simi Valley, California)

Well, duh! Of course I want to go here! And how weird is it that the house looks kinda exactly the same as it did in 1982? 

The Orphanage House

(Llanes, Asturias, Spain)

This is just a still from the movie but here's a link to Flickr where a guy took a picture of the actual house: http://www.flickr.com/photos/francesco_pics/5055639398/. I don't know how to describe this house other than a monstrosity of beauty. It immediately got my attention when I first saw the movie and has stayed in my future-home-owner dreams ever since. It's in Spain, though, so that sucks.

The House on Haunted Hill

(a.k.a Ennis House, Los Angeles, California)

Okay, not only was this house (designed by Frank Lloyd Wright) used as the exterior for the famous House on Haunted Hill in the Vincent Price B-movie of the same name, it was also used for the exteriors of the mansion in which Angel, Spike, and Drusilla dwelled in the second season of Buffy, the Vampire Slayer. Poof! Two awesome locations for the price of one!

The Omen Church

(All Saints Church, Fulham, London, England)

Oh, the fun I would have taking pictures here. I would gladly go out and find my own metal spike or lightening rod to reenact the spectacular death of Father Brennan in The Omen. I'm pretty sure they would just kick me out and tell me that I'm going to hell or something.

The Amityville House

(112 Ocean Avenue, Long Island, New York)

Yes, I know the owners are probably sick of people gawking over their house, but they should have known what they were signing up for. And while I'm not the biggest fan of the original movie, I guess I can't deny that this is one of the most famous movie locations in the US. 

The Stanley Hotel

(Estes Park, Colorado)

Though not the actual hotel that is in the movie The Shining (that's the Timberline Lodge in Mount Hood, Oregon), this is the place where Stephen King stayed way back in '73 and which inspired him to write the famous novel. While briefly living in Colorado two years ago, I seriously thought out taking a trip to see it, but Estes Park was way too far away and I never had time.

The Exorcist Steps

(M street, Georgetown, Washington, D.C.)

So I didn't even know that this very steep set of stairs that Father Karras fell down was a famous location to visit until I watched a feature on the Hot Fuzz DVD where Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg, and Nick Frost go there and play around for a while. Forget the Washington Monument or the White House - if I'm ever in DC, The  Exorcist steps will be the first thing I want to do!

I know that some of these are kind of obvious ones, but whatever! That's all I got for now. So what say you? Any horror movie locations on your radar?