Room 237 - B-

Rated PG-13, 102 minutes

Intriguing "Room 237" appeals to die-hard fans of "The Shining"

Scene from the classic film "The Shining"

If you're a fan of the horror film "The Shining" then you'll get a lot out of "Room 237," a new documentary that examines the themes and elements of the 1980 Stanley Kubrick film that's now widely regarded as a classic. While much of it's certainly interesting, you really, really, really have to be a fan of the movie to get the most out of "Room 237," which often plays like a contemporary film class lecture. Directed by Rodney Ascher and with commentary from "Shining" enthusiasts Bill Blakemore, Geoffrey Cocks, Juli Kearns, John Fell Ryan and Jay Weidner, the film spends its time unraveling the deeper elements and themes of the film, from the Holocaust, the Apollo space missions and the American Native Indians. While all those are intriguing (particularly the assertion that Kubrick assisted NASA in "faking" the Apollo Moon footage), not to mention all the things that a master filmmaker like Kubrick intentionally added to the film (and changing Stephen King's novel considerably in the film adaptation), the most intriguing aspect of the film is when the film is played forwards and backwards, at the same time, to see many of the more chilling parts of the film. It's the help of these "Shining" afficionados that helped make the film, which opened to mixed reviews at the time of its release in 1980, a classic. It helps that Ascher doesn't strictly use talking heads, but the addition of other Kubrick films or other archival film footage loses its effectiveness, not to mention "Room 237" goes on much too long for non-die-hard fans of the film (which is most of us). "Room 237" is often fascinating and entertaining, if not overlong examination of a film from an artist like Kubrick who needed to be engaged.

Wes's Grade: B-