Rodney Ascher’s documentary Room 237: Being an Inquiry into The Shining in 9 parts explores hidden themes in Stanley Kubrick’s horror masterpiece The Shining ranging from symbolism to conspiracy theories. Nine segments address specific aspects of the film, drawing on the ideas of Kubrick experts to produce an in-depth analysis.
With Jack Nicholson’s performance in Kubrick’s Stephen King adaptation being one of cinema’s most famously unhinged moments, there’s something thematically appropriate about The Shining still driving people nuts today. Ascher was kind enough to answer a few of our questions…
FLICKS: Hello from Flicks. How are you doing?
ASCHER: Great, and you guys? I’m in Jerusalem showing the film. Yesterday I walked through the Valley of Death on my way to my first screening and I’m not speaking metaphorically.
FLICKS: What should people expect from Room 237?
A journey deep into the center of The Shining‘s many mazes, guided by 5 distinctly different people who may not always see things the same way.
FLICKS: How many times do you think you’ve seen The Shining now?
All the way through at normal speed? Maybe 12 but if we’re talking about how long I’ve spent looking at any particular part of it, it must be a year of my life now.
FLICKS: What is the maximum number of times it is safe to watch The Shining before you go nuts?
Zero. There is no known safe dosage.
FLICKS: What first drew you to these hidden messages, expert theories and obsessive deconstruction?
Facebook. My friend (soon to become Room 237 producer, Tim Kirk) posted an essay filled with mind-blowing ideas about The Shining and I was hooked. Curious to see what else was out there, we discovered a world.
FLICKS: Could you share your strongest memory from filming?
It was after talking with John Fell Ryan about the clown image he saw when he looked at the film in a special way. As he described it I didn’t quite get it, but after our call I had a look and it was totally there and it scared the hell out of me!
FLICKS: If you could explore another film to the same extent what would it be and what earth-shattering secrets do you think you’d uncover?
Deconstructing They Live might give us a window into the secrets of the power elite–Jonathan Lethem wrote a whole book about it and there’s an awful lot of chatter about it on David Icke’s message boards.
FLICKS: What was the last great film you saw?
I think Paul Schrader’s Patty Hearst. There was an incredible streak he was on in the 80’s (American Gigolo, Cat People, Mishima, Patty Hearst) those movies really hit my sweet spot.
Recent movies? I thought Cabin in the Woods was a blast!
FLICKS: What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?
Don’t settle for a temporary solution just because it’s good enough, temporary has a way of becoming permanent.
FLICKS: What are you thinking about doing next?
It’s not carved in stone (I’m looking at a couple options for a feature length follow up) but I’m working on a shorter one right now based on a personal encounter with a legendary exploitation filmmaker and a never-seen before fragment of an unfinished project.
