Jul 18, 2015

Oddly enough, it's the Kubrick film that's always resonated the most for me, though I admittedly have a predilection for genre fare and horror movies. Much of Kubrick's work is visceral and unnerving, but The Shining is the film where all of his formal prowess is put towards those sensations. While its pop culture pervasiveness may have taken some of the edge off of its superficial scares, it's the film's many haunting ambiguities and inscrutable images that continue to linger and reward multiple viewings. The crackpot theories in the documentary Room 237 may be nonsensical, but they are a testament to the film's ability to bury itself in one's head, stir up the imagination and inspire one to look for meaning in every frame. Is it a haunted house film or a tale of isolation and madness? Is about alcoholism and domestic strife? Is it about the genocide of the Native Americans? It can be about any or all of these things at once. It's horror and it's everything else.