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Room 237 poster

Movies that feel likeRoom 237 (2012)

A subjective documentary that explores various theories about hidden meanings in Stanley Kubrick's classic film The Shining. Five very different points of view are illuminated through voice over, film clips, animation and dramatic reenactments.

If you loved Room 237, the closest films we have are Dogtooth (2009), The Magician (1958) and Grey Gardens (1976). All three share Room 237's contemplative and paranoid feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is The Baader Meinhof Complex (2008).

πŸ… 94% Rotten Tomatoesβ˜… 6.2 IMDb β†—TMDB β†—dir. Rodney Aschercontemplativeparanoid
11 of 12 streaming nowNetflix Β· HBO Max Β· Amazon Prime Video

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If Room 237 hit the spot, these will too

Dogtooth poster
Dogtooth
2009 Β· dir. Yorgos Lanthimos
πŸ… 94%β˜… 7.1drama

The same mix in both: stillness, then paranoia

The difference: Sits closer to drama than Room 237 does

Three teenagers are confined to an isolated country estate that could very well be on another planet. The trio spend their days listening to endless homemade tapes that teach them a whole new vocabulary. Any word that comes from beyond their family abode is instantly assigned a new meaning. Hence 'the sea' refers to a large armchair and 'zombies' are little yellow flowers. Having invented a brother whom they claim to have ostracized for his disobedience, the uber-controlling parents terrorize their offspring into submission.

The Magician poster
The Magician
1958 Β· dir. Ingmar Bergman
πŸ… 100%β˜… 7.5drama

Both lean on stillness more than on documentary

The difference: 54 years apart, and the 1950s show

A traveling magician and his troupe arrive in a Swedish town in the 1840s, where their act is scrutinized by local authorities and a skeptical medical official. Their stay leads to a series of confrontations that test the boundaries between performance, belief, and deception.

Grey Gardens poster
Grey Gardens
1976 Β· dir. Ellen Giffard
πŸ… 95%β˜… 7.5documentaryMax

Paranoid documentary in both cases

Edie Bouvier Beale and her mother, Edith, two aging, eccentric relatives of Jackie Kennedy Onassis, are the sole inhabitants of a Long Island estate. The women reveal themselves to be misfits with outsized, engaging personalities. Much of the conversation is centered on their pasts, as mother and daughter now rarely leave home.

Conclave poster
Conclave
2024 Β· dir. Edward Berger
πŸ… 93%β˜… 7.4drama Β· thrillerStarz

Documentary built on stillness, twice over

After the unexpected death of the Pope, Cardinal Lawrence is tasked with managing the covert and ancient ritual of electing a new one. Sequestered in the Vatican with the Catholic Church’s most powerful leaders until the process is complete, Lawrence finds himself at the center of a conspiracy that could lead to its downfall.

The Manchurian Candidate poster
The Manchurian Candidate
1962 Β· dir. John Frankenheimer
πŸ… 96%β˜… 7.9thriller Β· drama

Both work the same paranoia

Near the end of the Korean War, a platoon of U.S. soldiers is captured by communists and brainwashed. Following the war, the platoon is returned home, and Sergeant Raymond Shaw is lauded as a hero by the rest of his platoon. However, the platoon commander, Captain Bennett Marco, finds himself plagued by strange nightmares and soon races to uncover a terrible plot.

The Baader Meinhof Complex poster
The Baader Meinhof Complex
2008 Β· dir. Uli Edel
πŸ… 85%β˜… 7.3action Β· crime Β· dramaPrime Video

Contemporaries, and it shows

When German police viciously quell a protest against the shah of Iran, popular journalist Ulrike Meinhof rebels against her dishonest marriage, walks away from her children and joins radical anarchist Andreas Baader. Together with Baader's girlfriend, Gudrun Ensslin, they form the violent Red Faction Army, and together perpetrate a slew of terrorist attacks as a way of disrupting the fabric of what they see as an increasingly fascist state.

Brick poster
Brick
2025 Β· dir. Philip Koch
πŸ… 44%β˜… 5.5thriller Β· science fictionNetflix

One thread runs through both: conspiracy theory

The difference: The scrappier of the two with critics

When a mysterious brick wall encloses their apartment building overnight, Tim and Olivia must unite with their wary neighbors to get out alive.

Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit poster
Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit
2014 Β· dir. Kenneth Branagh
πŸ… 55%β˜… 6.2action Β· drama Β· thrillerParamount+Starz

Same era, same wavelength

Jack Ryan, as a young covert CIA analyst, uncovers a Russian plot to crash the U.S. economy with a terrorist attack.

Exterritorial poster
Exterritorial
2025 Β· dir. Christian ZΓΌbert
β˜… 5.8thriller Β· actionNetflix

Reaching back to the 2020s for it

The difference: Takes it somewhere less contemplative than Room 237 does

When her son vanishes inside a US consulate, ex-special forces soldier Sara does everything in her power to find him β€” and uncovers a dark conspiracy.

White House Down poster
White House Down
2013 Β· dir. Roland Emmerich
πŸ… 52%β˜… 6.3action Β· drama Β· thrillerNetflixStarz

A 2010s answer to the same itch

Capitol Policeman John Cale has just been denied his dream job with the Secret Service protecting President James Sawyer. Not wanting to let down his little girl with the news, he takes her on a tour of the White House, when the complex is overtaken by a heavily armed paramilitary group. Now, with the nation's government falling into chaos and time running out, it's up to Cale to save the president, his daughter, and the country.

The Little Things poster
The Little Things
2021 Β· dir. John Lee Hancock
πŸ… 44%β˜… 6.3drama Β· crime Β· thrillerRent or buy

Products of the same few years

Deputy Sheriff Joe "Deke" Deacon joins forces with Sgt. Jim Baxter to search for a serial killer who's terrorizing Los Angeles. As they track the culprit, Baxter is unaware that the investigation is dredging up echoes of Deke's past, uncovering disturbing secrets that could threaten more than his case.

The Lincoln Lawyer poster
The Lincoln Lawyer
2011 Β· dir. Brad Furman
πŸ… 83%β˜… 7.3crime Β· drama Β· thriller

From the 2010s, and it lands the same way

Mick Haller is a charismatic defense attorney who does business out of his Lincoln Continental sedan. Mick spends most of his time defending petty crooks and other bottom-feeders, so it comes as quite a surprise when he lands the case of a lifetime: defending a Beverly Hills playboy who is accused of attempted murder. However, what Mick initially thinks is an open-and-shut case with a big monetary reward develops into something more sinister.

In the mood for more contemplative?

all contemplative movies β†’

The best-reviewed films that share Room 237’s defining feeling.