'A Glitch In The Matrix' Trailer: 'Room 237' Director Rodney Ascher Returns With Another Mind-Bending Documentary

Magnolia Pictures has acquired A Glitch in the Matrix, the newest documentary from Rodney Ascher, who made the acclaimed film Room 237 which presented fascinating deep-dive analyses of Stanley Kubrick's The Shining. This new film, which will premiere at next month's Sundance Film Festival, explores the notion that we are all trapped in a simulation and our concept of reality is not what it seems. Check out the first trailer below.

I had the chance to interview Ascher during the press tour for Room 237, and I remember him talking about how his intention with that film was not to convince anyone that any one particular theory about The Shining held water, but to give the audience a window into the perspectives of people who had incredibly specific reads on the movie. I suspect there's a similar thing going on here. If I had to guess, I would bet that Ascher isn't trying to convince you that we're actually living in a simulation, but that he's fascinated by (and hopes you'll also be fascinated by) these folks who are absolutely convinced that we are.

The only hesitation I have with this project has nothing to do with Ascher or the simulation theory, but instead has to do more with amplifying conspiracy theories in an era in which they've gone from fringe to mainstream in a dangerous way. I'm not suggesting that there's anything inherently dangerous in the ideas this film explores, but when a significant portion of our country is fully through the looking glass and believes all sorts of insane and easily disprovable nonsense...I just know that my personal appetite for stuff like this is much lower now than it was when Room 237 was released in 2013. Still, I like Ascher's movies and will probably end up checking this one out when it's released in February.

Here is the movie's official synopsis:

What if we are living in a simulation, and the world as we know it is not real? To tackle this mind-bending idea, acclaimed filmmaker Rodney Asher (ROOM 237, THE NIGHTMARE) uses a noted speech from Philip K. Dick to dive down the rabbit hole of science, philosophy, and conspiracy theory. Leaving no stone unturned in exploring the unprovable, the film uses contemporary cultural touchstones like THE MATRIX, interviews with real people shrouded in digital avatars, and a wide array of voices, expert and amateur alike. If simulation theory is not science fiction but fact, and life is a video game being played by some unknowable entity, then who are we, really? A GLITCH IN THE MATRIX attempts to find out.

A Glitch in the Matrix will be available everywhere on February 5, 2021.