Sundance 2021 Film Review: A Glitch in the Matrix

Our Sundance coverage continues with a review for Rodney Ascher’s documentary on simulation theory. A film that amplifies all of Ascher’s most grating tendencies as a documentarian, A Glitch in the Matrix takes the tedious navel-gazing of Room 237 - Ascher’s cult account on hidden meanings within Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining - and cranks it up to eleven. Largely ignoring a storied bibliography of research, philosophy, and the logical complexities on the subject of simulation theory, A Glitch in the Matrix instead finds satisfaction in a glib slinging of memes and crackpot theories. Minor spoilers ahead…