Charlie Brooker described it as "a unique viewing experience", Peter Serafinowicz claimed that it was "not so much a film as a collection of people walking through doors", and it's been hailed as "the Citizen Kane of bad movies". But does The Room live up to its reputation?

Released in 2003, the film is the brainchild of writer, producer, director and lead actor Tommy Wiseau, who raised the money himself to adapt his (unpublished) novel and (unproduced) play into a motion picture, having been laughed out of the Hollywood system.

A melodrama, The Room follows the rather distinctive Johnny (Wiseau), his future wife Lisa (Juliette Danielle, in her only starring role to date), and his best friend Mark (the inimitable Greg Sestero) as Lisa and Mark embark upon an affair which threatens to tear poor Johnny apart. 

The plot, however, is largely academic, a view clearly shared by Wiseau himself. Scenes smash into one another with little regard for coherent narrative, many leaving you scratching your head wondering why they were included in the first place. Entire subplots are mentioned once and then never referred to again (Including a cancer diagnosis for Lisa's mother, which is dismissed with a "Don't worry about it, you'll be fine" and then not spoken of for the rest of the film), and characters arrive on screen with no introduction, only for the others to treat them as if they'd been a part of the proceedings from the beginning.

Similarly, any time and money that went into the direction of the piece is not reflected on screen. Despite having been shot in high-definition (Wiseau had high-def and 35mm cameras filming side-by-side), The Room looks little better than a home movie, with the cameras struggling to stay in focus half the time. Eerie B-roll footage of Wiseau travelling around town on a tram is inserted at random points in the film, while all of the rooftop scenes were filmed against a blue screen (Presumably they couldn't find a real rooftop willing to take part). And it is best not to dwell on the film's four unnecessary sex scenes, each more pointless and unerotic than the last.

But where The Room really shines is in the acting. A quick IMDb check reveals that, to the surprise of nobody, the majority of the cast are forced to list the film as easily their most prominent work. And it's easy to see why they would have had trouble finding work after this. Many of these actors (a generous term) deliver the dialogue as if they're seeing it for the first time, and what was probably a genuine state of permanent confusion during filming permeates throughout.

In the middle of all of this is the freakish-looking Wiseau, whose craggy face, addled expression and shock of long black hair serve only to accentuate the truly bizarre nature of his acting talent. Many of his lines have become legend among the film's fans, most notably "YOU'RE TEARING ME APART, LISA!" and his customary greeting: "Oh, hi *insert character/pet/inanimate object here*".  Every line is delivered in a strange possibly-European drawl (he has refused to be pinned down on the origin of the accent, though it - and indeed, he - wouldn't seem too out of place in a Hammer Horror film), which only serves to elevate his performance further into the realm of the surreal.

Is The Room the worst movie ever? No. As a big fan of awful cinema, I still believe Manos: The Hands Of Fate is going to take a lot of beating. But this masterpiece certainly gives it a run for its money. Indeed, if Wiseau hadn't sunk $6 million of his own money into the film, you would be forgiven for thinking that it was some sort of elaborate practical joke.

And yet, the joke seems to have paid off for Wiseau. The Room's ‘so bad it's almost good' quality has turned it into a cult hit, with Rocky Horror-style screenings in which audience members throw plastic spoons and shout lines at the screen.

Paul Rudd, Kristen Bell, Jonah Hill, David Cross and Edgar Wright all count themselves among its celebrity fans, and the phenomenon is spreading to the UK. London's Prince Charles Cinema led the way with monthly screenings, and a recent screening in Leeds is likely to be the first of many outside of the capital.

The Room, it seems, is here to stay.