Before being turned into feature length film from the A24 film studio, the concept of the Backrooms had quite an elaborate history. It all started as a creepy pasta (pretty much an internet horror story) about an alternate dimension consisting of an endless maze of interconnected, yellow wallpapered hallways and rooms. What made this concept so interesting is the idea that being completely alone in everyday liminal spaces such as office buildings or empty structures is just as scary as any creature possibly lurking within this maze, which there are plenty. This eventually become a series of YouTube videos created by Kane Parsons, many of which filmed from the perspective of a character who inadvertently gets trapped in these Backrooms by falling through reality. As mentioned, Kane Parsons was recruited by the highly acclaimed film studio, A24, to turn this fascinating concept into a film, making Parsons one of the youngest filmmakers to work for the studio. I was personally quite satisfied with the results. Instead of going the average horror route of in-your-face jump scares and terror, this film was tackled from a more a psychological angle. The film mainly follows a depressed furniture store owner named Clark, played by Chiwetel Ejiofor, and his therapist Mary, played by Renate Reinsve. (Incredible performances from both actors, by the way.) Both characters discover the Backrooms and the horrors within. These scenes were just as eerie as I expected. Thanks to some superb set design and cinematography (especially the first-person camera sequences reminiscent of the original YouTube series), every corner of the Backrooms was thrillingly unpredictable, leaving you not knowing what environment our characters would end up in or what terrifying entity would end up pursuing them. (The entities in this film weren’t as scary as the entities from the original YouTube series, but they were visually uncomfortable to look at and conceptualize, especially considering what they represented.) The most interesting aspect of the Backrooms was utilized to tell this film’s riveting story. The Backrooms is a sentient dimension that is actively attempting to recreate our world, albeit imperfectly (hence the random furniture and everyday items scattered throughout). Without giving away too much, the Backrooms also attempts to recreate people, sometimes reflecting the most prominent traits of those who enter and serving as an allegory for unresolved trauma and conflict for our complex protagonists. Despite the film’s slower pacing at points, these particular narrative aspects ensured that this film was as thought-provoking as it was creepy. Score: 8/10
Noah Robinson 