If you’re not familiar with the “Backrooms” memes and videos, it’s safe to say it’s one of the more interesting horror angles to gain popularity in recent years. It started as a 4Chan still image with text over it, the idea of a never-ending series of rooms that look and feel just a bit off… and the idea that while exploring them, something may be in there with you. There’s actually a series of videos playing off the concept on YouTube, and I have to say, some of them are indeed very unnerving. While you may find many videos featuring the concept, it was a teenage Kane Parsons who popularized it with his clever videos spawning out of the pandemic lockdown, and many consider his takes to be the most definitive for the lore. Now, A24 is releasing a BACKROOMS movie, and it’s in the hands of Parsons as director, now one of the youngest people to director a major horror movie.

The film opens with some “found footage” from 1990 recovered by a mysterious company called Async, and shows one of their scientists exploring a series of odd rooms, sometimes empty and sometimes filled with odd doors and items, and as he attempts to radio the research team he was separated from, he hears something horrifying coming his way. This quick set up gives us an idea of what lies ahead. Later in the same year, we meet Clark (Chiwetel Ejiofor), a frustrated man who owns a failing furniture store with a “pirate” theme, and hopes to find comfort talking to his psychiatrist Mary (Renate Reinsve), a woman who is clearly trying to help him, but can see his anger and resentment for his ex-wife is tormenting him badly – Mary is also tortured by her own unpleasant past, which we learn more about later in the story. Clark starts to discover odd things in his store, such as a breaker box with “added” switches that don’t seem to connect to anything he can see, and electrical fluctuations to boot. One night while alone, he unexpectedly discovers a hidden entrance on the store wall, and falls through it into a series of bleak yellow room, lit with stark fluorescent lighting. He explores them, and is immediately fascinated with the seemingly endless corridors and odd items contained within. The next day, he excitedly tells Mary about it, as it has at least given him a needed distraction from his tortured existence, but she worries these may be alcoholic delusions. Clark vows to return with proof, and recruits his assistant manager and her boyfriend to help document his discovery.

I can’t go into much more detail without exposing major spoilers, but let’s just say BACKROOMS delivers a new perspective on horror in liminal spaces, and the psychological effects it can have on its victims. The basic idea of these seemingly endless rooms and what lies within is pure terror in many ways, something straight out of fever dreams and nightmares that many will relate to. In my younger days, when I worked in a grocery store sometimes for very long hours, I used to have nightmares that I was stuck there with endless customers in line… so I “get” this concept and can see how unnerving it would be for many viewers. It’s all at once fascinating and terrifying, especially knowing you may not be alone in there. While the YouTube shorts that became so popular are presented as more exploratory and almost scientific horror, the BACKROOMS movie takes the story into a more psychological angle, especially in the final act. Considering how dense the Backrooms lore is online, and how expansive it has become with the expanded fan-made videos that lovingly tie into the original lore Parsons (who goes by Kane Pixels on YouTube) helped establish, it makes sense that he simplified the story a bit and chose to focus on two relatable characters, using them as the eyeballs for the audience, and allowing us to experience the Backrooms through their individual experiences.

All of the performances here are top notch and passionately done. Ejiofor is particularly excellent as the haunted and broken Clark, a man who can’t seem to catch a break, even if in many ways he’s his own worst enemy. It’s easy to understand how his discovery of the Backrooms is so important and meaningful to him – it’s giving him a much-needed purpose in a world that seems to have forgotten about him. And Ejiofor sells it magnificently, really capturing the tortured emotion of the character, and cautious sense of wonderment considering these circumstances. Reinsve is also excellent, hot off the heels of her strong work in last year’s SENTIMENTAL VALUE. The concept of a psychiatrist who herself is tortured by a haunting past and miserable home life, now trying desperately to help others fight their demons… it’s smart, and she’s terrific in conveying every side of the character. Her less-enthusiastic approach toward the Backrooms is a great contrast to Clark’s wonderment, and serves as a great way to show two sides of the coin within this scenario. I also loved seeing the versatile Mark Duplass in a brief but important supporting role that helps make sense of several things toward the end.

Parsons does a great job with his directorial debut here, really making the visuals spellbinding and (when needed) creepy as hell, and even helped compose the music for the film. This young man’s talent is inspiring and gives hope to the future of horror moviemaking, which is particularly impressive considering his humble but effective origins. It should serve as strong influence to other aspiring young filmmakers, and shows there are not limits now when it comes to taking your ideas to the highest limits. Some of the online lore is carried into the film, such as the idea of the Async company being the overseeing techs strongly connected with this chaos, though we don’t learn too much about them until the final moments, and Parsons smartly tells us just enough to help things make a little more sense. This is also not a movie that explains everything, or goes out of its way to have every little part of it make sense, and that’s okay as some of the ambiguity allows the viewer to draw their own conclusions or theories, which is one of the things that made the online shorts so addictive and interesting.

What BACKROOMS does do quite well is open up possibilities for future stories set within the Backrooms as a backdrop, as now that the basic concept is established for the big screen, it would be very easy to take future installments into bigger and bolder directions. I envision an anthology film that features three or four uniquely different stories taking place within this setting, perhaps even connecting in the end. I’m sure Parsons has some ideas for the future already, and I’m very anxious to see where he takes it from here.

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