Imagine trying to pitch a big-budget Hollywood studio on this idea a few years ago: a new horror movie based on a few YouTube videos, themselves based on a single image posted to 4chan, with a 20-year-old YouTuber directing it who has never made a feature film before. Most studios would probably laugh you out of the room, but A24 heard that and said, “Sounds like a great idea, throw in Oscar-winning actress Renate Reinsve while you’re at it.” With opening weekend projections in the 40-50 million range, it seems A24’s gamble will pay off.
After a brief but horrifying “welcome” to the Backrooms, the two main characters are introduced. Clark (Chiwetel Ejiofor), a struggling furniture store manager, and his therapist, Mary (Renate Reinsve). Through a series of flashbacks, Mary’s past trauma and the events that pushed her to become a therapist are revealed. During one of Clark’s sessions, they try an “acting exercise” that helps establish where Clark is in his life and, most importantly, his anger toward his ex-wife. Back at the furniture store, the electricity has been acting up, and while searching for the cause, Clark slips through a wall and discovers the Backrooms.
This discovery kicks off the second act of the film, which is an exhilarating ride. Backrooms is at its best when the Backrooms themselves are being explored, and the mystery slowly starts to unwind. The first exploration sequence feels like it goes on forever in the best way. Clark’s curiosity pushed him deeper and deeper into the maze, which gives the audience the first extended look at this incredible production design. Every hallway, room, and tunnel is so unsettling but impossible to look away from. A place that feels so familiar, yet also so alien. As the sequence goes on, the tension only builds, and the claustrophobia starts to set in.
It’s no secret that found footage has lost the charm it once had. After the success of The Blair Witch Project, this style of filmmaking has been exhausted. Kane Parsons didn’t get that memo. Clark returns to the Backrooms, and for the next 30 minutes Parsons takes hold of the audience and doesn’t let go. This is found footage at its best, taking the audience out of the theater and dropping them in the middle of this suffocating nightmare. The way Parsons moves this camera around is terrifying. Every slow peak around the corner, or glance down a hall, lasts just long enough to wonder, “Was that a shadow… or was there something there?” The fixed lens makes this seemingly infinite space feel claustrophobic. The sound design and score build off one another, starting so subtly and quietly but slowly growing over time. Parsons shows a great deal of patience here and throughout the film, which means when everything starts to boil over, it’s pure adrenaline.
Going in, there wasn’t much doubt about Kane Parsons’ ability to handle all the horror elements. His YouTube videos show how skilled he was at crafting an atmosphere, tension, and visual storytelling. The real question is whether he could stretch a concept of a 10 minute long video into a feature length film. The third act is an ambitious attempt at answering that question. For most of its runtime, Backrooms is still a horror movie at heart, but this film does spend a surprising amount of time developing Clark and Mary as characters. For a 20-year-old debut director, seeing this level of ambition and commitment is admirable.
Unfortunately, the execution doesn’t entirely come together. The emotional ideas never fully connect with the horror aspects, making this final act feel rather disconnected. The ending almost becomes too bizarre for its own good at times. The entire movie could have benefited from a longer runtime, allowing the ending more time to be fleshed out, and giving Parsons more opportunity to do what he does best: scare.
Even with those issues, taking on a project this iconic as a debut film is an impressive accomplishment on its own. Parsons brought the Backrooms to life in a horrifying way. For a directorial debut, there’s a lot to love here. Some incredible camera work breathes new life into the found footage genre, serving as a reminder of how powerful that approach can be. The story took a big swing, and although it didn’t stick the landing, it’s hard not to get excited for where Parsons goes from here. More than any other genre, horror has become a space for new filmmakers to experiment and take risks, and the results have been a joy to watch. Backrooms is one of the most refreshing and haunting movies that’s come out of that bunch. If Parsons is able to pair his visual talent with a tighter script next time, horror fans are in for something special.
★ ★ ★ ⯪ ☆
