Backrooms (2026) - Quick Review
I saw the Backrooms movie in theaters last night. Overall I liked it!
So first of all I was not a fan of the original backrooms short films, nor was I ever part of the online cult following for the liminial space aesthetic or the backrooms as a concept. So - I'm sure that perspective shapes how much I got out of the movie.
I thought the visuals and the overall automosphere and vibes were imaculate. A lot of the movie sort of felt like exploring a dream scape or just a weird indie video game - this seems by design so kudos to the crew for that. The creature design and the visual effects were really interesting.
I think this kind of carries the main interest of the film for me. The story and characters fall a bit flat. Neither of the two main characters get a full or satisfying character arc, and regardless of whether this was intentional or not - it doesn't really work for me. I feel like the story itself could have gone in a direction that could have been more interesting/satisfying as a viewer.
I think the way both Mary and Clark's storys end could have been built up more, especially Mary since she is the character with leave the story with. I think more explicit scenes and story beats featuring her arc could have made the story feel more well rounded and complete. I also wish we were just given more time with the characters and enviroments themselves, it really feels like the story would have benefitted from room for all the ideas to breath and get fleshed out more.
I think given it's origins it makes sense that this movie is heavily focused on its visuals rather than a groundbreaking plot. It very much feels to me like if an SCP entry was visually interpretted into a string of scenes. But still, sitting down in a theater for a horror movie - I honestly feel like a lack of connection to characters made moments that were supposed to feel tense, simply fall flat.
For a first theatrical release, I honestly think this is a really good demonstration of skill for director Kane Parsons. Like I said, the visuals overall are amazing, and this includes every element - set design, creature design, editting and shot composition - for a new director to do these elements all really well is impressive. You can really feel the video game and creepy pasta influence just in the attention to atmosphere itself.
I appreciated some specific visual references to the portal game series, and I definitely saw the inspiration (rat man den???) come through. Of course after reading interviews about Parsons connection to portal I was already primed to notice. I can't help it! Anyway I am excited to see what Parson does next - especially if it's a portal movie. My expectations and hopes are high.
7/10 - The visuals are doing a lot of heavy lifting. It's just generally a unique and fun experience to watch, even if the plot was lacking.