'Backrooms': An Unsettling, Visually Impressive Horror Film

PHOTO: A24

A film directed by a 20 year old based on his series of viral YouTube videos sounds questionable at the very least and doesn’t exactly inspire confidence. But when that 20 year old is Kane Parsons, the finished product ends up being far more promising and impressive than one might initially think. I will be the first to admit that I was doubtful when it was announced that Parsons had inked a deal with A24 to adapt his Backrooms videos for his debut feature, partially because he is so young but mostly because I wasn’t sure if the basic concept of the series would translate well to a full-length film. Now having seen the film, I am prepared to eat a hefty portion of crow. 

Backrooms features the craftsmanship and vision one might expect from a seasoned director, making it all the more surprising that this is Parsons’s debut and that he is so young. He deftly expands on the lore and unsettling nature of his original shorts while also not offering easy answers and giving viewers a film that is wonderfully strange and thought provoking. Backrooms is a film well-deserving of the hype and praise that it has received, and signals the arrival of an exciting new voice in the world of cinema.

Clark (Chiwetel Ejiofor) is a down-on-his-luck furniture store owner, dealing with a divorce and his own alcoholism. He seeks help from a therapist, Mary (Renate Reinsve), who is dealing with her own childhood trauma. One night, he discovers a slit in the wall of the store’s basement. Upon investigation, he goes through the wall and finds The Backrooms, a series of dull, yellow rooms with small traces of the real world. Clark becomes exceedingly obsessed with them and explores them. As he goes deeper into The Backrooms, he finds stranger and stranger things within the rooms and finds himself becoming more and more unstable. 

The YouTube creator-to-filmmaker pipeline hasn’t been successful up until now, so my expectations for Backrooms were rather low. But in just the past few weeks at the time of writing, we’ve seen a sea change regarding this as both this and Curry Barker’s Obsession have become two of the year’s most profitable films and have had a big cultural impact. Parsons and Barker started out as YouTube creators, and now both have proven themselves as capable and exciting filmmakers. Parsons is especially fascinating to me given that he is so young and the thought and insight he brings to his direction is well beyond his years. He resists so much of the impulses a lot of first time filmmakers might give into, refusing to spoonfeed the audience and allow the unknown aspects of the world he has created to make things more unsettling. It is apparent that Parsons deeply cares about his craft, and this passion for filmmaking helps his specific vision come across loud and clear and greatly enhances the film as a whole. 

What surprised me most about the film is how much goes unanswered and is left open to interpretation. Most modern films tend to spell everything out to the point of overexplanation, so it is refreshing to see a film be unafraid to let the audience sit in uncertainty. There are a few readings of it I was able to pick up on, but perhaps the clearest one is that the film is anti-AI. Kane Parsons has been very upfront about his stance on generative AI in the press he’s done for the film, and this factors into the film more than I would have guessed. I don’t want to get into it too much at the risk of spoiling anything, but I found this reading of the film to be very strong. There is also a reading of the film that zeros in on trauma, a familiar well that horror films have pulled from lately. Thankfully, this version fords its own path on this topic, and avoids feeling derivative. This is mainly because it deals more with repressing and escaping trauma and does so in a more realistic way than most films in the genre typically do. There is a bit more depth to this film than I was expecting going into it, which is more than welcome given the current state of cinema, and I am so glad the film has been so successful as it means that plenty of moviegoers have been responding to what the film is offering. Films like this are more of what we need, and I hope that its acclaim and box office numbers will open the door to riskier and more creative films. 

I will say that the film certainly wears its influences on its sleeve. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing as they are more woven into the fabric of the film than tacked on, but it is something I couldn’t help but notice. The film takes place in 1990, which gives way for it to employ the analog style of the original shorts that the film is based on. It also recalls found footage classics like The Blair Witch Project and Paranormal Activity at times, largely through the use of footage meant to look like it was shot with VHS cameras and the slow, steady dread that the film cultivates. There is also some shades of Twin Peaks and David Lynch in general, which can be found in the film’s more experimental moments and the way it doesn’t offer easy answers to some of its mysteries. While I would say that much of what Parsons delivers is strikingly original, you can see what inspired him pretty clearly. But if he can still give us something that still feels fresh despite that, I am sure his voice will continue to develop and be refined as he continues to make films. 

Backrooms is the type of film that had me wanting to see it again the moment the credits started rolling. It completely subverted my expectations and is far better than I ever would have guessed it would be. Kane Parsons has some real promise as a filmmaker, and this film is an exceptionally strong debut for him. It is a slow-burn, but once it gets going, it is hard to look away from it. It draws you in steadily and captivates you with its mysterious atmosphere and strange imagery. Backrooms immersed me in its world and had me leaving wanting to know more about it. It is a film that will be on my mind for a long time, and one that I cannot wait to revisit as soon as possible.

Rating: 4/5