Backrooms - Honest Public Reviews

The film is creepy + creative. It's successful because of how it makes YOU feel - very unsettled!

What I liked-

The visual and set designs were awesome. The whole movie feels creepy and immersive. The creative atmosphere is the movie's biggest strength

What I didn't-

Although it's a film more about the aura than story.. the story never fully comes together. A lot of build + not a lot of payoff..

If you're a contemporary horror fan, you'll enjoy the atmosphere and creativity enough. Just don't expect to leave the theater 100% satisfied!

6/10.

Just saw it in theaters, one day before global release. The visuals and scenery is amazing. The actors are fine but the lore is awfully vague. Nothing is given to the audience and they have to piece together tiny crumbs of information just to understand the film. The liminality is insane. The spaces stuck a cord with me and that's why I end up liking the movie despite the lack of a coherent story or ending. It gets a six.

Backrooms at first seemed like it had an intriguing it hook, then it just seemed like it wasn't going to do anything interesting with it and then by the end it just seemed to do nothing with it whatsoever. I've never seen the YouTube shorts and was going in purely based on the positive buzz and the solid trailers but in the end it was completely hamstrung by a script that gives off major first draft vibes and an edit that feels like one of the least effect versions of itself.

It's a shame because film started on a very strong note for me. I appreciated the patience in how it was paced and directed and it really seemed like the film was taking its time to set up a really compelling mystery with genuinely creepy imagery. It's phenomenal in how it uses big empty spaces to its advantage and I really liked discovering more of this realm as the characters did, But at a certain point I realised what my issue with the movie was; it just doesn't really have a second act. The film ends up feeling really choppy in how it's put together and it really feels like a lot of key scenes were removed that built up the story and the characters. The first half is constantly up building up a mystery only for the second to completely change gears into something that didn't feel nearly alluded to enough.

After a very awkwardly insert found footage sequence there's a key change in one of the characters that didn't feel earned at all and it just changes the movie from something that at least felt unique into something that felt a lot more standard horror fare. The film very much ends up feeling like a three-hander and I was curious to see how they would all tie together but to say it was disappointing would be an understatement. They devote so much time to Renate Reinsve's backstory only for it to never amount to anything meaningful and there's another plot line at play that I was by far the most interested in but completely fell flat in one of the most bafflingly abrupt endings I've seen in a long time. In the end the movie just feels like a few films in one and as a result nothing the script is really trying to accomplish gets the time it needs to be executed in any kind of satisfying way.

I really wanted to like this movie more than I did and I gave it the benefit of the doubt for as long as I could but at a certain point it just lost my faith in it. It's genuinely creepy and it's got certain images that I don't think will ever leave me but the script just was not there for me at all and it contains some truly puzzling writing decisions. I feel like there has to be a longer version of this movie available somewhere because it really does feel like key moments are just simply missing and really negatively impacts the whole experience. Either that or this concept as a whole just works better in an anthology format. I appreciate the story behind the film but ultimately I just did not think it translated to any kind of a satisfying narrative.

The decorations, level design are outstanding - visually pleasing and disturbing at the same time.

Meanwhile the plot and the character's arc doesn't make much sense. It is basically a collection of rubbish scenes tied together in a strange, grotesque space.

The Vibe is cool though. The issue is that the viewer has to crawl through a very boring metaphor to enjoy it.

I wanted to love this cause frankly, I'm inspired by Kane Parsons and the whole process behind this movie. That being said, it was somewhat of a letdown. It starts very slowly, almost painfully slow. It takes pace with what I'd say is the highlight of this movie, which is the found footage bit. After that it again slows down a bit with it's final act. The main thing that bothers me are the characters, which are very shallow and slow down the plot a bit. Overall, a really cool debut, and I'm really excited to see what Kane Parsons will make in the future.

P. S. Never in my life I would've expected a marathi ad in an A24 movie.

It's hard to call the visual style revolutionary or ground-breaking, because it is so faithful to the backrooms imagery we have seen across the internet for a few years now. But that is no criticism; the way this film faithfully captures the unsettling pseudo-familiarity of the backrooms internet mythos is fantastic. Alongside that gorgeous visual style is a strong (though fairly straightforward) performance from our leads, and a fitting eerie soundscape.

Beyond that the film is a little harder to compliment. Not that the writing is particularly egregious or objectionable, but it just feels like a tertiary consideration of the film. The paper thin plot could be compelling with great dialogue to pad it out, or the paper thin dialogue could be forgiven with a compelling plot. But together it just leaves the audience feeling a little empty. The intention of the writing is clear, the backrooms are banal, yet mysterious, unknowable yet familiar, infinite yet sparse, cluttered but empty, and the dialogue and writing seems to try to mirror that feeling. Leaving as much to our imagination as possible without provoking our imagination too much. It's an admirable thing to attempt to match writing to theme and tone so closely, but unfortunately when the theme and tone is a deep sense of discomfiting emptiness you're more likely to write a disappointment than a compelling film.

All this isn't to say it's a bad film. It really isn't. And if you're curious about checking it out because you like the ideas behind it, you should probably watch it. It might not be rewatch material but that isn't a failure. It's not a great movie, but it is still a good one. And for an indie flick based on an internet meme, that's gotta count as an absolute win.

Solid film, truly. BUT... could have and should have been better. I left the theater a bit confused on how I felt lol. It's almost as if they didn't no how to end it? Cause at the end it surely falls flat man. The beginning feels solid and even the climax picks up well but then after that, something happens. It just falls out and gets almost boring.

I had some mixed feelings. It certainly is creepy: all this wandering and crawling through these (literally) mind-boggling rooms makes you feel like you're trapped inside a nightmare. The cinematography is great and the settings and special effects are impressive. But the pace is most of the time extremely slow, save for a few bursts of frantic and chilling action. And the story is just way too weird and incomprehensible, even in spite of the last scene that (I guess) was meant to give at least some clues as to the why and how - the vague explanation in fact left all the questions wide open. The juggling with the chronology didn't help, apparently it was intended to make some points, but I didn't really grasp them. Renate Reinsve and Chiwetel Ejiofor do a great job, and the score, with all these eerie soundscapes, is very effective. But all in all, it was just too weird to really get me involved.

This movie had real great visuals. Amazing shots,perfect directing. Though it had these two,it lacked some horror elements and tension. Did not scare me at all. Scaring aside,it didnt even put me in a tempering state. Acting was good,and the process of understanding its characters psychology was good.

Clark meets his therapist Mary and opens up about his alcoholism, broken marriage and a failed furniture business. Mary herself is going through a rough phase with respect to her personal life. One night, Clark accidentally the backrooms at the basement of his furniture store. The said backrooms is just liminal space and the mystery consumes Clark. This surreal world across the wall, becomes his altenrate home and Mary has to step into check on Clark. What actually are these backrooms and what are they made of? Will Mary and Clark be able to get out of it?

Kane Parsons makes a commendable debut with a strong sense of visual language. More than the performances, it's the atmosphere and the world building, that backs the content. Ofcourse, the narrative is quite slow and the characters try their best to keep explaining the proceedings. The end result is not always engaging, which is not a new thing for A24 productions. The dog metaphor clicks while the whole backstory of Mary and her mother, needed better treatment. The horror part is timed well but the psychological drama tends to drag after a point. The ending twist however was not that fulfilling. I am still going to recommend this solely for it's making.

Entertaining, but the plot didnt really make any sense and was mostly focused on the not-very-well-developed characters, moreso than the actual backrooms. They spent a lot of the movie just discussing their pasts but It didnt make much sense or contribute to the story In any meaningful way. Im not entirely sure what they were Intending to do with that.

I understand they needed some kind of narrative for a movie but none of It felt particularly well thought out or connected, and a lot of the explanations were either undeveloped or missing entirely. It left a lot of questions unanswered but continued as If It had already answered them. Its not entirely a flop, however, and could definitely be Improved upon If they decide to make a sequel. As It Is currently, Its a little disjointed and doesnt use Its runtime very effectively. It started out great but quickly spiralled Into what I can only describe as a strange web of unrelated events with no explanation or follow-through later on.

That being said, It does have some really cool shots and the set Is awesome, so Its definitely worth watching If you liked the original backrooms videos. Its best quality Is honestly that Its visually Interesting and entertaining from an action standpoint- not so much the characters or world In which It takes place (unfortunately).

Okay, the idea was already there, known by many people (and even if it wasn't), young director or not-it doesn't change anything. Good characters? Yes.

Was it really that hard to continue with what it started?

The first half of the movie was genuinely good. The sheer terror... the atmosphere, the story, the way it kept descending into something worse-they genuinely scared me. In my mind, I was thinking, "This is the best movie; I can't wait to tell people about it." Until the second half arrived.

I understand that there needed to be some explanation for what was there, but turning it into drama, removing the original monster and replacing it with... some kind of thing that can barely even run, throwing in pointless scenes and interpretations just so they could say something about that side of things too... was that really necessary?

I want the terror from the first half back. Everything was replaced with something almost entirely different, which I personally didn't like.

I gave it a 7/10 out of generosity, mainly because I liked the games as well.

The success of this film proves there's still a massive appetite for original ideas in mainstream cinema. It's also an impressive achievement for a director in his 20s to helm a project this ambitious and visually distinctive.

As for the film itself, the plot isn't especially remarkable, but its strongest moments come when Clark is simply discovering and exploring the backrooms. The movie does a solid job capturing the unsettling lore and atmosphere that made the concept so compelling in the first place. The buildup is effective, and creates genuine tension and curiosity throughout the first half.

Unfortunately, the second half loses much of that momentum. The focus shifts abruptly from the eerie setting and mystery to a far more character-driven approach, but the characters were never developed enough to justify that pivot so late in the story. What initially felt unique slowly starts to resemble the more conventional horror film that audiences have grown tired of.

Despite the talent behind the camera, the movie occasionally feels creatively conflicted. With major producers like Osgood Perkins, Shawn Levy, and James Wan involved, the film sometimes struggles to maintain a singular identity. Certain moments to me feel pulled in competing directions, and by the end it becomes easier to see where that inconsistency may have come from.

Overall, when the film embraces the lore and atmosphere of the backrooms, it genuinely works. When it drifts away from that core identity, it starts to feel like just another middling horror movie.

Despite not loving it, it is still excellent to see efforts to branch out and start building new original stories. This is how movie theatre cinema can be saved.

A film that has its visual perfectly presented to the viewers, but...

If the point of view is from someone who knows the idea of the Backrooms and the true face of the original scope, the focus, and the great premise are the greatest slip of the work.

For unheard-of viewers, it's just a weak experience with continuity error.

Personally, disappointing.

Backrooms is a very uniquely crafted & put together horror film. It felt like a two hour therapy session that touched on how we as humans are always feeling stuck repeating patterns & running from something. Struggling to admit to our wrongdoings. Things never seem to change & yet everything changes slowly around us. The intro was very similar to the YouTube short and got you excited right away. But the film is very slow & seems to focus more on tension building & silent suspense. The eerieness was there and some parts were in fact, creepy. I thought the dialogue was smart & this movie has some deep messages that you can take from it. When the credits began rolling, our theater was silent. A few clapped while most, including me, sat and really pondered at what we had just watched. This film stuck with me for a couple days and I've come to the conclusion that it is a good film & even more impressive since it was directed by a 20 year old. The old-school style camera scenes are cool and there was alot of solid camera work all around. I did find myself bored at times & felt the movie was dragging on but again, its not a thrill ride. Its meant to make you question things and leaves alot to your imagination. I would watch the YouTube shorts & series first which were made by the same young man starting when he was just 16. Overall, just a 6/10 for me. Don't see it as a classic but will be watching again in my home alone to see if that gives a different vibe or feel than a theater viewing.

The movie was pretty good, but the story itself needed more development. It was mysterious a lot like the old Outer Limits series. But it lacked explanation of the phenomenon. So for that I was kind of disappointed. But other than that I did like the movie overall and it is worth seeing. It had a great build up and excellent acting by Chitewel Ejiofor and his co stars. It reminded me of "The Signal". The same kind of vibe and mysterious things happening. But the difference was that at the end of "The Signal" they showed you what was really going on. But for me that's what this story lacked.

My knowledge of the Backrooms consists of a passing understanding of internet memes. I never watched the series, but was very curious about the film. The look and feel are awesome, but the characters needed more time.

Positives!

+over 30,000 square feet of rooms were made, and it shows!

+Two lead actors ground the film in realism.

+Tension and excitement of the unknown is handled well.

Negatives!

-Flashbacks are handled in a weird way.

-Half of the small cast is thrown to the wayside.

-Introduction of the company lacked pay off.

The ending of Backrooms was abrupt, and some feel it was lackluster. I think it works for the film overall, but agree in wanting more. Backrooms is another smaller budget film, directed by a 21 year old Kane Parsons, that shows good films can still be made without breaking the bank. With more guidance, this could be a strong series.

-GremlinLord615.

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Not sure what all the hype is here. And to compare this movie to the other huge indie of the moment, Obsession, is unfair. Not even the same ballpark here. Backrooms has so much potential given its expansive size and lack of any explanation whatsoever. By the time we get into the last act and all the essential players are in place, it's unrecognizable where the story is supposed to be or what the characters are up to. Visually impressive. A very tense and confusing Severance/Lumen aesthetic - but no story. 5 of 10. Can def wait for streaming.

There are about ten minutes of 'Backrooms (2026)' that are brilliant, twenty that are really good, an hour that's more-or-less just fine, and twenty minutes that are vaguely boring. The highlights of this eerie liminal horror do typically outweigh its weaker aspects, but they don't quite raise it out of the "good enough" category. The flick does attempt a few admirable things, but its most major narrative subversion falls almost totally flat for me, feeling false and like a way to extend the runtime rather than naturally evolve the plot or its themes. I admire the effort, but I can't deny that it doesn't quite pay off. What undeniably does, though, is the practical sets used to bring the eponymous otherworldly office space to life, as the tactility of the incredibly strange geography in which the majority of the piece unfolds is both notable and highly important in making the flick feel as uncanny as it so often does. Aparantly built in Blender during pre-vis and then brilliantly brought to life on set, it's easy to see how one would get lost in this maze of almost-right corridors. The segments that explore this nebulous dimension, particularly a found-footage style trip that results in predictably yet arrestingly dire consequences, are easily the movie's most compelling, and it's easy to see how something like this would thrive in a short, where the strain of pacing is noticeably less. It can't quite hold up to the scrutiny invited by 'feature film' status, mainly because it isn't feasible to remain in the same scary "I'm lost and can't get out" register for periods longer than about ten minutes. Still, the segments that work well work so well that I'd argue they easily make the flick worthwhile overall, and its ultimate impression is that of an uneven yet well-crafted picture that intermittently rivets you to your seat but isn't able to keep you bolted there for its duration. I don't love it, but I like it more than enough to be glad I've seen it. It makes me want to watch the shorts on which it's based, and it also makes me crave a videogame set within the unsettling yellow walls of its sublime liminal dreamscape.

Obviously I was super excited to see this movie and had anticipated how it would be based on the whole idea. The beginning totally captures your intention; the first half was visually appealing and frightening. I did feel my heart racing at times for the first hour, the acting was good and the rooms were spot on- however, the movie takes a random turn shortly after the middle that in my opinion kinda ruined it. The plot seems to totally change out of nowhere, and it loses the "eerie how do I escape and survive" theme that it was doing so well at in the beginning. It felt super random, it lost the plot, and seemed like a rushed idea to make it "deeper," but it didn't make much sense. The ending was also kind of random, you would've expected a few more scenes, but it just stopped. Would've been an 8-9 if the theme didn't change midway through, but overall I'd say it's worth a watch.