Backrooms

James Berry

2026-05-30

Given how many endless, empty geometric hallways our main character had to wander through, having Justin Long’s character from Barbarian pop up with a tape measure to calculate the square footage would have genuinely made this a 5-star masterpiece. Backrooms completely nails the atmosphere in the first half. The grainy, handheld "home video" style shots build an insane amount of tension, and making the entire environment harsh and well-lit instead of hiding in the dark is a brilliant way to capture that pure, unsettling liminal space dread. The sound design is heavy and unrelenting, but the…

Anointing a young, first-time big screen director as the new filmmaking messiah of his or her particular genre is a risky undertaking, to be sure. Does the fledgling auteur have what it takes to live up to that auspicious title? Is this an ordination that’s truly warranted? It’s serious business, both for box office tallies and artistically speaking. But does the heir apparent truly possess the skills, talent and vision to achieve success on both fronts? That’s something worth considering in light of the debut feature from writer-director Kane Parsons, the force behind this aspiring smart horr…

New unofficial Christmas movie unlocked. Far more complex than I thought it was going to be, especially considering it was a combination of trauma based creatures and a touch of sci-fi uncertainty. Overall a good watch, and incredibly impressive from such a young creative mind.

JPV852

2026-06-01

⭐ 7

Well, that was interesting. This is a well made horror-drama released by A24 that, to my surprise, nabbed $81 million in its opening weekend. Both Chiwetel Ejiofor and Renate Reinsve give solid performances and while a few moments lost my attention, there are few great scenes particularly towards the end. Don't know where the hype came from but good for this (and Obsession) for capturing the mainstream audiences. **3.75/5**

CinemaSerf

2026-06-02

⭐ 6

Hmmm. Perhaps I just wasn't in the mood, but I really didn't get what the fuss was about with this. "Clark" (Chiwitel Ejiofor) is a recently divorced man who has big dreams but who is reduced to running (and sleeping in) his cheap and cheerful "Ottoman Empire" furniture emporium in small town America. The electrics in his store start playing up and upon investigation he is intrigued by a glimmer of light that appears to be emenating from beneath the basement wall! Investigating, he discovers that there is a mysterious portal into a construction that has something of an Escher drawing straight …

I'll start by saying I'm not a hater; I wanted to enjoy it, I really did. But I think some scriptwriting decisions were made that really hurt the final result. I'll begin with the scene where they discover the backrooms. While the opening scene is interesting, the scene where the protagonist finds them is not. Having a clear exit point significantly reduces the tension for him. He controls the space, he's oriented, and he doesn't seem lost or confused by having to take paths he wouldn't choose if fleeing the creature. He quickly finds his way back. This sequence evokes so little fear that the…

Bonded-Boxed

2026-06-10

One of the few Backrooms adaptations that truly understands what made the original concept so fascinating. Instead of relying solely on monsters and jump scares, it embraces the liminal spaces, isolation, and psychological tension that defined the Backrooms from the beginning. It easily stands out as one of the best psychological horror films of the year.

Sierbahnn

2026-06-27

⭐ 7

This is genuinely unsettling. It's a lovely premise and it is well executed. It is creepy and unsettling and weird. It's the things you want out of this kind of horror and this movie pulls it off well. The cast is superb, the direction is great, the use of this concept and its associated effects is executed flawlessly. For what this is, it is just great.

humm well. The epilouge spoils any surprise of what the backrooms is, the therapist patient thing is kind of naff. its unclear who the main character is. I think they tied the Clark character too much to the backrooms, where it should have been its own character. some unsettling moments, but overall the writing let it down. some nice creppy surreal imagery, but the imposed story of Clark took over. Would have been better as pure horror atmosphere, where the mysteries of the backrooms reveal themselves as the characters travel through them. Clarks family drama just detracted from this. Its …

misubisu

2026-07-22

⭐ 5

**Score: 3/10 — An Engaging Walk to Nowhere** I don't like movies that go nowhere, don't make any sense, or lack an actual ending. And *Backrooms*? It's the poster child for all three. I feel like I've wasted a part of my life that I will never get back... time that could have been better spent watching a different movie. The concept is solid. Kane Parsons, the 20-year-old director behind the viral YouTube series, brings the internet's favourite liminal space nightmare to the big screen. Chiwetel Ejiofor plays Clark, a failed architect and struggling furniture store owner who discovers a…

>jaws_

2026-07-22

⭐ 4

**3/10** - Maybe if it was a YouTube video it would've been respected more. Not sure why some reviews say that this is "faithful" and "not just jumpscares", because that's not fully accurate; It very much operates like a standard A24 horror movie. That's not to say that they do a bad job, but you can tell that this was made by, and made for, people that grew up with FNAF and the backrooms themed cheap game adaptions. It's pretty unrelated to the concept of the backrooms from the original 4chan postings. Sure, the writers may have tied in some deep easter eggs here and there that somewha…

Starts out good but gets weirdly bad, at least to me. Concept is interesting but it was unexpectedly slow and I lost interest in the plot.

Very good movie! I thought it was going to be more of a scary film. It is more phycological than a jump scare. Really makes you think what your mind can do. Definitely worth a watch. Well written and acting is quite good.

s_for_short

2026-08-04

⭐ 4

While this movie has some truly great segments and undoubtedly boasts one of the greatest custom-built sets of any modern movie, the extremely slow pacing and simply boring scenes unfortunately held it back from being something I could enjoy watching.