Backrooms – Movie Review
Expanding on his self-created YouTube video lore that began from a viral 4Chan post about a liminal space called ‘The Backrooms’, Kane Parsons debut feature horror film, Backrooms, takes the eerie dread and tension filled found footage that he went viral for and brings it to the big screen in an effectively creepy and unapologetically weird experience.
Taking place in 1990, this film continuation of the Backrooms world sees Chiwitel Ejiofor as Clark, a discount furniture store salesman who is going through a rough time. His dreams of being an architect have fallen to the wayside, his marriage is no more, and he now lives in his own furniture store. Through conversations with his therapist, Dr. Mary Kline (Renate Reinsve), we also discover that Clark’s misfortunes have also been fuelled by alcoholism, despite him not thinking that’s an issue. But when on-going power issues within his store lead him to discover a hidden door to an unsettling liminal space of hallways and uncanny beings, Clark becomes obsessed with finding out more about the Backrooms, and is not afraid to bring others along at the risk of their peril.
Backrooms opens with an extended long take, all found footage, of an unknown person exploring and inevitably trying to escape the yellow-ish, fluro-lit halls of the Backrooms. This moment is a wonderful homage to the extended YouTube series that Parsons’ has created over the last 4 years, but it’s also an incredibly effective way to set up the tone and mystery that is to follow. It’s tense, it’s scary, the sound design is phenomenal, and the visual language of the scene is remarkable. Any concerns critics may have about a 20-year-old directing a feature film of this calibre are immediately squashed. Parsons also goes back to the found footage element later on, about halfway through the film in what might be the film’s best sequence, where Clark and the two furniture store employees that he’s coaxed into this journey, explore the Backrooms (Finn Bennett and Lukita Maxwell) even more with terrifying and strange results (Christmas trees and piles of clothing will never seem the same again).
Outside of these two extended moments, the film balances being a traditional horror film as we follow Clark around in the Backrooms in these sharp, wide-angled shots where Clark may be on screen, but Parsons’ is constantly tempting the audience to look at what might be down the long hallways or creeping behind the walls. Confidently sweeping the camera around the rooms and solidly capturing the endless abyss of the rooms, Parsons maintains this feeling of not being able to escape whatever is lurking around the corners, and sparingly using jump scares so that feeling never gets stretched too thin.
There is a large psychological element to the horror that comes through the characters. Clark is dealing with a lot of demons, but there is a frantic nuance in which Ejiofor conveys the internal battle he is having. It’s a phenomenal performance that is full of genuine excitement to discover more about this mysterious place, but is fuelled by something deeper, and maybe darker. Will Soodik’s screenplay does a great job of peppering in the necessary context for Clark’s complexity without over-explaining, allowing the audience to make their own judgments for Clark along the way. There are some great scenes inserted that provide emotional context for Dr. Mary Kline, which flashbacks to her as a child, living with her agoraphobic mother, being held hostage by the demons that her mother is dealing with. And while at points, for both Mary and Clark, the psychological explorations can feel a little surface level, it still adds intriguing and interesting substance to their characters, manifesting physically inside the Backrooms themselves.
Backrooms is weird and ambiguous. There is a Lynchian quality to Parsons’ film, both visually and thematically, that oozes off the screen. This is not a story where not everything is explained, and the fact that is the case actually creates a wonderful immersion into the story. Constantly trying to guess why things are happening lures the audience in before scaring them or weirding them out even more with some unsettling imagery and revelations. Some may feel that the under-exploration might be contributed to a weak screenplay, but it feels more like an intentional provocation against modern horror films having to over-explain things. It’s safe to say that Backrooms is far more experiential, rather than a straight forward horror flick.
On a technical level, Backrooms is practically flawless. The immense, 30,000-sq foot sets that were built for the actors and camera to practically move around in look amazing on screen, wonderfully and eerily captured by the sharp cinematography and direction. The sound design, both the score (which was co-composed by Parsons) and the terrifying sounds that emerge from the Backrooms, is effective. And the film’s pacing is damn near perfect, moving the story along when needed, but also lingering in the creepiness for as long as it needs without dragging.
Backrooms is a brilliant debut feature from Parsons, whose obvious understanding of the Backrooms lore has aided the tone, atmosphere, and aesthetic required to make a truly effective horror film. It’s unapologetically weird and ambiguous, which might not work for everyone, but it’s a bold swing that feels like one of those movies that will reinvigorate the cinema going experience.
Backrooms is in Australian cinemas May 28
