That Backrooms is so watchable, creepy, and memorable is kind of a miracle. That’s because, when you really break it down, the film doesn’t really have much of a story. Most movies need a good story to be good. However, in Backrooms, it doesn’t matter as much. The world that director Kane Parsons has created and lets us live in for two hours is so endlessly fascinating and terrifying, you’ll never want it to end. And that kind of hook is all you really need.
Based on a wildly popular YouTube series, Backrooms tells the story of Clark (Chiwetel Ejiofor), the owner of a furniture store who is incredibly depressed. To deal with that, he sees Mary (Renate Reinsve), a therapist who has her own problems. One night, Clark discovers that the basement of his store contains an entrance to an impossible space. A bright, possibly infinite series of rooms that makes no sense whatsoever. And so he starts to explore it. He tells Mary about it. And then he goes missing.
That’s kind of the whole story. There aren’t really even any other major characters. Mark Duplass plays a small, mysterious role, and Finn Bennett and Lukita Maxwell are in there, too, each adding a bit to the proceedings. But that’s okay because Backrooms has the backrooms, and boy, are they awesome.
Once Clark enters the backrooms, your mind starts racing. What is this place? How did it get there? Where is it? Is it real? Could it not be real? The genius of the setting becomes a payoff in itself. Then there are the key questions of what’s around the next corner or through that far door. Because as interesting and weird as each room is, there’s always another. Something way off in the distance. And we, the audience, need to see it. What is around the next corner or through that far door? Then, more often than not, it’s something creepy as hell. A person? A monster? Something physically impossible that’s now made possible? We never know. And so we, like Clark and eventually Mary, can’t help but beg for more, which keeps us on the edge of our seats.
Slowly, a few answers do come—though not many, even by the very end. And with each little morsel, we get increasingly terrified and fascinated. We also realize that while there’s not a huge, sweeping story, Clark and Mary’s characters are much more crucial than we may have thought. Through the backrooms, Clark kind of discovers a purpose and a happiness in the terror. By searching for him, Mary reveals a selflessness she didn’t think she had in her. Parsons also shows us scenes from Mary’s past that add layers to her character, mental state, and maybe even more.
Both Ejiofor and Reinsve do wonders with the very little bit they have to work with here. They’re each incredible actors who really turn it on in the film, acting scared but filled with wonder. However, you also get the sense that those performances may have been a tad easier thanks to the film’s production.
The production design and lighting of Backrooms are incredibly impressive and noteworthy. We’re used to a horror space where everything is dark and shadowy. That’s not the case here. Everything is bright, but not a comfortable bright. It’s a harsh, neon bright that’s made even less comfortable by the primarily yellowish color of most of the locations. It just feels wrong, and yet, we can see everything. All of which adds to the terror. Plus, every single space Clark or Mary finds is unique unto itself. Miracles of construction or physics that beautifully blend the line between fantasy and reality. Everything works to compound the mystery and terror.
Sprinkled throughout are a few jump scares, some gory scenes, a few extra layers of mystery, and lots of truly wonderful character design. But those are mere window dressing for the main event, which is the backrooms themselves. They’ll leave you curious and thinking well beyond the film’s ending. This is a world whose surface has barely been scratched, and we’re both scared and excited at the potential for more.
Backrooms opens in theaters May 29.
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