Kane Parsons gets his big break with a feature-length adaptation of his YouTube series
Everyone’s heard of The Backrooms. However, while many are familiar with it, this reinterpreted lore, adapted by YouTuber Kane Parsons — also known as Kane Pixels — introduces it to a wider audience. The creator, who went on to produce a 22-episode YouTube series based on the creepypasta lore, was later commissioned by A24 to direct a feature-length movie. After months of hype and rumours, the movie is finally here.
History
The Backrooms lore started as a creepypasta (a horror-related urban legend) following the posting on the popular internet forum 4chan. The image (see below) inspired endless commentary, driven by its liminal, fluorescent-lit rooms — a bare bones concept, so to speak — that gamers interpreted as a ‘noclip‘ point: a term for locations within video game maps without physical barriers, through which players can pass through as if they weren’t there.
It was taken in a disused Wisconsin furniture store, though the exact location is not known. That didn’t stop members of the public and YouTubers from sleuthing their way across the internet to try to track it down, contributing to the popularity it enjoys today.
Backrooms Plot and Review
The film follows Chiwetel Ejiofor as Clark, a recently divorced furniture store owner struggling to make ends meet during the 1990s. After spending his nights sleeping in the complex, he notices a light shining through a crack in the wall. As his curiosity gets the better of him, he decides to explore, leading him to the Backrooms.
His therapist, Mary, played by Renate Reinsve, follows the clues he leaves behind after outbursts about the discovery during their sessions. After discovering the hidden complex, she too is drawn into an ethereal experience of her own.
The script features elements from Alice in Wonderland and also incorporates fairy tale components from stories such as Rapunzel. This adds a thread of subconscious familiarity through a pattern of recognition we entertain from an early age.
Despite its notoriety, the film still forges an intriguing plot, fortified by effective character development. Ejiofor‘s contribution to the project is exceptional, with his experience and skill on full display. Parsons pulled off a phenomenal feat in casting him as Clark, while Reinsve executes the persona of a therapist to a T.
Backrooms would not be complete without a signature monster, and it certainly delivers on that front. In the second act, they begin to crawl out of the woodwork with an air of ambiguity that adds to the mythos. There are plenty of scenes of tension and uncertainty, such as when Finn Bennett‘s character, Bobby (Warfare), is lowered into a chamber of potential danger, while Lukita Maxwell (Shrinking) extends this tension in the role of Kat. Each protagonist enters an unsettling liminal space, each with their own personality and motivation to survive, though that’s about it.
The Verdict
However, while their chemistry is clear for all to see, the film struggles to maintain its momentum. Parsons’ ability as a director is notable, and cinematographer Jeremy Cox (Longlegs) delivers an outstanding atmospheric adaptation for audiences.
While everything sits in its correct box, the third act declines over time. There was an opportunity to probe a concept with endless possibilities and explore a tributary of narratives. But in the end, Backrooms‘ screenplay cuts the ribbon on a predictable outcome, despite a plot with one of the most original setups in modern horror history.
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