Let me start this off by saying this had to be one of the most frustrating theatrical experiences I’ve had in a long time. And I just want to say that if you think it’s okay to pull your phone out in a theater filled with people who paid money to watch a movie, you are scum of the earth. And if you brought kids into the movie and are just allowing them to scream loudly and run around the theater with zero control, you should be put in an insane asylum and have all voting rights removed. If you think it’s okay to disrupt the experience of other people who came to watch a film in the best place you can watch a film, there’s nothing else I can say to you other than go to hell.
Backrooms is a 2026 horror film directed by Kane Parsons, who also wrote the film alongside Will Soodik. The film stars Chiwetel Ejiofor, Renata Reinsve, Mark Duplass, and others. It is one of those projects that feels impossible to go into without being aware of the hype surrounding it. There has been a lot of buzz, especially from a younger audience, largely because the creator behind this film built the Backrooms mythology on YouTube over the years through shorts and various videos. It has grown into this found footage adjacent internet horror concept that a lot of people have been following for a long time.
I went into this mostly as an outsider. I had heard of Backrooms before, but I wasn’t deeply familiar with the lore. So I came in judging it more on its own terms. The marketing looked strong, and the idea of a YouTuber breaking through and making a feature film with a major studio like A24 was interesting. It felt like one of those bigger horror releases people were genuinely anticipating.
The film centers on a strange doorway that appears in the basement of a furniture showroom, leading into a horrifying dimension beyond reality known as the Backrooms. After one of her patients disappears inside the endless maze, therapist Dr. Mary Kline is forced to venture into this unknown space to bring him back alive.
I did have a good time with Backrooms. There is a lot to appreciate here, especially considering this is a feature-length debut from such a young filmmaker who built this mythology online himself. It also speaks to a larger trend right now where creators who started on YouTube are increasingly moving into theatrical filmmaking and doing so with major studio backing. Kane Parsons deserves credit for that leap alone, especially with how much attention this film has generated.
Right off the top, the strongest aspect of this film is the atmosphere. Once we enter the Backrooms, the tone, sound design, and production design immediately create something eerie and unsettling. The concept itself is simple but effective. Endless, liminal office-like spaces that feel slightly wrong in every direction. Rooms that don’t logically connect. Random objects in places they shouldn’t be. It all builds this uncanny sense of unease.
The production design is genuinely impressive. The way the film builds these spaces, from furniture showroom aesthetics bleeding into sterile office environments and strange liminal rooms, creates a consistent feeling of discomfort. There is a lot of creativity in how these environments are constructed, and it absolutely elevates the experience. This is where the film is at its strongest, especially for horror fans who care more about tone and atmosphere than anything else.
Chiwetel Ejiofor does a solid job as Clark, a furniture store owner dealing with personal separation and emotional instability. He serves as a strong audience entry point into the Backrooms themselves. His initial exploration is some of the most engaging material in the film because it keeps things mysterious and grounded in curiosity. Renata Reinsve also delivers a strong performance as the therapist, Dr. Mary Kline. Her character starts off more composed and controlled, but as the story unfolds, we start to see layers of trauma and complexity that tie into the larger themes of the film.
There is a lot here that works in terms of setup and concept execution. The cast is solid, the production design is strong, and the atmosphere is consistently effective. Kane Parsons and his team clearly understood how to translate the original internet concept into a cinematic experience.
Where the film becomes more mixed for me is in its story and structure. Thematically, there are interesting ideas about trauma, repetition, and cycles of behavior. The Backrooms themselves feel like a metaphor for copy of a copy of a copy, where meaning and identity slowly degrade the deeper you go. That idea extends to both the environment and the people inside it, which I think is a compelling concept.
However, while I appreciate what the film is trying to say, the execution does not always land. The mystery and intrigue early on are where the film is at its best. Once the rules of the Backrooms start becoming clearer and the narrative shifts deeper into explanation, it loses some of that tension. The horror elements also start to fade as the story becomes more structured and less exploratory.
One of my biggest issues is that the film skips over what I think is the most interesting part of the concept. After the initial exploration, we jump forward in time and learn that the character has already been entering the Backrooms repeatedly. Instead of seeing those journeys unfold, we are told about them. That removes a lot of the immersive discovery that made the early portion so effective. It also makes the second half feel more rushed, like we are moving past the most compelling material too quickly.
The tonal shift between focusing on Clark and then shifting more heavily to Dr. Mary Kline also creates a bit of a disconnect. I understand why the story does it, but it does affect the flow of the film. As things progress, I found myself less engaged with the unfolding narrative compared to the initial exploration.
By the time the film reaches its conclusion, I felt a bit underwhelmed. Not because it was confusing or overly abstract, but because it simply did not carry the same impact as the earlier sections. The ending felt more like it tapered off rather than building to something memorable or emotionally resonant.
Overall, Backrooms is a film that succeeds in atmosphere, production design, and concept execution, but struggles to maintain narrative momentum and fully capitalize on its most interesting ideas. The concept itself is more memorable than the story or characters, and I think that is what most people will walk away remembering.
I do think this will work well for fans of the original Backrooms mythology, especially those familiar with the YouTube roots of the project. There are likely details and references that will land more strongly for that audience. But on its own, as a standalone horror film, it feels slightly uneven.
There is a solid horror movie here, but I also think the hype around it may be a bit higher than what the final film delivers. It is an impressive debut in many ways, but not quite as impactful or memorable as it could have been.
Rating: 6.5/10