Kane Parsons’ Backrooms is the kind of horror movie that feels less like a film and more like a bad dream you can’t wake yourself from. Expanding on the viral analog horror phenomenon that took over YouTube, the A24 adaptation transforms the unsettling “liminal space” concept into a full scale psychological nightmare that is equal parts atmospheric, experimental, and deeply unnerving. While some critics argue the film occasionally loses itself in repetition, there’s no denying Parsons has created one of the most visually haunting horror experiences of the decade.
What makes Backrooms work so well is its commitment to dread over spectacle. Parsons understands that the fear doesn’t come from monsters alone. It comes from isolation, endless yellow hallways, flickering fluorescent lights, and the terrifying feeling that reality itself has broken. One early reaction described the film as “horror stripped to its essentials,” while another called it “a nightmare with its own weather.”
Chiwetel Ejiofor delivers a surprisingly emotional performance as Clark, a broken furniture store owner whose discovery beneath his basement pulls him into an impossible labyrinth of alternate realities. Renate Reinsve also shines, grounding the film emotionally even when the narrative intentionally spirals into surrealism. Their performances give the movie a human core that elevates it beyond internet creepypasta territory.
Visually, Backrooms is stunning. Parsons and cinematographer Jeremy Cox weaponize empty office spaces, bland commercial architecture, and endless corridors into something genuinely terrifying. The production design creates a suffocating sense of unease that lingers long after the credits roll. Critics have compared the atmosphere to The Blair Witch Project, Severance, Skinamarink, and even The Shining, but Backrooms still feels uniquely its own.
Chiwetel Ejiofor, Backrooms [credit: A24]
That said, the film will not work for everyone. Some reviews criticized its intentionally fragmented storytelling and repetitive structure, arguing that the movie occasionally mistakes ambiguity for depth. The slower pacing and abstract narrative may frustrate viewers expecting a traditional horror experience packed with jump scares and straightforward answers.
Still, even its critics seem to acknowledge that Parsons is doing something different. At just 20 years old, the filmmaker has managed to bridge internet horror culture with modern theatrical filmmaking in a way Hollywood rarely allows. Backrooms feels like the beginning of a new era where creators raised on YouTube, gaming culture, found footage, and analog horror are reshaping what mainstream horror can look and feel like.
Backrooms may not be the cleanest or most accessible horror movie of the year, but it is absolutely one of the most memorable. It’s eerie, ambitious, deeply uncomfortable, and unlike almost anything else currently playing in theaters. For horror fans craving atmosphere, tension, and pure existential dread, Kane Parsons delivers a terrifying trip worth taking.
