Backrooms Movie Review: It's No Obsession, But YouTuber Kane Parsons Still Manages To Give The Creeps

There's much distinction between two of the most trending horror movies currently - Obsession and Backrooms. While Obsession makes the familiar scary, YouTuber-turned-director Kane Parsons brings back the Lynchian style surreality and blends it with internet lore in Backrooms. Parsons sets up a premise but leaves much to the viewers' discretion. It works well as an atmospheric narrative that unfolds inside the claustrophobic backrooms, isolating the protagonists and the audience with them. However, since the movie leaves most questions unanswered, it may puzzle you more than feeling scared.

Backrooms may remind some of the moody and dream-like imagery associated with Lynchian horror. There are heightened performances, the sound design is erratic and surrealism prevails throughout. The emphasis is less on the story and character motivation as the movie relies on world-building and unravelling past trauma inside closed spaces. While, as a concept, Backrooms works, it is bound to lose its impact in trying to fully absorb the viewers into its infinite maze-like universe. Some may even find it boring as everything is open to interpretation.

Also read: Obsession Review: An Unsettling Film That Even Non-Horror Fans Will Love

The movie has two primary characters - Clark (Chiwetel Ejiofor) and Mary (Renate Reinsve). Clark is a disgruntled furniture store owner, coming off an ugly divorce, whose dream of becoming an architect remained unfulfilled. Despite his "store being on discount", no one ever visits. A lonely and fuming Clark crosses into the Backrooms and gets lost. The crossover, however, happened much before Clark physically entered the backrooms. He is detached from and scares familiar faces. Backrooms for him then becomes his "safe space". Through his actions, at least initially, Clark seems to want to get out. But he was actually trapped in the real world. The crossover then becomes his escape. Ejiofor impresses with his terrifying demeanour and how he emotionally drains the viewers into not standing by him, even if there was an eventual escape plan for him.

Mary has childhood trauma leading her into the Backrooms. However, her plan to rescue Clark nudges her further into the trap. The parallel universe scares her, unlike Clark, who tries to find meaning in it. Mary wants to break out and Clark, or a version of him, then becomes her nemesis. Reinsve makes us root for her escape. She embodies the scared in the unfamiliar well. With her in the picture, Parsons also throws in a few jump scares, however, not enough to keep viewers of conventional horror intrigued.

Backrooms' tube-lit sets and the ominously empty environment stand out. Beyond that, it leans into classic tropes like found footage style cinematography, psychological and supernatural horror elements. However, the movie is more weird overall than scary. The endless backrooms represent lost hope and those lost inside it, perpetually. Discomfort creeps in from frame one and lingers till the end. Where Backrooms actually triumphs? In unsettling and its attempt to immerse viewers in this strange universe.   

Rating: 2/5 Stars