I was always fascinated by this concept since the day I first saw it. What do you mean silent endless corridors with no doors and no windows, only yellow wallpaper ad fluorescent light. It's insane how a small post on 4chan where anyone first saw this concept originated such a huge phenomenon. Ending up inspiring so many videos and games. And now they even made a movie.
I am genuinely surprised that Kane Parsons (a.k.a. Kane Pixels on YT) directed the movie so well. Hey, he got a lot of practice. Maybe more than most of people. After all the guy is respnsible for creating most of the lore that is so canon nowadays when it comes to backrooms (some organization researching Backrooms, famously known yellow protective suits, unknown entity strolling the rooms etc.).
Who would do a better job than the guy himself. And I think he did.
I had no idea what to expect from the storyline, well, except they find the rooms and explore them, with Parsons' vision of the Backrooms. But who are these people.
I always considered backrooms an open world where you get an anchor (like the lore core elements) and you can apply a lot of different stories or situations on top of it. This is why I was on board for any story.
I had no idea I will end up feeling so existential by the end of it.
So yeah, let's start from the beginning. The movie starts from an incident where a researcher gets separated from his group and attempting to call for help he is eventually chased by unknown entity. So the incident is also witnessed by members of Async (not really a question, but they seem to have managed to install some of the surveillance cameras around)
After watching the movie I finally realized what this pirate was all about.
Then we switch to Clark, a struggling owner of a furniture shop, he was kicked out by his wife (which we learn from his therapy sessions) and even ends up spending his nights inside the shop with never-ending problem of flickering lights. Where during another check of electric box he sees something in the wall, a sliver of light passing at a certain angle. After moving closer he realized his hand passes through and behind the wall are endless yellow corridors.
He tried to share it with his therapist Mary, but she was a bit unbelieving by the concept. It had a great quote how it is hard to describe as if you try to describe a dog to a person who had never seen one. The person might get some things rights, but it still won't be complete, because the devil is in details.
Trying to prove himself he asks for his assistant and her bf to borrow a camera and follow him to film the backrooms. They meet with an accident.
Worried for Clark, Mary comes to his shop and finds that the basement floor still has the lights on and taped entrance. She passes through it and with caution explores the place.
Already saying so much is a spoiler itself, but it's just the framework, barely scartching the surface. Especially because how it was filmed. Especially because what was said.
Before going into spoilers there are three aspects that can be mentioned without problems:
- Camera work was great. At many times the tension I felt was because of the camera work. And by that I mean just static atmospheric shots and also panicky runs. I liked those a lot, since you could see a lot of what was going around. Well, most of it is thanks to the set design and I applaude them for creating real background where possible. This is how the reality blended in and you could believe those rooms existed.
- Sound design. Excuse me, but it was awesome. Very simple and good. Atmospheric.
- Horror / tension. Well, I can admit I had few jumpscare moments ngl. Most of the time I enjoyed the atmosphere. Especially liked panisky runs, they gave me anxiety. The pirate part, honestly it felt goofy and scary at the same time.
- I think the ending mostly opened the door for more and the movie managed to tell a story.
SPOILERS:
I think the story was a success. With what Parsons imagined backrooms to be it worked for his story. This is the appeal of Backrooms, you can apply your own vision.
So you mean to tell me that you really can't explain what backrooms really is, but you know what it does. Especially the memory part, oh those glorious shots. It was so amazing to see the room being replicated and slowly assimilating with backrooms, where furniture is slowly sinking in before it's going to disappear and it will become another empty room.
Yes, the more it tries to remember, the harder it gets. Even people. It's interesting to see that it replicates people, this part will make you wonder if Mary eventually got out of there. Despite the final shot of showing a woman in identical room as we last see her in with a replicated face as a result of many attempts to remember her.
Except for the pirate ahaha no really, that shit is goofy af, until you see it kill someone and create some bloody puddles. But it's interesting too and easy to explain, I guess, after all Clark is the agressive one and the crazier one too. He was so engrossed by the backrooms.
Maybe the fact that he liked this place more is also part of the trick. After all Clark did struggle with his shop, he failed as an architect, he got into a fight with his wife and was kicked out of the house. The reinaction of his dialogue with his wife easily showed that he had problmes not only with alcohol but had anger issues as well. The backrooms fascinated him, making him even lose his sleep while he tried to explore it. he finally found place of belonging.
The next step was the session with Mary and trying to make her believe. This is why he asked the assistant and her boyfriend to grab the camera and film it. Honestly, girl was on point when said they should leave, at least they would have been alive.
I really liked the sequence after Bobby is dragged down, so much panic and running, with the camera it really feels like people tumbled down, while a lot can be seen in the background after Clark panics and runs away. It really added to the atmosphere that these places were unfinished, had a lot of stuff almost like garbage lying around. That glorious shot where Cark leaves the camera on a table while someone unknown picks it up. I know it looked predictable, but oh so good.
Next comes the Mary's part. Since she tried to find Clark she also found the taped "door" on the wall. Unlike Clark she was really cautious while going around. Alas, the only person she shouldn't have trusted appeared, Clark himself.
The conflict arises. Since Clark is someone who finds this place so welcoming (well, at least someone can work out their existential crisis), while Mary just wants to go outside. And Mary won't stop him to stay. Well, all before the pirate Clark came in and Clark original truly became a story.
In her escape Mary is saved by unknown organization. She is brought out (we see the infamous entry to backrooms, nice homage to og series) and has a short conversation with a researcher (who actually saw through surveillance what Clark did) and he explains to Mary that they are Async, they'd like to know her experience in the Backrooms and how she got in, also told her what they know Backrooms can do, not really what it actually is, because it's hard to explain.
Mary asks if they will let her go and the man answers that it is not in his position to decide.
And then comes a sequence of nice shots that show Clark's shop, Mary's house even poles with missing posters for Clark's assistant and her boyfriend. Everything slowly assimilating into Backrooms. Including final shot of showing a replicated Mary inside the last room we saw her in.
So did Mary go out? Unanswered. But I want to believe she did. Despite her own childhood trauma and her going through so much, she hits you as a strong personality and she really wanted and fought to get out. And backrooms creates a copy, not really erases a person. Right? :)
To me it opens the door to new material and new stories to come.
RATE: 9/10.
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