Backrooms

I was a child that was very much within fandom spaces, creepypasta, and (for better or for worse) 4chan. You can probably imagine my pure exhilaration and intrigue that came from seeing the original backrooms post for the first time. It was modern horror in a way that was absolutely fascinating, raw, naked to me in a way that had never really been done and presented so obviously before. Before the first post, liminal space and horror had been done quietly, intentionally, but never loudly; never something that was pointed out, named, or addressed, which is what made the post so genuinely enthralling (at least to child me!) By 2020, I was utterly engrossed within the blank canvas that was the backrooms. I was constantly within fandom spaces, itching and begging for any new ounce of information or anything that was available to me at the time. I scoured posts about levels, entities, wikis and wikidots… etc etc. I moderated for both the wiki and the wikidot for some time, and I’ve even spoke to Kane and know people who’ve had conversations with him as well. He’s a really genuine and chill guy, and I’m so beyond excited for the next project that he chooses to tackle. So, imaginably, my excitement for this movie was immense and all-consuming. I figured that no matter how the movie ended up being, good, bad, boring or amazing, I had to be proud of it in some way. My little childhood secret had spiralled into something that was a global phenomenon, a mainstream thing born of major studios and creative genius at its helm, and I am incredibly proud of this movie and the way it turned out. A huge part of me feels like I grew up with the backrooms, so it’s hard to feel any other way about it. This movie did not disappoint at all. Firstly, I’d like to point out the colour grading of this movie. A minor, insignificant detail, but much appreciated in a world of modern cinema that bears resemblance to advertisements and commercials. Additionally, another detail I noticed were references to popular liminal space content; the shopping trolleys outside of the store were noticeable and familiar to me, for a start, as well as the section where Mary is running from Monster Clark, that bears a resemblance to the famous Heathrow terminal location as well. For longtime fans like me, these were much appreciated and did not go unnoticed, so thank you very much Kane! The Kane lore of the backrooms is vast and detailed, and I liked how this movie didn’t focus all too much on ASYNC but still provided them with enough attention for them to make sense within the narrative and the movie itself. Kane did very very well with curating individual stories and relatability within the stories of both Mary and Clark while staying true to his previous artistic endeavours, which to me was very admirable. I also appreciated the many metaphors hidden within the movie (for example, Monster Clark consuming regular Clark as a metaphor for mental health ‘consuming’ you, or Clark wanting to ‘stay where he is’ as a reference to his mental state.) I felt that this made it even more accessible to a number of audiences rather than simply Kane’s diehard fans from day one (which, I will admit, was a fear of mine - that he would take it in that direction - but he didn’t!) The characterisation of both of the main characters were very well done as well. However, I will take this space to note down some other thoughts I had and improvements that could’ve been made to the movie - for one, a theory I had is that the monster (and/or subsequently the rooms themselves) take the form of whoever is observing it. My belief is that the monster that Clark initially sees is different to the eventual pirate Clark. My reason for this is that Mary perceives certain rooms differently to Clark, such as the very first one (in hers, there is no furniture.) I took the furniture in Clark’s perception to also mean the overwhelm and/or clutter of his mental state as well - adding into my point about the metaphors. I also wonder if, had Mary spent that same amount of time in the rooms as Clark, a monstrous manifestation of herself could have also existed. I think that the movie could’ve played on this/expanded this idea better - like how would Mary’s rooms have eventually differed to Clark’s, if they had explored that more? I felt that this movie fell slightly flat of the explanation of the functions and creation of the monsters, so I believe further detail would be needed. Additionally, this movie was WAY too short. I think it should’ve been 2 hours at least. The reason I feel this way is because certain parts definitely feel rushed - Kane’s art shines the most when he is allowed to take his time to explain the narrative, as we have seen in found footage. I was slightly disappointed at the amount of time spent in the rooms vs reality (I felt that there could have been more exploration of the feelings of isolation rather than immediate focus on entities.) For future backrooms content, I’d urge Kane/filmmakers to go slowly, because it curates a more chilling sense of horror and liminal unease. Finally, I think that the ending could have been done in a more effective manner. I disliked the immediate intervention of ASYNC meaning the ending of the time spent explored; I think that there definitely should have been something beyond Mary’s rescue. This is another issue that comes up due to the length of the movie, which (imo) is a more forgivable wrongdoing than certain other horror films which is why it doesn’t affect my rating too much. Overall, this movie is fabulous. Kane is fabulous - he’s absolutely going to be the next big movie director. For new and old fans, this movie is a simple yet sometimes confusing watching experience, which is what makes it a horror gem in today’s climate of self proclaimed ‘high art’ movies. This movie is artistic for the opposite reason - it appeals and caters to the personal audience and watching experience rather than critics. I strongly encourage watching of this movie (though I’m probably super biased) - I truly think it’s something special, and a souvenir of a kind of horror that was previously neglected. The diegetic characteristics of the world Kane has created is truly unforgettable, no matter what kind of viewer you are.