Backrooms

In 2026 Kane Parsons came out with his movie based on his popular web series, The Backrooms, and it absolutely delivers. I was really excited to watch this movie when it first came out because I love the web series and I love the overall concept of The Backrooms, and this movie executed it so well. I really liked how although this was one of the most anticipated movies of 2026, it didn't feel like it, it wasn't to grand or anything, it wasn't trying to impress people, it was simply trying to add on to a bigger story, which I liked. I loved the cinematography of this movie, I thought it captured the liminal vibe so well in it's settings. I additionally loved how The Backrooms themself looked, it looked refined and organic and it was a perfect adaptation from the grainy complex we've been seeing in all the other videos in the series. I liked how they didn't completely ditch the "found footage" way of filming, it was cool to see some of the scenes through a camera lens, it made it way scarier than just presenting the scene in a third person view. Additionally I thought it made sense for the movie, like it didn't feel like they were filming that way to make it seem more like the web series, it felt necessary for the plot. I thought the movie's horror was amazing, I did not expect it to be that scary but by the end of the movie my heart was racing, I loved the anticipation of The Entity or Captain Clark, it made is entrance much more scarier and he did not disappoint either. I also loved how they played into the uncanny valley feel for all the still lives. I thought the overall story they were trying to tell was great and it felt like it wasn't dependent on the audience to know all the lore because the movie's story was different but still tied into the overarching story. I absolutely love the main characters, I thought they were written really well. Dr. Maria Kline was great and I loved seeing her trauma, I thought it was really interesting. I additionally thought it was cool how she kind of overcame her trauma while being in the complex, by using her trauma (the cement hand) to push her forward in life (using it to fend off Captain Clark). I thought Renate Reinsve did a great job portraying her as well. Moving on to Clark, I thought he was written perfectly, I loved how complex he was, like on one hand you feel bad for him and route for him, but on another he is a crazy narcissist who is inherently evil. On the topic of Clark's narcissism, I thought it was written greatly, I loved seeing his narcissistic break in the scene where Maria finally snaps and tells Clark who he really is. I also thought Chiwetel Ejiofor played him very well. Overall, this movie was great and I can't wait to see more from both this franchise and Kane himself in the future.