Backrooms

“Imagine describing a dog to someone who’s never seen one and then asking them to draw it.” I remember stumbling across the Backrooms thing on YouTube around the time it was blowing up. I thought the original video on Kane Parsons channel was fantastic but I’d be lying if I said I kept up with it much after that. When the movie got announced and eventually came out I was really looking forward to seeing it. I love Chiwetel Ejiafor and Renate Reinsve, and the idea of the movie sounds great. It’s out on Max now and thank god, let’s go. I’m going to start from the end, because I’m not sure if the post credit scene was shown in theaters but I loved it. Whatever A-Sync gets from learning about the backrooms is irrelevant but watching them get excited about the signs and report on it was super cool. Moving on to the actual movie now, I think there’s room for this to grow and expand. Not that the backrooms need more space but as a concept and as a story, it lends itself well to the prospect of further exploration on screen. Clark’s story is probably over but I don’t get the feeling that Mary’s has to be. What we see at the end is not her demise in my opinion, but rather how she’s remembered by the backrooms. Speaking of the titular space, it’s so well done. I’m not going to overly talk about it but it’s the biggest asset the film has, and it’s essential. There are themes of trauma and the despair of falling into your own destructive cycle that keep you thinking for hours after you watch it. Do you make your own relationship with the backrooms? Why does it exist in the first place? Perhaps that’s A-Sync’s ultimate question as well, but it’s the question that’s done nothing but put the film in more favorable terms with me since it concluded. I have such admiration for Chiwetel Ejiafor and Renate Reinsve. They’re two of my favorite actors from modern times, and they make Backrooms as good as it could be given all the other things it has going for/against it. I wanted to lead with them because I think their performances are that valuable, in fact they’re indispensable. I can’t see other people in their roles. Kane Parsons had to have felt like he hit the lottery. Kane didn’t exactly shit the bed himself either, and I can’t tell you how much praise I have for that. It would be so easy to let this whole thing overwhelm you to the point that it shows in the product. It doesn’t. Is it a case of ignorance being bliss? Who knows, but what I do know is that aside from one really bad sequence when Bobby is pulled back down into the lower level of the backrooms, there’s really no sign that a kid directed this thing. It’d be dumb to not point out the help he had in the process though. Whoever wrote the dialogue did a phenomenal job. The lighting and sound teams worked their ass off to accomplish making this movie feel like it should. The score is really damn good. Honestly, I love seeing a bunch of professionals rally around a kid and his idea. I’m sure he’s as appreciative as I am. Shoutout Robert Bobroczkyi as well, he made Pirate Clark work. In a year where horror has seen a resurgence and a new youth movement it’s awesome to genuinely like the things that people prop up. I’m happy to report that as I’ve sat with this movie it’s getting better and better in my mind. I’m into it, and I’m excited to see what all the young creatives like Kane Parsons have coming in the future. Also, really bad time for an ACL tear.