Backrooms

Watched with friends. So, first of all, obviously a step in a better direction compared to the all-encompassing studio nightmare we have otherwise been heading towards for the last 20 years. And I do think it's good. It's a very nice directorial debut for a horror filmmaker, and Parsons got props from Duplass, so that counts for how effective he is as a director. But, while I think the film is good, I'm a bit discomfited by the fact that a film with relatively basic themes that are generally communicated pretty well now comes off as a major accomplishment in some respect. Surely, this can't be the best we can expect from major films from now on, can it? As for the themes themselves, I liked them. Given that many diseases leading to psychosis are hereditary in nature, I really would have liked for Mary to have openly wondered if she was experiencing psychosis herself. And I wish Mark Duplass had a larger role. But on the whole, I think this movie had more hits than misses throughout its runtime. I think a lot of people thought the pirate was super stupid and goofy. I didn't really think it was incredibly goofy, but admittedly I probably have different standards than most people. To me, there's something about the concept of the backrooms which asks you to eventually dive into gonzo material, and I'm glad they did. I'm just left with the sensation that it can go much, much farther than this. "I am a fucking architect!"