Backrooms

I thought it was appropriate that I wait to write a full review until watching it a second time, but I don't have that many notes on anything other than the remarkable symbolism in this film. And I was impatient. I didn't expect this movie to be anything more than jumpscares and anticipation-- because I had little understanding of the backrooms before watching this film. But this film developed its characters and story so incredibly well. Clark, Mary, Pirate Clark, and even the Still-Lifes meant something to the story not only plot-wise, but also symbolically. I think it's important to note that Clark's character is inherently self-destructive and the root of his own problems. This is hinted at to us from the very beginning of the film, but it's highlighted in Mary's speech about his whining being the cause of his distress. Clark is the reason for all of his problems and he only harms himself-- as opposed to others harming him. This is why I believe it is such a key detail that Pirate Clark kills Clark, but not Mary. Because Pirate Clark is a reflection of Clark himself, and Clark is the root of all of his own problems. So, logically, the thing to murder Clark would be a reflection of himself. Clark hurts everyone in his life, which is why his wife leaves him. Clark takes Bobby and Kat into the backrooms and they die there. Clark doesn't care about ruining everyone else's life-- because he always finds a way to make it everyone else's fault. That chilling line-- "you can eat them, too," is horrific in it of itself, but it's more horrific when you acknowledge that Clark says it because he doesn't know or care if the Still-Lifes can feel or think for themselves-- because he is selfish and only looks out for himself. The source of Mary's trauma is the backrooms. When she was young, her home was a door to the backrooms and I assume it is what drove her mother to insanity. Clark traps Mary in the very place she had managed to escape in her youth because he's awful. He traps her in an unending prison of her own trauma. And then he fucking role plays with her. Bobby, Kat, and even Clark were all killed by Clark himself. By bringing Bobby and Kat into the backrooms, he had already killed them, sentenced them to death, essentially. And Clark is killed by a reflection of himself. Mary escapes the regular Clark, the backrooms, and Pirate Clark. Mary is the only one to escape Clark-- a self-destructive narcissist who doesn't care about how other people feel. I'm not sure if there's any symbolism in the shot of the Still-Life version of Mary at the end. If there is, I assume it's an attempt to convey that this experience will never leave Mary and it will forever become a new part of her complex backrooms trauma. She will always remember the backrooms, and so the backrooms will always remember her. I find it absolutely astounding that Kane Parsons created this at twenty years old. He did a fantastic job directing and writing this film, along with Will Soodik. Renate Reinsve is obviously a remarkably talented young woman-- I haven't seen The Worst Person in the World or Sentimental Value, but if her performance was as incredible in those films as it was in this one, I'll be watching them as soon as possible. Chiwetel Ejiofor does a fantastic job at making me hate him-- though I'm sure he's a nice guy in real life. The supporting cast also shines with great performances by Mark Duplass, Finn Bennett, Lukita Maxwell, and even Robert Bobroczkyi (who was terrifying by the way). The backrooms is such a fascinating and eerie concept-- and I think Kane did a great job and bringing that to life in a film while including entities but also maintaining the eerie feeling you get from the concept of one unending hallway. No yeah for sure loved this. One of my favorite horror movies I've seen this year and I'd highly recommend that everyone go see it while it's still in theaters!