Backrooms

2026 “It's like describing a dog to someone who has never seen one before, and then asking them to draw it.“ This line is the epitome of the backrooms. It is, by nature, unsettling, abstract, and absolutely endless. There are a lot of strengths about this movie. The presentation was nearly perfect. The set, camera work, aesthetic designs, it all just felt right. The spectacle was very grand to witness. It left me with lots of questions about the backrooms. The acting was solid, but nothing to write home about. Honestly, the ending was quite unsatisfying, and not in a good way. I think the concept is very abstract by design. The movie was very good at sticking to this theme, but it also kind of went overkill. There were little nuggets of character development throughout the film. Specifically for Clark and Mary. The way these were presented made you search for meaning and try to form connections. This felt very strong at first, but it was kind of undercooked. I wanted to get a little more information about both Mary and Clark. They each have potential to be very interesting characters. Unfortunately, they were left pretty hollow. I also felt like the ending kind of lost the plot. The reveal of the entity and async made the movie feel a little too grounded. Maybe it’s just me, but the copy of Clark just felt a little silly and there didn’t seem to be much reason to why it turned on him. There didn’t seem to be much reason to any of the copies to be honest. I’m guessing what I’m bothered by is it seems to me like this movie couldn’t decide exactly what it wants me to think as a viewer. Yes, it leaves me with questions, but what is the purpose of those questions? It feels kind of generic I guess. I don’t know. I feel like I’m just talking in circles at this point. Regardless, I did enjoy the movie. It just didn’t live up to the hype for me.