Backrooms

Again, a bit conflicted on this one. This was a project I was very curious about since Kane Parsons was directing it at the ripe age of 19/20 and the backrooms has been his baby since he was 16. What unfolded was fantastically directed. I finally checked out a bit of the backrooms videos last night before going to bed and was genuinely impressed, it was refreshing to see horror rooted in Parsons work since the start and it led me to be very excited for this! I want to start by saying the first two acts were great, and any time it went to a found footage style, it was phenomenal, I’m talking 4-4.5/5. Genuinely some amazing horror! The mystery behind it all is really cool and keeps you engaged while the sound design and making sure you never get a clear view keeps you anxious as shit as we see these people running helplessly in circles. My issues mostly stem from the third act, which I unfortunately found to be a little tiring. I wasn’t super satisfied with the entity reveal, especially compared to what we see in those short films on YouTube. It’s not that I didn’t like the design, it’s just I had built up what it could be and was let down. I also felt the turn of a character kind of came out of no where, I would have liked to seen more of their decent into the madness. Also I would have loved to have seen more of A-Sync, they were my favorite parts of the shorts, and I think it was a missed opportunity not including them as much in the film.  All that aside, I still think the film was wonderfully directed by Parsons with a clear vision in his mind! I would love to see Parsons at some point direct a full on found footage horror film akin to Cloverfield! I think he would knock that out of the park, especially since found footage is obviously this man’s bread and butter.