REVIEW: BACKROOMS
THE GIST
I can’t move on from this film. I am stuck in the Backrooms
THE REVIEW
SPOILERY
EXPECTATIONS
It’s one of those films that keeps getting better the more I hear about it, but I don’t want to hear more and ruin it, but it’s so good hearing the positive feedback.
My expectations went from Med to Med-High leading up to it. I didn’t want my expectations to get any higher in case they were over inflated only to be disappointed watching it.
Might be over thinking this one 😂
My beautiful dog passed away 2 days before seeing this so my whole world was feeling shitty. Grief comes in waves and I am hoping I can escape it long enough to give me a break so I can have a rest from it, at least a few hours. Hopefully it doesn’t impact my experience of the film in a negative way.
I saw Tuner before this and if I see more than one movie in a day my attention is better kept if the secondary movies intrigue me.
Ratings going in:
CONTEXT
On January 7, 2022, Kane Parsons began uploading an anthological video series titled Backrooms onto his YouTube channel Kane Pixels, the concept being based on the internet creepypasta of the same name.
In February 2023, a film adaptation was announced as a joint production between A24, Chernin Entertainment, Atomic Monster, and 21 Laps Entertainment, with Parsons directing, making it his feature-length directorial debut, and Roberto Patino writing. Parsons would become A24's youngest feature director. The film is produced by James Wan, Shawn Levy, and Osgood Perkins.
THE PLOT
After a therapist's patient disappears into a dimension beyond reality, she must venture into the unknown to save him.
THE EXPERIENCE
It really is an eerie experience.
There is a lot to unpack afterwards.
THE MEAT
Story: How one interprets this movie can be varied. I had many theories. One being the Backrooms was just another name for the subconscious mind and Mary was guiding Clark through his subconscious to get over his past as he was stuck. In the end she found he was not going to change and she couldn’t help. I then had other theories and my review turned into a 4 page rambling document. I almost gave up on writing a review because I was so overwhelmed with ideas of what it all meant. Then it dawned on me. This movie is brilliant. Here I am days after seeing it and I am still thinking about it, dissecting it, coming up with theories. And I still don’t know. I just wanna see it again to re-experience and re-examine it. At the moment, I have come to the conclusion that the Backrooms were not a metaphor for Clark’s subconscious but that the physical backrooms just allude to the subconscious mind and the psychological stories of the characters just happen to fit perfectly with the narrative of the backrooms.
The Horror: When I have nightmares they are not so much about monsters or serial killers. They are of falling or heights or randomness or strange and eerie spaces. This film was closer to my dreams and nightmares which is why I find it so relatable. I have had a couple of dreams of old flats where I found whole other parts of the house which were massive but dilapidated with an eerie feeling that makes your skin crawl.
The Cast: The whole cast really sold this thing. The casting director Wittney Horton needs some praise here.
The Director: Kane Parsons. What a debut. This dude has a big future and the people backing this film know it. James Wan, Shawn Levy and Osgood Perkins are all executive producers, that’s insane. I haven’t seen his other Backrooms work or explored the lore and I don’t particularly want to, as I think it may ruin my experience of the film.
The Set Design: It was truly unsettling. But all I can think about is wanting to build a real Backrooms maze for entertainment purposes. Sell tickets. Have some deformed people chase the pundits while they are in there. Building practical sets paid off. If it was built in a program it would have ruined it.
Narration: I can’t help but think this narration foreshadowed the whole story. This is the scene when Renate is narrating then at turns into her and Clark in her office. Renate: “We all have our loops. Our habits. Behaviours that keep us walking in circles. Reaching for the same solutions over, and over again. Thinking, each time, they’ll take us somewhere new. But they don’t. Instilled, is the neural pathway of least resistance, the path you made. It was the one that kept you safe as a child. You learnt to push people away, before they could hurt you. And now, as an adult, you’re still stuck, right where you started. Alone.” Then later she says “Why, did you do this to yourself? How did you get here? Your consciousness is a room full of memories that is constantly evolving. But as you walk through life, the untrained mind can start to build walls. Put up barriers. To protect itself from the outside world. It’s a natural response. Something we are often unaware of. But if gone unchecked, it can leave you feeling trapped. You can become convinced that the world outside is better off without you. That you never deserved the relationships you had. Resigned, to watch your life unfold from behind a long window. I can help you open it now. Because the window isn’t locked. The latch was never broken. Are you ready to step through? So that you can reclaim, that which was once yours. And take back control, of your life. The life you want to be living. Unburdened by the traumas of the past. Free of the confines, you had built. And free to choose a path of your own desire.” (At this point she sees a kid with parent). This advice from Renate is not only applicable to Clark, but also herself. And it also alludes to the nature of the Backrooms. It is very well done.
SUMMARY
More.
I want more.
I want to see this film more.
I want to see more of these films more.
