The concept of Backrooms began as an internet creepypasta on 4chan, which director Kane Parsons then turned into a viral YouTube video series when he was only teenager. Of course, Hollywood studios eventually took notice and tapped him into making it into a feature film, with big names like James Wan, Shawn Levy and Osgood Perkins serving as producers. Although Will Soodik’s screenplay could use more work, Parsons’ masterful control over the film’s atmosphere and its creeping sense of dread, in addition to the superb production design, makes Backrooms such a nightmare fuel of an experience.

To give you a basic idea, the “Backrooms” is an extradimensional space of liminal spaces, portrayed as an endless maze of empty office spaces, some containing malformed furniture, hovered by the constant buzzing of fluorescent lights. In Clark’s (Chiwetel Ejiofor) own words, it’s like describing a dog to someone who’s never seen one and asking them to draw it. They’d probably get most of it right, but something would always be off. What seems mundane at first quickly becomes an unsettling system of increasingly weird but familiar places, imperfect mirror images of our reality.

Set in 1990, Clark accidentally enters the Backrooms when he discovers an anomaly on the wall in the basement of his struggling furniture store. He begins curiously mapping out the area, eventually convincing his employees Kat (Lukita Maxwell) and Bobby (Finn Bennett) to come with him and document their discovery with a camcorder. Things don’t go well, of course, as the group finds out they’re not alone.

Parsons and cinematographer Jeremy Cox have cleverly crafted a couple of POV sequences, and Backrooms is at its scariest during those scenes. Instead of resorting to predictable jumpscares, Parsons understands that a gradual buildup of dread and tension, combined with a sinister score, simply works more effectively. The endless corridors, hallways, and doors of the Backrooms are mesmerizing as they are terrifying, and also lends to how our curiosity will naturally want to know what’s around the corner. I can’t help but wonder if it would’ve served the film better if Backrooms just employed the found footage perspective all the way. The fault of Soodik’s script is it’s trying too hard to explain things, forcing logic into a concept that inherently defies it. Clark and his therapist Dr. Mary Kline (Renate Reinsve), despite being well performed by the actors, disappointingly fall into horror cliches as well.

Nevertheless, Backrooms is a strong feature debut from Parsons, successfully creating an eerie atmosphere that effortlessly grips you. Along with Obsession, horror is undeniably having a nice streak of hits from fresh creators recently, and it’s safe to say the future of the genre is in good hands with these filmmakers.

Rating:

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.