Backrooms is a Nightmare for the Digital Age

The internet is a liminal space.

It mimics reality, distorts memory, and provides an endless loop of discoveries to get lost in. You will interact with people on the internet, thousands of people in fact, but you’re not truly sharing a space with them. These people manifest themselves into a string of loose thoughts and performance that overshadows any humanity that is lying behind the screen. So, it’s no surprise that liminal spaces have become a point of fascination for many internet users.

By far, the most infamous “liminal space” is the Backrooms. The concept of the Backrooms, originating from a simple image of an uncanny office building, exists in many different forms. Everywhere, from Reddit threads to Roblox, they have captured the imagination of many online circles.

I’m sure most of the people reading this knew what the Backrooms were to some capacity, but where they found it will differ wildly from person-to-person. There are dozens of subcommunities dedicated to discussing different interpretations of this concept. The one version of the Backrooms that has cemented itself as at least a starting point was a web series created by an ambitious (and at the time, 16-year-old) YouTuber by the name of Kane Parsons (under the handle: Kanepixels).

I didn’t have much of a relationship with The Backrooms prior to A24 and Atomic Monster announcing a feature-film version. I had seen the original image and was aware of the Kane Pixel web series, but I never felt compelled enough to dive in. Something about it struck me as juvenile. I lumped it into the same bucket as children’s horror properties like Five Nights at Freddy’s, where I recognized it as decent gateway horror but assumed it was too immature for my tastes.

Boy, was I wrong.

After catching wind of some (frankly outrageous) rumors that Kane Parsons had not actually directed the Backrooms film. This compelled me to finally check out his YouTube series— I was blown away by how singular and assured it was. It takes clear inspiration from the likes of David Lynch and early 2000s found footage, yet still feels perfect for our current cultural moment. It feels like footage ripped straight from a Gen Z kid’s nightmare. These shorts aren’t perfect; some moments feel like cheap video game cutscenes, and the scares can fall into some student-film style traps, but Parsons undoubtedly had a great foundation to work with. He obviously had a vision for this world, and now A24 had put the ball in his court to fully realize it.

Does he succeed? I think so, for the most part.

For better or worse, Backrooms is dripping with ideas. Every scene presents something thematic to chew on, but often leaves meat on the bone when it comes to actual story/character progression. Clark (Chiwetel Ejiofor) is almost an intriguing protagonist. His palpable loneliness and obsession with the titular Backrooms make him an easy character to follow, but I found myself wishing for a deeper investigation into him that the film never gave me.

Clark’s therapist, Mary (Renate Reinsve), is more fleshed out; unfortunately, her presence is pretty scattered and inconsistent. I like what they did with her backstory and wish that the film had explored more of it. There are a lot of parallels to be made between the Backrooms and the current state of mental health care that feel like missed opportunities.

The film is about the fake lives we must keep up with to maintain our actual survival. Whether that be due to capitalism, the internet, or just simply to impress others, we all own a few costumes, whether we want to admit it or not. Clark’s grizzly fate at the hands of his own ‘copy’ displays this idea perfectly. Clark wants to remain in the Backrooms because there, he doesn’t have to change. It’s not until his worst instincts and behaviors (literally and metaphorically) consume him that he realizes. By then, it’s far too late.

This climactic moment and the chase that ensues are great, but we definitely skipped some steps to get there. The biggest flaw that I can attribute to this film is its lack of patience. There’s a strong desire to get us from moment to moment that can take the eeriness down a peg. Certain scenes don’t get enough time to breathe before they are flipped on their head. Clark’s heel turn in particular could have used more detail. As is, it just feels half-baked and out of nowhere.

Where Backrooms may lack in character development, it more than makes up for it with atmosphere. This film is doing its best work when it gets to play in the Backrooms. You can see how comfortable Parsons is in this sandbox. I particularly liked the found footage segments that take place in these liminal spaces. They place you right in the character’s shoes during this almost Kubrickian journey through a distorted reality.

The use of space here, even when we’re not in the Backrooms, is impressive. The whole film has an uncomfortably liminal feel to it that gives the entire film a sense of dread. This film feels so uniquely generational in a way that doesn’t date it or make it feel juvenile, like the Minecraft movie or Five Nights at Freddy’s. Backrooms has a point of view and is expressing a particular brand of loneliness. Parsons clearly understands this mood and how to build a scare— if he can hone those instincts and learn a bit of patience, he will be a filmmaker to watch for decades to come.

Thank you so much for reading! If you want more of my thoughts on 2026 releases, check out my reviews on Obsession and Michael!