Backrooms - Movie Review

Added: 2026-05-31

[00:00:08]Back rooms is directed by Cain Parsons, comes from A24, and it's based off the internet phenomenon, and stars Chewel, Edgio, and Renata Reinfa. So, after a therapist's patient disappears into a dimension beyond reality, she must venture into the unknown to save him.

[00:00:24]So, the backrooms as a thing, as an internet lore, originated on 4chan.

[00:00:28]There was a post an image of a very creepy set of rooms and it kind of started this whole internet phenomenon in which people began to talk about being there and share stories there.

[00:00:38]Cain Parsons directed a very well-known series of short films on YouTube that were very popular and now he's getting the chance to be one of the youngest filmmakers ever to direct a feature film released in theaters. On that age, there's been quite a bit of discussion of it and I think most of that discussion has been I think it's great that someone this young is getting the chance to direct a feature film. And even if I didn't like this movie, which I do, I'd still think it's great. You need to be able to experience these types of things. And the whole like you got to be like 28 or 29 or whatever. Like it's just like it doesn't make any sense. I remember when might Shyamalan exploded on the scene with the six sense. He had already made a film out of college in the early 90s, Praying with Anger. And of course, he had made Wide Awake. He had written things like Steuart Little, but everyone kind of noticed him when he made his third movie, The Six Sense, and he was like 29. And people were like, "Oh my god, this guy is so young and he's at the Oscars." And times are changing. And I think it's absolutely wonderful. I really think that more filmmakers at a young age should be able to express themselves in this way and get these types of opportunities. This was a very fresh watch for me because I've never seen any of his short films before. I didn't really know about his series relating to the back room. So, this was entirely new to me. I of course knew of the feel and the general idea behind the back rooms, but this was all very new for me and I really thought it was exceptionally creepy and very well shot.

[00:02:00]The whole movie has a great way of making you feel unsettled and very very creeped out for the entire runtime because the the general idea of the back rooms is that once you're there, there is a sense of nostalgia, of longing, like you're experiencing a feeling you've known or something about it is connecting to you. It's making you feel kind of safe, like your problems don't matter anymore. It's lulling you into this state of euphoria in a way. And you really do feel that throughout the film, especially once Chittel's character gets involved with what's going on back there, and you can tell that it's affecting him in a way. And there's all kinds of films in which a place, a building, a room, you know, kind of makes someone feel like they belong, whether it's 1408 or The Shining. But this feels very special in that the architecture is so unique when you begin to realize that the rooms don't really make sense. There are structures in the rooms that shouldn't be there. Piles of clothes, piles of furniture. Something isn't lining up. And that makes you feel even more unsettled. And they just keep going. The rooms just keep going on and on. And it's that liinal space horror that of course has become very popular on the internet in in the creepy pasta world and it's done very effectively here. Kane obviously has a great eye.

[00:03:14]His DP Jeremy Cox also doing a magnificent job. His actors as well excellent. Chittel is so so good here.

[00:03:21]He really feels like that person who is slowly losing their mind. And every time he talks about what he's experiencing back there as well as things he experienced outside of the back rooms, you feel like you're watching a man who is on the edge. And that's just before he finds this hidden series of rooms in his furniture shop. You understand that even before all of that, this guy just needs one little push and he's going to go over the edge. What happens to him down there makes it all worse. But Ranata Reinfa is also really exceptional here. She plays a level-headed therapist who's been working with him for a long time. And as he begins to tell her about the things he's found underneath his furniture store, obviously any therapist would be like, "All right, I've got my work cut out for me." But as soon as she begins to experience these things herself, she is faced with having to come to terms with all of the science and belief that she has built in the human brain and how we interpret emotion. All of that kind of goes out of the window. The musical score is also fantastic. I found it extremely creepy.

[00:04:20]This film is definitely more open to interpretation than I think some general audiences might be willing to accept. I tend to appreciate movies like that as long as the emotion is there and I feel like I understand what the filmmaker is going for like in in my heart, you know, like I know like in my in my soul like what they were trying to say. But for some people, they're going to want some concrete answers and a little more finality. And this movie isn't too interested in that. And not just because it's the way the back rooms are. I think it's also trying to build out a world in which they can do more and explore more potentially in later films. It does feel like it's open for that. So, if you're looking for like really concrete answers like this is what it means, this is what it's about, this is what happened to them, there are going to be aspects of this film that disappoint you because it does want to activate your brain. It wants you to drive home feeling a little uncomfortable looking at that strange corner of your house differently. And there aren't too many jump scares either. I mean, like this isn't really that type of movie. It is trying to make you feel very strange and eerie. And I love that. I mean, that's like my I love it. It's my favorite type of thing. There are a couple really good scares though in the film and not just because they're loud or because there's a jump. Like there's some very effective imagery that I was thinking about and did give me goosebumps once which was really really cool. But it's just like I said in my review for Obsession. I am just incredibly happy right now and inspired that other artists from YouTube are getting a chance to shine on the big screen because I am finally noticing that we are getting closer and closer to a time period where it's not weird anymore for a YouTuber to get a film made and released in theaters. And I feel like we're there. You know, everything we've seen from Iron Lung to Obsession to this as well as the Philippo brothers and stuff they've done. This is just really great and it's going to forge that path further for everyone else and not just in the YouTube space but for younger filmmakers too who are trying to get their voices heard and feel like well I have to reach a certain age before somebody will take me seriously and a movie like this kind of proves that that's not necessarily the case and it's great. I'm really really inspired by that. I think it's awesome. So, if you like your horror very quiet, very subliminal, the type that creeps under your skin and stays there for a while, I think Back Rooms is going to be right up your alley. Guys, thank you so much as always for watching. Look forward to more videos very soon. And if you like this, you can click right here and get stuckmanized.