Written by Cameron Geiser

Directed by twenty year old Youtuber Kane Parsons, Backrooms is an adaptation of Parsons’ YouTube series creation alongside the popularity of the video game versions of Backrooms popularized by other Youtubers like Markiplier who made headlines of his own earlier this year with his film adaptation of Iron Lung, also based on a video game. We live in strange times. Fascinating times even. When this article is being written the weekend box office is about to be dominated by two Youtuber-led films with a Star Wars film in its second weekend about to take third place! Oh Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu, if only you had come out after the first or second season of the show, we might have cared more or given less scrutiny at the height of your popularity. All of this is to say that we might be on the precipice of a change in Hollywood. Perhaps more of a focus on lower budgeted, creative-led stories, and a democratization of filmmaking? Who knows? It certainly seems like better things are possible.

As for Backrooms itself, I must say what a fine first feature! Parsons clearly has an eye and ear tuned for nightmarish noises and abstract visualization. If you’re not aware of the concept at hand, Backrooms is about a place that Clark (Chiwetel Ejiofor), a drunk and failed architect turned furniture salesman, comes across in his store one day. After noticing power outages plaguing the lower level of his store Clark steps into another world, one of endless hallways and mostly empty rooms- all clad in an endlessly repeating sickly yellow wallpaper. As he maps out the otherworldly space he tries to explain it to his therapist, Mary (Renate Reinsve). She mostly disregards the high fantasy of what he’s saying while trying to help forge some stability in Clark’s life after his divorce. We get just enough characterization for both Mary and Clark to be invested in their journey, but with enough mystery left to keep things interesting.

*Backrooms* delivers after much anticipation, hype, and intrigue has circled its release for months.

Which is mostly why Backrooms works as well as it does. Mystery. Anticipation. Tension. This film is end to end filled with a thick atmosphere that you can almost feel constricting your very breath while watching it. Being set in the 1990’s also helps with a variety of shots done by clunky handheld video cameras with those ‘less than clear’ visuals that aid in making things even creepier than they already are. In fact, the very analog nature of the film and how it was made very much adds to the immersion of this parallel realm of madness. Kane Parsons and company really built the Backrooms into a physical set that the film cast and crew reportedly got lost in more than once. That and the sound design is precisely poised to unnerve the audience for a majority of the runtime.

Of course this claustrophobic nightmare wouldn’t be nearly as enthralling if it were not for Chiwetel Ejiofor and Renate Reinsve’s performances. They are given just enough personality and consideration so that when these two descend into this nightmare, we are invested in and through them as both characters and audience surrogates. Exploring this unknowable place one after the other is strange enough, but once they discover that they aren’t the only ones in the Backrooms- that’s when things get really spicy. I highly recommend this one folks, it’s something new from a fresh cinematic voice. Check it out!

Cameron Geiser is an avid consumer of films and books about filmmakers. He'll watch any film at least once, and can usually be spotted at the annual Traverse City Film Festival in Northern Michigan. He also writes about film over at www.spacecortezwrites.com.