It cannot be understated before discussing the qualities and shortcomings of Backrooms, the magnitude of the achievement Kane Parsons has achieved. Transforming an internet creepy pasta into a YouTube sensation drowning in lore and a loyal following, and then translating that world into an A24-produced horror smash hit is nothing but impressive. If you then add in the fact that he’s only 20 years old into the mix, the achievement is even more dumbfounding.
The world of Backrooms is eerie, grounded and yet otherworldly. The liminal spaces contain regular office rooms stuffed with tiny details that make them feel ever so slightly ‘off’ so that you can’t help but feel creeped out. This is heightened when mixed with the off-putting score that soundtracks Clark and Mary’s journeys into the Backrooms.
This isn’t a horror film that relies on traditional jump scares, but it does rely on your expectation of them. The vibe that’s created in the space creates a tense air, where you are waiting for the creepy monster that must be coming, because this is a horror movie and that is what they do. Some horror films may lose an audience by not letting the tension crescendo reach its peak. However, Parsons’ direction and pacing mean the constantly rising stress keeps the audience on the edge of its seat instead.
Parsons has already developed a fantastic aptitude for world-building, at least where Backrooms is concerned. This may be partially due to the years he’s spent building out the concept prior to his feature debut, but it’s clear he has a great mind for the visual. Everything in the frame feels intentional, visceral and believable, even in a place that feels so ‘wrong’ to the eye. Demonstrating this level of skill not only in your debut feature but at the age of 20 should be commended.
Sadly, with inexperience come pitfalls. At 20, it would be impossible to expect Parsons to be a master of all his elements. Therefore, while the world itself is a (horrific) joy to behold, the story existing within it does fall flat. It’s a struggle to connect with the overall narrative and characters in Backrooms, despite strong performances, most notably from Chiwetel Ejiofor.
The film follows Clark, a failed architect turned struggling furniture salesman. A divorced alcoholic, he attends therapy sessions with Renate Reinsve’s Dr Mary Kline. As his mental health spirals, becoming more irritable and reclusive, Clark discovers a door to the Backrooms and becomes obsessed with their labyrinthian pathways. Ejiofor’s performance is the highlight of the acting on display, an offering that is at first sad and sympathetic and quickly crumbles into a twisted psychosis that highlights how much loneliness and insecurity can attack us.
Ejiofor’s performance is great, but his character’s progression is one of the key elements that falls flat, as mentioned previously. The turn the character takes in its final act is at most lightly hinted at and doesn’t feel fully served by the script. Ejiofor is doing the best he can with the material, but its depth feels very surface-level and unearned, which is an element that Parsons and his writing partner Will Soodik could have fleshed out better. While I enjoyed Ejiofor’s erratic performance, the delivery didn’t come together for me.
Some horror films may lose an audience by not letting the tension crescendo reach its peak. However, Parsons’ direction and pacing mean the constantly rising stress keeps the audience on the edge of its seat instead.
Unfortunately, Renate Reinsve’s Mary Kline falls short on both performance and writing. It’s a shame to say, as Reinsve is one of the best actresses working at present, especially following stellar work in Sentimental Value.
It may seem like a nitpick, but Reinsve’s accent work bothered me. Kline is established as a character that resided in the US since childhood; her mother has an American accent. So the choice for Reinsve to maintain a strong hint of Norwegian in her accent was slightly baffling. It may be a small detail, but it is one that’s important when building out a believable character.
The character’s place in the narrative also underwhelms. At first, as Clark’s therapist, she serves simply as a conduit to Clark’s struggles and insecurities. There’s a fractious relationship there between the two, typical of an older man reluctantly giving therapy a try to test if it works. And to that degree, they play off each other very well. However, Kline’s decision to enter the Backrooms feels a little moot. While, as Clark’s therapist, there’s a duty of care, you never get a sense that Mary cares enough about Clark to investigate his disappearance.
As she enters the Backrooms, the only explanation I can reasonably understand as to why she’d stay is morbid curiosity or the hypnotic aura of the world there. Anyone else with the lack of care for Clark that Kline has would likely back out of that place at the first opportunity, unless completely transfixed. Thankfully, Parsons’ world he’s manufactured does help bridge that gap of believability.
Eventually, when Clark and Mary are reunited, they have a confrontation that hardly feels earned. The story feels like we’ve missed about 4 or 5 therapy sessions too many to fully believe the animosity they hold towards each other. The confrontation isn’t just charged because of Clark’s turn, but also their resentment to each other, which isn’t really felt. From this moment, the film really starts to falter. The horrors Mary is witnessing don’t feel scary in her performance, and she merely looks flustered as she attempts to flee the Backrooms.
Unfortunately, the film also feels like it doesn’t have enough time to really investigate Kline’s past and troubled childhood, and simply takes advantage of her past trauma to create interesting imagery, rather than actually serving the character. Although that imagery does deliver, especially the final shot, which I won’t spoil here.
Luckily, the concept of the ending is intriguing. Async’s investigation and meddling within the Backrooms are curious and make the audience wonder what other monsters they may have found down there. It’s well established that the Backrooms are a world built on fractured memory, the physical manifestation of the missed details of old thoughts we all get now and again. It’s why Clark fits in so well there; he already has a warped memory of how his life and marriage broke down. The ‘warped memory’ concept allows Parsons great flexibility in how messed up the imagery can be, but also leaves lots of scope to see what else Async have discovered in their investigations. It has left a lot of interesting possibilities for the now-confirmed sequel.
Parsons is clearly talented, and his vision and direction help maintain a level of quality in Backrooms. Unfortunately, his storytelling clearly needs some growth, especially in his character work. While that doesn’t all fall on him, given the script’s severe shortcomings, Parsons has some clear areas for improvement. However, I see that not as a downfall, but as an exciting prospect. If Parsons can get his stories and characters to the same level of quality as his visual identity and world-building, we could have one of the next great directors on our hands.
★★★
