Score: ★★★ 1/2★ (3 1/2 - out of 5)
Backrooms
A Disturbing, Atmosphere-Driven master class in liminal Creepiness
Directed by Kane Parsons (2026)
Stats
- Release Date: May 29, 2026
- Rotten Tomatoes: 90%
- Letterboxd: 3.5
- Runtime: 105 minutes
Official Synopsis
A strange doorway appears in the basement of a furniture showroom. After a therapist's patient disappears into a dimension beyond reality, she must venture into the unknown to save him.
Ensemble
- Chiwetel Ejiofor as Clark
- Renate Reinsve as Mary
- Mark Duplass as Phil
🏗️ Architects
- Director: Kane Parsons
- Writers: Kane Parsons, Will Soodik
- Producers: James Wan, Shawn Levy, Osgood Perkins, Dan Cohen, Dan Levine, Michael Clear
- Cinematographer: Jeremy Cox
- Production Designer: Patrice Vermette
- Art Director: Alan Derksen
- Executives in Charge of Production: Jes Anderson (A24), Corey Deckler
- Creative Executive: Lucas Ford (21 Laps)
- Production Manager: Adrian Cox
- Executive in Charge of Post Production: Brian Hayashi (A24)
- Post Production Supervisor: Andy Levine
🔒 Production Vault
- Technical Specs: Dolby Atmos Digital Sound, Widescreen Framing, 105 Minutes
- Rating: Rated R for terror and pervasive language
- Budget: Estimated under 10 million dollars
- Locations: British Columbia, Canada
- Behind the Lens: Director Kane Parsons transitioned his viral digital shorts into a full feature by constructing a massive 30,000 square foot practical set instead of relying entirely on green screens. The maze of yellow walls was built inside a studio space to anchor the isolating, suffocating environment for the cast.
ℹ️ Production Info
- Production Companies: Atomic Monster, 21 Laps Entertainment, Chernin Entertainment, North Road Films, Oddfellows Pictures, Phobos
- Theatrical Distributor: A24
- Source Material: Based on the viral "Kane Pixels" YouTube analog horror universe and internet creepypasta
Ray's Review Section
The Backrooms features some of the most notoriously talented horror creatives supporting the project, with Osgood Perkins and James Wan helping shepherd 20-year-old newcomer Kane Parsons in his impressive directorial debut. Although thin on story, the film is an unsettling masterclass in atmospheric dread and liminal creepiness. Born out of YouTube shorts and creepypasta message boards, the concept grew virally, creating suspense and horror through endless hallways and nonsensical, abandoned rooms that stretch infinitely in different directions. When trying to analyze the root of this horror, I naively dismissed the concept as millennials harboring an inherent fear of office environments. However, after experiencing the full feature, I realized the story taps into the core fear of getting lost in a labyrinth, alone, disoriented, and left with your own psychological fears and imagination.The film benefits greatly from a serious handling of the material, featuring no intentional humor to keep the tension high, while a strange feeling of hopelessness and depression permeates the screen. For me, the most effective horror elements of the film came from the found-footage style portion of the presentation; the grainy, VHS-style format really lends itself beautifully to the atmosphere. Although it is not quite as emotional or cathartic as something like The Blair Witch Project, there is a chillingly sterile, clinical, and cold presentation here that heavily adds to the overall dread. The two main characters, played strongly by Renate Reinsve and Chiwetel Ejiofor, are both mentally struggling and lost in their lives. Ejiofor's character is especially grasping at straws, forced to live at his struggling furniture store after a marital separation, while Reinsve plays a therapist trying to help him navigate the trauma of the breakup. Things spiral when Ejiofor discovers a hidden entry to the Backrooms. Despite the originality of the premise, the film still utilizes effective tropes to boost the horror quotient. While it isn't a jump-scare fest, a few are present; however, much of the tension is left to the viewer’s imagination, which proves more terrifying than the reality of endless halls. There is also something else lurking down there that leans into traditional horror, including a tribute to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre* that audiences will easily recognize. Kudos to both performers; while it is unsurprising to see actors of this caliber turn in great work, they truly commit to the concept. It perhaps helps that neither has a history in the horror genre, meaning they bring no inherent baggage, only serious dramatic resumes that ground the surreal premise in stark realism.For such a simple premise, it is surprising how much tension can be wrung out of the narrative. While I wouldn't call the film terrifying by any stretch of the imagination, *The Backrooms* possesses an effectively disturbing creepiness that lingers with the viewer. The film refuses to provide the audience with comfort, hope, or any concrete answers, offering disturbing theories rather than explaining why things are the way they are. This isn’t a fun ride for anyone, not for the characters, and certainly not for the audience. Instead, it is a disturbing, unending, and meandering nightmare of pure atmosphere and dread.
Final Verdict
Score: ★★★ 1/2★ (3 1/2 - out of 5)
The Backrooms is a disturbing, unending, and meandering nightmare of pure atmosphere and dread. While it stays thin on narrative and refuses to offer the audience any comfortable answers, its chilling, clinical found-footage presentation and deeply committed dramatic performances elevate it into an incredibly effective masterclass in liminal creepiness. It is not a fun ride, but its haunting visual aesthetic will linger with you long after the credits roll.
💡 Expanded Fun Facts
- At just 20 years old, Kane Parsons stands as the youngest feature film director in the history of A24.
- While the original viral YouTube shorts were animated digitally in Blender, this cinematic version constructed a massive physical maze of yellow walls where crew members frequently became lost.
- Co-star Mark Duplass publicly defended the young filmmaker against internet skepticism, confirming Parsons maintained complete control of the set.
- Parsons fully pre-visualized and mapped out every camera path and frame alignment inside Blender before physical construction began.
- The project attracted an elite team of horror producers, including James Wan, Osgood Perkins, and Shawn Levy, to mentor the young filmmaker.
