‘Backrooms’ A Bold, Eerie Horror Debut Worth the Hype
It’s easy to find flaws in “Backrooms,” the directorial debut of YouTube-trained Kane Parsons.
It’s better to imagine what this 20-year-old wunderkind might do next. If he makes more movies as inventive, creepy and fresh as “Backrooms,” horror fans will be more than satisfied.
They’ll be ecstatic.
The film bears a strong arthouse vibe, one suggesting a seasoned soul behind the camera. Parsons age is what it is, but what we see on screen is something consequential. This director understands why minor details matter, sometimes even more than the major set pieces.
It’s why this small but probing story will stick with you for some time.
Chiwetel Ejiofor stars as Clark, a furniture store owner with a rage that bubbles just beneath the surface. He’s in therapy to process his failed marriage, and his therapist Dr. Mary Kline (Renate Reinsve), suggests a role -playing exercise that proves … revealing.
It doesn’t take much digging to let Clark’s fury surface, but he’s soon more preoccupied with something else.
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His furniture warehouse or, at the very least, its substandard electrical system, is driving him to drink. Clark discovers something else within the building, a wall that allows him to glide into a separate series of rooms as if an invisible door beckoned him.
To say more would spoil what follows. Just know it may not make sense, but the film’s sense of narrative disruption is never less than pristine.
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“Backrooms” is shrewd enough to add both texture and storytelling tics to make this world feel real yet wobbly. We’re also privy to smaller character tells that ground the experience.
Parsons and screenwriter Will Soodik uncork a silly TV commercial where Clark yuks it up as a wily pirate pushing his furniture shop. It’s funny by itself, but its placement in the story proves less than random.
That sturdy approach exists throughout the film, even if we rightly fear the disparate dots won’t be connected to our satisfaction. Better to let the film’s creep factor wash over you, inch by inch, while the threat level quietly spikes.
Clear that armrest space. You’ll be gripping it shortly.
The ensuing scares are remarkable and raw, resembling nothing we’ve seen before. The movie’s “found footage” elements are another story, as is a prelude that isn’t as effective as needed.
What should have started “Backrooms” with a bang reminds us why found footage went the way of 3D films and pagers.
Visually, the film didn’t break anyone’s bank, but the resources marshalled to tell this tale are never flimsy or distracting. This is a world of consequence, a bleak landscape brimming with muted colors, discarded furniture and the impression that the creators aren’t too keen on talk therapy.
Or is something else at play? Just know Parsons co-created the eerie soundtrack, another way “Backrooms” burrows into the genre.
Some subplots never explain themselves, and a bit part by indie darling Mark Duplass feels unfinished, albeit undeniably disturbing.
Then again, so is everything else in Parsons’ funhouse mirror of a movie.
HiT or Miss: “Backrooms” will strike some as maddening, but few will deny its ability to demand our attention … and keep it.
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