Backrooms Absolutely Humiliates Modern Hollywood

Overview

The review argues that Backrooms and Obsession—low-budget horror films made by online creators—are finding audiences while expensive Hollywood productions struggle. It presents Backrooms as evidence that viewers may be hungry for inventive, passionate entertainment rather than enormous budgets and promotional campaigns.

Story

Based on the internet creepypasta and directed by 20-year-old YouTuber Kane Parsons, Backrooms follows Clark, a struggling furniture-store owner who discovers an endless, uncanny maze behind a wall in his basement. His therapist, Mary, and others become involved as Clark tries to explore and understand the place.

What Works

The reviewer’s strongest praise is for the film’s atmosphere. Its bright, sterile rooms and corridors feel familiar yet profoundly wrong, creating unease through disorientation and the suggestion of unseen dangers rather than relying on conventional horror settings. Practical sets help make the environment feel tangible.

The review also commends the performances of Chiwetel Ejiofor and Renate Reinsve. It finds Clark’s rational urge to understand an irrational place compelling, and argues that the film’s character-focused approach to the Backrooms lore works, even if it may frustrate purists.

Reservation

After a slow, intriguing buildup, the finale becomes a comparatively familiar monster chase through a maze.

Verdict

Overall, the reviewer recommends Backrooms as an ambitious, effective example of the kind of independent filmmaking audiences need more of.

Credits

• Presenter: The Critical Drinker
• Film contributors mentioned: Kane Parsons, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Renate Reinsve