Movie Review - Backrooms

Director: Kane Parsons
Genre: Horror
Runtime: 126 minutes
Year: 2026
Starring: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Renate Reinsve, Mark Duplass, Finn Bennett, Lukita Maxwell
 
Description: Clark (Chiwetel Ejiofor), an angry architect, chases the source of impossible power failures when a glowing gap opens in his basement, but the yelloe maze beyond it threatens his sanity, his friends and Mary (Renate Reinsve).
 
Review: “Backrooms” is the ‘what they fuck did I just watch’ movie of the year. It’s a masterful, claustrophobic triumph that rewrites the rules of the horror genre. With his sensational theatrical debut, director Kane Parsons, just 20 years old, proves that scary stories on the internet can be transformed into pure, groundbreaking cinema.
 
The film is set in the 1990s. Clark is a frustrated furniture store owner and he discovers an impossible, glowing opening in his basement. Curious, he steps over the threshold, only to vanish without a trace into a seemingly endless, otherworldly labyrinth of yellowed office hallways and fluorescent lighting. When the distraught therapist Dr. Mary Kline set out to investigate, she is sucked deep into this eerie, liminal dimension. She must fight not only against the bizarre, distorted rules of reality, but also against the elusive, malevolent entity lurking in the shadows.
 
With a modest budget, A24 has delivers an audiovisual masterpiece that will haunt your mind for days to come. What began as a viral YouTube series by Parsons has evolved on the big screen into a terrifyingly tangible nightmare. The massive, custom-built set pays off immediately: the desolation of the spaces feels oppressively real. The cinematography and sound design are simply brilliant; the constant, monotonous hum of the lights and the unpredictable visual glitches build psychological tension that becomes almost unbearable.
 
The acting elevates the film to an even higher level. Renate Reinsve and Chiwetel Ejiofor deliver intense, layered performances.
 
“Backroom” is not a cheap jump scare movie, but leans heavily on the surreal, oppressive atmosphere that gives you an unsettling feeling throughout the entire film. An absolute must-watch for horror fans.
 
Rating: 4,5/ 5