Backrooms Summary and Review - Disorientation, Emotion and the Strange Spaces in Between

Backrooms is a weird, mind‑bending and compelling psychological horror film from first‑time feature director Kane Parsons. Expanded from his earlier short‑form work on YouTube, the film dives into the unsettling feel of liminal spaces in a way that moves away from mainstream horror into something fresher and more modern.

After an opening that informs us the Backrooms have already been discovered before the events of this story, we are introduced to Clark, a man whose life is steadily falling apart. His marriage has disintegrated, his furniture business is failing and he’s spiralling into alcoholism. In an attempt to get back on track, he’s undergoing therapy with Mary Klein, a therapist grappling with a traumatic past of her own.

Their sessions are tense, with a clear sense that Mary has been over the same ground with Clark before with little progress. Through these exchanges, we learn how Clark has reached his current predicament and his situation has deteriorated to the point where he is living at his furniture store and reduced to filming cheap promotional videos to keep the business afloat.

Clark Investigates

One night, while investigating intermittent power problems that have plagued the store, he discovers a doorway into the Backrooms - a maze of endless office‑like corridors, harsh fluorescent lighting and off‑kilter geometry. He becomes fixated on the discovery and excitedly tells Mary. "I found a place" Clark tells her, which becomes a telling statement as the narrative unfolds.

Much to Clark’s frustration, Mary isn’t convinced - while trying to look as though she might be - and steers him toward the idea that it’s an illusion brought on by stress and an over‑active imagination. Clark insists he will provide proof and sets off to do so with a vigour that feels like the first real spark of purpose he’s had in a long time.

After some time passes and Clark doesn’t return for his appointments, Mary becomes concerned enough to investigate. When she visits his store, she also stumbles upon the Backrooms and begins a search of her own to find him. Like Clark, she finds herself captivated and drawn deeper into the Backrooms without any reliable way of finding her way back.

A Genuinely Unique Energy

The film’s tone and atmosphere are its strongest qualities. It has a genuinely unique energy - constantly uneasy, slightly bonkers and unpredictable enough that you’re never quite sure where it’s heading. The environmental design does much of the work: lighting, angles and strange perspectives create a strong sense of dislocation in unfamiliar territory. Unlike traditional horror settings, the environment is stripped of hiding places, and the viewer becomes aware that there's nowhere to find sanctuary, both physically and emotionally.

As well as using an unorthodox location as a horror setting, Parsons also manages to inject unconventionality into the scares. For example, the monster Mary and Clark encounter is both comedic and terrifying, providing an unexpected contrast that leaves you unsure how to react - but in a good way. This is supported by an excellent score, discordant and almost primeval, heightening tension without overwhelming the scenes.

A Powerful Emotional Tone

Parsons sets a powerful emotional tone and presents a clear picture of the characters' disordered lives without over‑explaining how they got there. Chiwetel Ejiofor's and Renate Reinsve's performances are excellent, portraying damaged characters whose outer layers are stripped back, exposing carefully disguised inner selves that give the story an unexpected rawness. The reprise of their discussion about the night Clark split with his wife works as a strong emotional set‑piece, with their dialogue and the careful use of flashbacks allowing you to fill in the back-story gaps yourself.

A good well-rounded horror film should also be thought‑provoking, and Parsons shows an impressive level of emotional maturity in how he handles the interactions between Mary and Clark. Their conversations prompted me to consider aspects of the human condition I hadn’t really thought about before, and the film pulls the viewer in different emotional directions without feeling exploitative. Nothing in this film is left to chance, and it’s easy to see why it sparked a huge wave of analysis and theory videos on YouTube, with people unpicking the symbolism and meaning behind even the smallest events.

It Falls a Little Short

Where Backrooms falls a little short is in its uneven pacing. The opening stretch is too slow, and the film overall runs longer than it needs to. While this does allow space for well‑crafted character development, it occasionally leaves you unsure whether you’re watching a horror film or a compelling human drama.

The threats inside the Backrooms aren’t always clearly defined - what they are, why they happen, or why certain characters are targeted - and the occasional hints at a government conspiracy don’t really lead anywhere. This may be an intentional device to reinforce the disorientation, but it means some events feel like they exist mainly to keep the plot moving rather than serving a clear purpose. 

An Impressive Achievement

For a debut feature, though, it’s an impressive achievement and, overall, more effective and satisfying than the similarly themed Exit 8 (see review here: Exit 8 Review). Backrooms succeeds as a stand‑out piece of psychological horror with a strong sense of atmosphere and character-driven core. It’s thought‑provoking, visually unsettling and possesses a unique identity. Despite some pacing issues and unclear narrative elements, it stands out as a remarkable debut and, unusually for a feature based on shorts, a memorable expansion of Parsons’ original concept.

★★★★☆ 

Characters and Production

Clark: Chiwetel Ejiofor Mary Klein: Renate Reinsve Phil: Mark Duplass Bobby: Finn Bennett Kat: Lukita Maxwell

Writer: Will Soodik Director: Kane Parsons Year of Release: 2026 Runtime: 110 minutes