06/14/2026
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Director Kane Parsons
Writers Roberto Patino, Will Soodik
Cast Chiwetel Ejiofor, Renate Reinsve, Mark Duplass, Finn Bennett, Lukita Maxwell
Currently in theaters.
A failed architect turned used furniture salesman finds a seemingly ever-changing and never-ending series of rooms when he accidentally falls through the wall of his basement. As he explores the unexplained rooms beyond the wall, two things become apparent: something is not quite right in the space, and the rooms might not be as empty as he believed.
To start, I want to say that I am so impressed with Kane Parsons and happy to see him continue the trend of YouTuber turned Horror Hitmaker. The next generation of spooky cinema is in good hands.
Now, with that being said, this was not as smooth a landing in my opinion as some of the others this year. Mainly for me, the issue lies not with the Backrooms, which I found to be a tremendously interesting concept and thought was executed brilliantly by young Parsons, but instead with the human elements of the film. Our two lead characters, played by Chiwetel Ejiofor and Renate Reinsve (who are both fantastic veterans of the screen), were just completely unlikable for me. I found Clark (Chiwetel Ejiofor) to be self-indulgent and whiny, while Mary (Renate Reinsve) I thought really didn't serve the story much and didn't require the choppy backstory she got. Since the film had two lead actors I couldn't connect with or care for, that made the beginning drag for me as they established themselves. Once we got past that and found ourselves fully entrenched in the backrooms and trying to figure out this maze beyond the wall, the film jumped exponentially. From here, you can really see Parsons' brilliance, as I feel the rooms themselves were the most well-written character in the film. Sadly, it just couldn't overcome the early blunders of poor character building.
In conclusion, the Backrooms is still a great jump-off point for the budding career of Parsons, but I just couldn't connect with or find value in either lead.
3 👻 out of 5