Backrooms (2026) - Review

Director Kane Parson's brings his web series phenomenon to the big screen with a bang, blowing our minds with a narrative/found footage formula that engages and grips from minute one.

Backrooms follows Clark (Chiwetel Ejiofor), a furniture store manager as he navigates his trauma and relationships with his therapist Mary (Renate Reinsve). Both Ejiofor and Reinsve give unsettling performances that feel true to the atmosphere of the film, yet slightly off which only adds to the vibe throughout.

Backrooms is at its best when its drip feeding you subtle hints and letting the mystery soak in, it gives you feeling that you are getting closer to understanding it, then throws a curveball and puts you right back to where you were…uncomfortable. Similarly to the curse in Incantation (2022), the Backrooms keeps the dread creeping in and slowly dialling up throughout. Whereas Incantation's final act and crescendo pay the viewer off with an absolute and absurdly sinister implication, Backrooms leaves the viewer without resolution of the world we have entered but ties up the characters arcs. This approach worked for me, I found myself very disturbed throughout and still disturbed by the time the credits rolled into the extended footage.

The set design is nothing short of incredible, giving the perfect liminal look causing an already unsettling atmosphere to be that bit more uncomfortable. The costume design sticks the landing too, with a certain character standing out as one of the uncanniest things I have ever seen…making lamps and red hair scarier than the entire plot of Shelby Oaks (2024). The sound design is brilliant and works well in the places they needed it to, the heavy breathing, the groans and worst of all the horrifying sounds of the average office environment never fail to send a shiver down your spine…showing the world what office workers really go through on the day to day, damn those flicking lights and creaky doors and take that blue collar workers!

What works the best, is the previously mentioned switches to found footage format; though they're intense throughout one scene rattled me. The Christmas tree scene was the highlight of the found footage segments, with an intense chase and the familiar disorientating found footage style whilst also framing the important parts perfectly, it hits a home run. What makes this so brilliant is all the elements previously mentioned come together in this scary and thrilling sequence, that holds no punches and ensures the viewer is left shaking like a Pomeranian when nature calls.…Christmas trees will never be the same again especially if it has a lamp near it. NO THANK YOU.

Whilst Backrooms isn't a perfect movie, it takes a swing and for the most part hits it.

With a few familiar faces cropping up along the way, a for the most part tight script and a set design that speaks volumes of the effort a love put into the movie. Backrooms holds tension and keeps it there, ensuring the viewer feels every ounce it. Backrooms enters this already phenomenal year for horror as a strong contender and holds its own well against the heavier hitters and bigger budget blockbusters.

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Blake Reilly