Translating an internet legend to the big screen is a huge challenge, but A24 and director Kane Parsons managed to nail the creepy aesthetic of the famous "Backrooms." By relying heavily on practical effects rather than just green screens, they made the endless yellow maze feel incredibly real, dirty, and deeply claustrophobic. The visual design is the true star here, perfectly capturing that weird liminal space vibe where everything looks familiar but feels fundamentally wrong. Parsons shows surprising maturity as a young director, using steady camera work and patience to build a genuinely oppressive atmosphere right from the opening scene.
The movie’s unsettling vibe is heavily boosted by its brilliant sound design and strong lead performances. The constant, annoying hum of the old fluorescent lights slowly chips away at your sanity, and when the movie suddenly shifts to dead silence, the tension becomes almost unbearable. On the acting side, Chiwetel Ejiofor does some heavy lifting acting against basically nothing, using his body language to perfectly portray a man losing his mind in isolation. Renate Reinsve also shines as his therapist, bringing a much-needed touch of humanity and warmth that contrasts beautifully with the cold, lifeless hallways.
Unfortunately, the movie stumbles hard when it comes to the script and pacing. Stretching a minimalist concept into a two-hour runtime creates a massive drag in the middle, turning what should be terrifying into something kind of boring and repetitive. The film also falls into the modern trap of trying to force a deep, intellectual metaphor about trauma, which just slows the story down. Worse yet, they decided to actually show the threat—a generic CGI monster that completely ruins the mysterious, existential dread the empty rooms had already built up so well. Because the main character isn't given much of a personality, it eventually becomes hard to stay emotionally invested in his survival.
The ending only adds to the frustration, wrapping things up abruptly while clearly planting seeds for future sequels instead of giving us a satisfying, standalone conclusion. It feels a bit like a corporate cash-grab trying to turn a weird, anonymous internet mystery into a predictable movie franchise. Still, even with these glaring issues, the jump from YouTube to a Hollywood feature is an impressive technical achievement. It is definitely worth seeing on the biggest screen you can find, just to experience the incredible visuals and sound for yourself, as the sheer dread of those endless yellow rooms might hit you completely differently.