Backrooms (A24)

3/10.

The start was super solid and strong. I was straight away into the movie and excited to see what was next. But nothing ever arrived. We saw the same sort of 3 things time. It hinted at more to find out and explanations, with the scientists in particular being dropped so quickly and briefly, it felt it was setting up for some explanation, but nope, nothing.

Shame as it was original, but that's about it
 
unwashed potato! said:
3/10.

The start was super solid and strong. I was straight away into the movie and excited to see what was next. But nothing ever arrived. We saw the same sort of 3 things time. It hinted at more to find out and explanations, with the scientists in particular being dropped so quickly and briefly, it felt it was setting up for some explanation, but nope, nothing.

Shame as it was original, but that's about it
Click to expand...

Have a look at the spoiler I made here in this thread, as I think the aspect of it I refer to adds considerable depth.
 
Last edited:
unwashed potato! said:
Thanks. Even if correct, which is a fine reason, I don't like movies where you need to essentially write the story yourself too much to fill in the gaps.
Click to expand...

I generally agree with your sentiment, although I think this is more true for ‘character actions + plot actions’ than ‘themes and messages’, which are better off being more subtle.

I think that the aspect of Backrooms in discussion falls into the latter category, and it’s strong on this, but as per my posts above I do think the film is a bit lacking on ‘character / plot actions side’ and I can see people being prone to thinking: “… is that it??”
 
Just saw it 8/10

I liked it but yeah it was very shallow on the details.

My wife hated it lol, all we got on the way home was why this, why that? Fair tbh. The film is extremely sparse on any real reasons why anything exists maybe a few lines to explain everything lol.

As a science fiction lover I can easily fill in gaps and explain things but I can see this being total Marmite.

It certainly gets weird at the end.

Tbh I liked it because it was different.
 
Last edited:
Debating whether to go and see this at the cinema, as it's still showing at my local at the moment. I have no background of the YouTube series that this is based on (from what I briefly read) at all, but I'm slightly interested in the story.

I was pretty much definite about Obsession, although I'm aware comparing the two is apples and oranges, but I'm slightly on the fence whether I'd enjoy Backrooms or not.

@Nitefly cinema worthy you think?
 
Last edited:
Nabinium said:
Debating whether to go and see this at the cinema, as it's still showing at my local at the moment. I have no background of the YouTube series that this is based on (from what I briefly read) at all, but I'm slightly interested in the story.

I was pretty much definite about Obsession, although I'm aware comparing the two is apples and oranges, but I'm slightly on the fence whether I'd enjoy Backrooms or not.

@Nitefly cinema worthy you think?
Click to expand...
I enjoyed it never knew what i was about to watch. :cool:
 
Nabinium said:
Debating whether to go and see this at the cinema, as it's still showing at my local at the moment. I have no background of the YouTube series that this is based on (from what I briefly read) at all, but I'm slightly interested in the story.

I was pretty much definite about Obsession, although I'm aware comparing the two is apples and oranges, but I'm slightly on the fence whether I'd enjoy Backrooms or not.

@Nitefly cinema worthy you think?
Click to expand...

You don’t need to have knowledge of the YouTube series.

If you’re up for something different, and would rather risk your enjoyment than see ‘more of the same’, then yes it’s worth a punt.

It’s quite akin to a film like Exit 8 where it can be a little tedious when you ‘get’ the concept and are waiting for character development, which barely arrives. Unlike Exit 8 however it is quite skilful and clever IMO with its punchline theme (which I discuss in spoilers above), although I think many people will overlook / miss it, which is perhaps a fumble for being obtuse.

Go and come back / share thoughts :)
 
Last edited:
Does anyone know how to get to the parents guide in any given movie on IMDB nowadays? It used to be clickable on the movie's given page. I can't watch films with 15 or 18 gore as I get nightmares so just wanted to check first. I'm fine with Arnie as it's mainly swearing that makes it an 18 but an example that I can't watch again is Cube Zero and that's only a 15.


tangey said:
if nothing else, this thread made me look up "creepypasta"
Click to expand...

I am aware of creepypasta because there was a character called Slender Man. I'm not sure what the criteria is, but Slender Man was a fan fiction of some franchise that was classed as creepypasta. At some point, Slender's fanfic prompted a handful of its readers to commit knife crimes. This is going back at least 10 years now but it was all over the mainstream news (not Twitter/FB etc).
 
Pawnless Endgame said:
Does anyone know how to get to the parents guide in any given movie on IMDB nowadays? It used to be clickable on the movie's given page. I can't watch films with 15 or 18 gore as I get nightmares so just wanted to check first. I'm fine with Arnie as it's mainly swearing that makes it an 18 but an example that I can't watch again is Cube Zero and that's only a 15.




I am aware of creepypasta because there was a character called Slender Man. I'm not sure what the criteria is, but Slender Man was a fan fiction of some franchise that was classed as creepypasta. At some point, Slender's fanfic prompted a handful of its readers to commit knife crimes. This is going back at least 10 years now but it was all over the mainstream news (not Twitter/FB etc).
Click to expand...
If it helps, there's no gore in this movie.

I don't know how to describe the type of "horror" that it is, I guess a little jump scare, a little crazy intense moments.
 
Pawnless Endgame said:
Does anyone know how to get to the parents guide in any given movie on IMDB nowadays? It used to be clickable on the movie's given page. I can't watch films with 15 or 18 gore as I get nightmares so just wanted to check first. I'm fine with Arnie as it's mainly swearing that makes it an 18 but an example that I can't watch again is Cube Zero and that's only a 15.




I am aware of creepypasta because there was a character called Slender Man. I'm not sure what the criteria is, but Slender Man was a fan fiction of some franchise that was classed as creepypasta. At some point, Slender's fanfic prompted a handful of its readers to commit knife crimes. This is going back at least 10 years now but it was all over the mainstream news (not Twitter/FB etc).
Click to expand...
I knew of slenderman from the netflix doc on the girls that killed a friend because of it, but never heard of creepypasta
 
Pawnless Endgame said:
Does anyone know how to get to the parents guide in any given movie on IMDB nowadays? It used to be clickable on the movie's given page. I can't watch films with 15 or 18 gore as I get nightmares so just wanted to check first. I'm fine with Arnie as it's mainly swearing that makes it an 18 but an example that I can't watch again is Cube Zero and that's only a 15.




I am aware of creepypasta because there was a character called Slender Man. I'm not sure what the criteria is, but Slender Man was a fan fiction of some franchise that was classed as creepypasta. At some point, Slender's fanfic prompted a handful of its readers to commit knife crimes. This is going back at least 10 years now but it was all over the mainstream news (not Twitter/FB etc).
Click to expand...

I got there by clicking the age rating at the top of the main IMDB page.
 
I’d say it has ‘threat’ (being chased) and some ‘infrequent violence’ (not particularly graphic), each combined with unsettling imagery and themes.
 
Last edited:
Efour said:
Isn't their a pretty graphic "bite? "
Click to expand...
It is so brief that most of it is suggested, reinforced by who is watching. It cuts away so quickly.
I thought the moments before this and after had a strong vibe of the dinner scene in the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre. What follows this is a significantly more surreal and abstract take on Sally being chased by Leatherface as well.

Also the bite itself may have been the backrooms misremembering that Clarke had been eating the entities and then trying to replicate his behaviour with a less than favourable outcome.
 
Last edited:
I saw this at 3 p.m. on Wednesday. Expected the cinema to be dead, but it was about 1/5 full so not bad for an afternoon showing.

Didn't know anything about the memes or Youtube shorts, just took it for what it was. And I really enjoyed it for the most part. Lots of tension and a good lead performance from Chiwetel.

The last act wasn't quite as strong. I thought it was great up to the point that he was facing the wall with the woman shouting it was glass and that somebody was behind him. How long was he down there, why did he keep his colleagues head in the fridge? Was it implying he killed her or one of the entities did? Had he had conversations with the pirate character copy thing before now?

Basically lots of weird **** that was a bit too ambiguous.

7.5/10 from me.
 
I just got back from watching this at the cinema.

Erm... I went into it knowing nothing and I came out of it knowing nothing :cry:

In all seriousness, I sort of understood more and more as the film went on, as much as there was no explicit explanation. However, I think it was designed to have no explanation.

The mind is a crazy thing that cannot be unpacked easily.

I enjoyed it. @the shadow @Nitefly thanks for persuading me to check this out at the cinema!

7/10
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom