Backrooms

i went in cold. i knew nothing about the material before my partner dragged me along. i had no expectations.

i did not know i was in for such a treat.

this is not a movie to be watched. watching is for TikToks and time. this is a movie to be experienced.

in the cinema, no less.

i know how that sounds. “how inconvenient! can’t we Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime Video or Max it?”

that was me.

committing 2 hours to sitting still in a seat that forbids fidgeting is already a distant memory. and there’s no remote control. no fast-forwarding when i get bored at the slow scenes or rewinding when i blank out and — worst of all — no 2x speed.

the cinema is a prison for attention.

when i was released from the Backrooms, i left, dazed and dazzled, relishing in that fleeting rush of a rollercoaster ride, but sustained for minutes.

i felt alive.

the crawling sensation beneath my skin. my very sweaty palms. the chills traveling down my spine.

i felt this movie with my entire being.

its premise is simple: a man seeing a psychologist in the hope of feeling better about his miserable life, without actually doing anything differently.

one night, the Backrooms decided to reveal themselves to him.

the Backrooms appear as a time and place that look and feel familiar, and yet. like humanoids — recognisable enough to draw you in, but also distorted enough to repel you. the vibe is off but, like how it’s hard to describe a dog to someone who has never seen a dog, it refuses to be put into words.

Backrooms is an atmospheric horror, and its sound design got me. that constant static humming and buzzing of fluorescent lights. the character’s shoes walking on carpet. the heavy breathing. the gasping.

when the score drops into this soundscape, it completes the horror.

the visuals are just as masterful, interchanging between grainy video footage and sharp reality.

the sunken furniture. the empty swimming pool with floats and sun chairs. that christmas tree.

everything looks familiar; nothing feels safe.

this is worth going to the cinema for. to be gripped by intrigue. to be trapped inside raw fear and extreme discomfort.

to feel alive.