I enjoyed exploring Kane Parsons Backrooms videos on YouTube, not to mention the whole mythology that has spread around it. There’s so much going on with it, and so much being projected onto it, as it is explored.

Liminal spaces are creepy at the best of times, but to fall behind reality and to discover almost familiar rooms abounding everywhere, and that there is something else in there with you… unnerving.

Clark (Chiwetel Ejiofor) is a frustrated architect whose furniture business is floundering. He is seeing a therapist, Mary (Renate Reinsve), who has her own issues, for his anger and rage over his wife kicking him out. A couple of strange discoveries, and Clark finds himself in the Backrooms.

It brushes up against the established mythology as Clark begins to project his own beliefs/memories and thoughts about the environment. Clark and Mary’s story is only a small part of the bigger overall Backrooms narrative, but it’s a nice way in for new viewers and will give fans a lot to debate.

When Clark goes missing, Mary finds her own way into the Backrooms to look for him.

The movie walks an entertaining line between a beautifully shot film and found footage (as a direct nod to all the stories that have come before this one). Ejiofor is one of those actors that I absolutely delight in seeing pop up in any and everything. He’s a fantastic actor.

As Clark stumbles through the Backrooms, we are treated to visual nightmares, not quite Escher paintings brought to life, but strange, slightly familiar rooms that seem to go on forever, reflecting a twisted reality back at those travelling through it.

In the online videos, the entity we’ve seen wandering the Backrooms is robotic or insect-like. Here, we’re seeing something else. Is it a projection of Clark’s subconscious, or is there more going on with the Backrooms than we know? (Probably). I don’t think Clark is entirely right about what he thinks the Backrooms are, but he’s brushing up against something there for sure.

I love how the film is constructed, and Mary’s plight as the film progresses becomes increasingly terrifying, and the effects work fantastically to be absolutely terrifying. Those moments also give us glimpses of something more going on that our characters don’t know about, and leave the door open for more explorations to come.

I’ve done all the online videos, I’ve done the deep dives, and I still want more. There’s something about this film, and the actual liminal spaces of our world, that are captivating and unnerving. More please.