Opening in theaters on May 29 is ‘Backrooms,’ directed by Kane Parsons and starring Chiwetel Ejiofor, Renate Reinsve, Mark Duplass, Finn Bennett, and Lukita Maxwell.Related Article: Chiwetel Ejiofor Talks Writing and Directing the True Story ‘Rob Peace’Initial ThoughtsMay is clearly the new October, at least in 2026.
Opening in theaters on May 29 is ‘Backrooms,’ directed by Kane Parsons and starring Chiwetel Ejiofor, Renate Reinsve, Mark Duplass, Finn Bennett, and Lukita Maxwell.Related Article: Chiwetel Ejiofor Talks Writing and Directing the True Story ‘Rob Peace’Initial ThoughtsMay is clearly the new October, at least in 2026.
Chiwetel Ejiofor in ‘Backrooms’. Credit: Courtesy of A24.
Opening in theaters on May 29 is ‘Backrooms,’ directed by Kane Parsons and starring Chiwetel Ejiofor, Renate Reinsve, Mark Duplass, Finn Bennett, and Lukita Maxwell.
Related Article: Chiwetel Ejiofor Talks Writing and Directing the True Story ‘Rob Peace’
Initial Thoughts
Renate Reinsve in ‘Backrooms’. Credit: Courtesy of A24.
May is clearly the new October, at least in 2026. Following the release of the excellent ‘Hokum,’ the provocative ‘Obsession,’ and a handful of other horror features, the month usually reserved for blooming flowers and spring romance ends on a thoroughly creepy note with ‘Backrooms.’
Directed by Kane Parsons and written by Will Soodik, ‘Backrooms’ is based on a series of YouTube videos created by Parsons and set in the title realm, which itself sprang from an image that was began circulating online as far back as 2011 and was posted on a 4Chan thread in 2018. Parsons created his own lore about the liminal space which he has ported over to his feature film debut, fleshing it out even more – but too much – and building a story around it that seems simplistic at times but nonetheless makes for an eerie cinematic experience.
Story and Direction
(L to R) Director Kane Parsons and Chiwetel Ejiofor in ‘Backrooms’. Credit: Asterios Moutsokapas.
Parsons begins his story with a video – making the connection to his work on YouTube clear – before introducing us to Clark (Chiwetel Ejiofor), the owner of a failing furniture showroom in a nameless town in 1990. Clark’s wife has also left him and kicked him out of their house, he sleeps in the store and drinks heavily every night, and he vents his misplaced anger in sessions with his therapist, Mary Kline (Renate Reinsve), who’s got some unresolved childhood issues of her own.
Some unexplained problems with the electricity in the store lead Clark to discover an invisible portal in a wall in its basement level – a doorway that leads to a vast, inexplicable series of what appears to be empty offices, hallways, and rooms, all painted in a sickly yellow and filled with piles of furniture, clothes, and other assorted refuse. As Clark begins to explore this impossible, seemingly endless space, he realizes that there may be others in there – and his growing obsession eventually pulls in not just his employees but Dr. Kline as well, all of whom are affected by their contact with the backrooms.
While the story is fairly basic – the bulk of the film consists of three separate trips into the realm behind the wall – Parsons does several things right. First, he gives the film some space to breathe early on, establishing Clark and Dr. Kline, their relationship, and their personal dilemmas, while slowly building to Clark’s discovery of the backrooms. Second, he shoots much of the film in well-lit locations, whether it’s Clark’s spacious yet depressingly empty store or the other space itself, which is mostly yellow and lit with buzzing fluorescent lights – a refreshing change from the murk that so many films, especially in the horror genre, are dipped in these days.
Chiwetel Ejiofor in ‘Backrooms’. Credit: Courtesy of A24.
Thirdly, and importantly, he doesn’t offer any real explanation of the backrooms, what they are, or how they came into being, although there are tantalizing hints dropped throughout the film. He comes close at the end of the movie, almost veering into conventional exposition thanks to a third party who’s kind of shoehorned into the film (who’s nevertheless based on some of the lore from Parsons’ video series), but leaves enough room for viewers to make their own guesses.
This gives the backrooms themselves a truly foreboding quality that raises the hair on the back of one’s neck several times throughout the movie, while Parsons also keeps many of its horrors only fleetingly visible until the film’s climax. Much of the second act is shot in ‘Blair Witch Project’-style home video, adding to the overall surreal nature of what’s happening. Combined with Danny Vermette’s spot-on production design, the ambient score by Parsons and Edo Van Breeman, and unsettling sound design from Eugenio Battaglia, Parsons, who’s just 20 years old, has fashioned a coherent, singular vision that is chilling on a psychological and existential level.
Cast and Performances
(L to R) Lukita Maxwell and Finn Bennett in ‘Backrooms’. Credit: Courtesy of A24.
Recruiting two Academy Award nominees for the leads in your first horror film is a nice get for Parsons, who benefits from the presence of Chiwetel Ejiofor and Renate Reinsve in the lead roles. Ejiofor’s always amiable, everyman quality masks a man who’s tortured by his own regrets and unable to keep a lid on his temper, leaving him not just open to paranoia and obsession but ultimately the malign influence of the backrooms. This accumulates into a performance that feels lived-in and tragic.
Reinsve takes a different approach as Dr. Kline, who tries to help others break out of destructive behavior patterns but has shut herself off from the world due to her own lingering trauma. The same vulnerable, multi-layered humanity that Reinsve has brought to movies like ‘Sentimental Value’ and ‘The Worst Person in the World’ is on display here, helping to elevate ‘Backrooms’ into a higher level of characterization than one often finds in horror efforts. Out of the rest of the small cast, Mark Duplass is the most recognizable face – but we’ll leave discussion of his role for another time.
Final Thoughts
Renate Reinsve in ‘Backrooms’. Credit: Asterios Moutsokapas.
There is clearly a reason why genre heavyweights like ‘The Conjuring’ director/producer James Wan, ‘Longlegs’ director Osgood Perkins, and ‘Stranger Things’ producer Shawn Levy all have their names on the credits for ‘Backrooms’: not only is Kane Parsons clearly an imaginative and talented first-time feature director, but he’s created an online world that has millions of subscribers. If ‘Backrooms’ is a success as a movie, it represents a potential sea change in the way that horror films in particular are originated and developed.
That success, should it happen, is well-earned: ‘Backrooms’ is legitimately frightening, well-cast, and well-directed, and it represents a leap forward from its creepypasta and YouTube origins into traditional filmmaking while retaining the eerie qualities that made it so compelling in its initial form. It’s a world worth exploring – as long as you don’t get lost.
‘Backrooms’ receives a score of 80 out of 100.
Chiwetel Ejiofor in ‘Backrooms’. Credit: Courtesy of A24.
What is the plot of ‘Backrooms’?
A strange doorway appears in the basement of a furniture showroom, drawing in the store’s owner (Chiwetel Ejiofor), and then his therapist (Renate Reinsve), who goes in search of him.
Who is in the cast of ‘Backrooms’?
Chiwetel Ejiofor as ClarkRenate Reinsve as Dr. Mary KlineMark Duplass as PhilFinn Bennett as BobbyLukita Maxwell as KatKrista Kosonen as Nora KlineEmber Ambrose as young MaryPhilip Granger as MetermanAvan Jogia as Naren WarneKatharine Isabelle as Robin
Chiwetel Ejiofor in ‘Backrooms’. Credit: Courtesy of A24.
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