Backrooms has power in its obscurity but loses it in the second half through liminal explanations and obvious sequel setup. What could have been a brave, minimalist companion to Skinamarink ends up selling out to The Cabin in the Woods. I found the movie to be more like Men, in which a male privilege thesis gains ground only to succumb to a CGI exploit.
There’s a lot of potential here: standout performances by Reinsve and Ejiofor, daunting claustrophobia, and some found-footage POV work that brought me back to the Blair Witch days. The problem is that the more meaning Backrooms tries to draw on its blank walls, the more meaningless it becomes.
Mad props to filmmaker Kane Parsons for being the youngest director in history to get a number one film at the box office, but this is weird for the sake of weird.
What did you think? Is there any satisfaction in explaining the ending?
Happy Summer,
RB
Reely Bernie 
This movie apart from perhaps 2 minutes of dialogue was the biggest waste of time I’ve had in the cinema. And everyone was lauding it (BBC) – ‘oh ex you tuber – my god that’s amazing – how could he have done it’?
That’s how f/&king shallow the media have got.
You gonna watch the Odyssey?
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Yeah, I was dialed in until the last 20 minutes. I’m captivated by atmosphere, but when a movie is compelled to explain the vague, it loses the ominous and mystery immediately. Seeing The Odyssey on Sunday. How about you?
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There were a lot of aesthetic and philosophical elements in Backrooms that reminded me of another kind of dystopian movie, Vivarium. I enjoyed that one a lot, even though it wasn’t nearly as well received as Backrooms.
Might see The Odyssey tomorrow afternoon with the chikkies, provided they let Katherine in. It’s recommended for ages 12 and over here. She’s only 10, but intellectually she’s going on about 40. I’m still umming and ahhing about whether to invest in it because of some of the changes from the original, the supposedly drab visual look, and the modernised script.
We’ll be watching the World Cup final on Sunday afternoon.
Have a good one buddy.
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