Rent Backrooms on Amazon Video (paid link)
Written by: Will Soodik (written by), Kane Parsons (based on the series by)
Directed by: Kane Parsons
Starring: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Renate Reinsve, Mark Duplass, Finn Bennett, Lukita Maxwell
Rated: R
Watch the trailer
Plot
A strange doorway appears in the basement of a furniture showroom, leading to an endless network of interconnected rooms where time bends and the only thing scarier than getting lost is the sense that something is lying in wait.
Verdict
This is so unsettling, and the slower pace only makes that more visceral. Questions abound, and that's the intention. From nearly the beginning this creates an odd feeling that persists. The more we explore the space, the more confusing it becomes. Half way in I knew the conclusion would make or break this, and thankfully the ending fits with the rest of the movie and in that regard is satisfying. No one can understand the backrooms. You can only hope not to get lost in the maze. This does a great job of balancing pacing while revealing very little.
Watch It.
Review
This starts with a found footage video depicting the 'backrooms.' I expected some context or a discovery of an entrance, but this scene sets the stage for what's to come.
During a therapy session, Clark (Chiwetel Ejiofor) discusses his ex-wife who lives in his house. He's resentful that he supported her during their marriage when she didn't work and now he pays for her house. He's alone and likes to drink, sleeping in the modest furniture store he owns.
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| Chiwetel Ejiofor plays Clark |
One night at the store he sees the narrowest sliver of light on the wall. He leans his ear against the wall and falls in. Somehow he can pass through the wall from his store into an empty building that looks like the interior of an office. In the center of this room is a pile of furniture. Is it furniture that's been lost from his store over the years? What is this room and in which plane does it exist? Clark begins exploring the interconnected rooms, creating a map. The emptiness makes it unsettling. There's something not quite right about these spaces. Clark hears something and immediately starts moving away, eventually fleeing and finding his way back out.
He tells his therapist Mary (Renate Reinsve) about the experience, and she's understandably skeptical. The story is fantastical, but he vows to get proof. Clark recruits his employee and her boyfriend that has a camera, planning to enter this realm yet again. They think he's crazy until he walks through the wall. Clark had found a room at the bottom of a decline, sending Bobby down with the camera. It's a weird room, and setting this in 1990 so that the visuals cut to a low definition camera is very effective. The images are blurry enough that we can't make out detail of what might be laurking in the dark.
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| Chiwetel Ejiofor plays Clark |
When Mary gets a message from Clark that he isn't coming back to therapy, that prompts her to go to his store. Mail scattered at his front door leads us to suspect he's been in the 'backroom' for at least a few days. Will Mary find the door?
Two-thirds in, the pacing is great. This movie always takes its time, restrained to not rush. Mary enters the portal and finds Clark soon enough. I wondered if it was Clark or some kind of double or mirror. Everything that exists in this space is an imperfect replica. We never quite know what's going on. When she asks him what this space is, Clark states it's "every place that ever was."
This doesn't provide any direct answers, but it gives us just enough to guess. We're exploring what this space could be as the movie pulls us deeper into it.
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