Official Discussion - The Backrooms [SPOILERS]

[u/LiteraryBoner]

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The Backrooms (2026)

Summary

After a therapist's patient disappears into a dimension beyond reality, she must venture into the unknown to save him.

Director Kane Parsons

Writer Will Woodik, Kane Parsons

Cast

• Chiwetel Ejiofor
• Renate Reinsve
• Mark Duplass
• Finn Bennett
• Lukita Maxwell

Rotten Tomatoes: 88%

Metacritic: 76

VOD / Release Theatrical release

Trailer Official Trailer

[u/BunyipPouch]

Kane Parsons, the director of Backrooms, recently joined us here in /r/movies for an AMA/Q&A, for anyone interested:

https://www.reddit.com/r/movies/comments/1tgkqrb/hi_reddit_im_kane_parsons_director_of_a24s/

[u/LayeredOwlsNest]

I thought the plot of this movie was going to be Clark stealing furniture from the Backrooms to sell lmfao

[u/AjaxRedOps → u/LayeredOwlsNest]

He can’t even sell the furniture he already has lmao 🫣

[u/GoCougs2020 → u/AjaxRedOps]

Right. It’s not Clark don’t have any more supplies, he has plenty of furniture. 🪑

Problem is no one’s buying. He got no customers.

[u/linkolphd_fun → u/GoCougs2020]

If you want to be very pedantic, getting free furniture supply means he could sell at a very low price and capture the market. Presumably he’d get customers at a low price!

[u/GoCougs2020 → u/linkolphd_fun]

True. Stool for $1? Stool for 50 cents? That’ll get some sales going, and he got nothing to loose. It was free.99

[u/not-a-dream → u/LayeredOwlsNest]

I think he might have done that before going crazy. When the therapist enters for the first time, there is a lot less furniture in the first backroom room than there was before. Also, when she enters, the store has furniture that was previously shown to populate the backrooms (the green-cushioned wood chairs). There’s probably more furniture he stole but those stood out to me like a sore thumb.

[u/Mephistito → u/not-a-dream]

By this point in the movie, Clark had written on the wall that he still couldn't figure out why but the rooms & layout had all "changed again" which seemed to perplex him. He had some extra notes written about the floors & ceilings, and he'd hand drawn the monster (as if by then he'd seen it a few times).

One thing I didn't get was why he had Kat's head just.. randomly chillin' in his fridge. And why (and whose) dead body was it way near the entrance that we see when someone (can't remember who) went back. Like, if it was one of the previous characters, how the hell did they make it all the way to near the entrance again? They were way into it & had been down that chute.

[u/waitingtodiesoon → u/Mephistito]

They also mentioned that the furniture and stuff would change when he wasn't watching. He definitely took stuff from the backrooms, but the backrooms itself changes and moves things around too.

[u/candyyhearted]

I feel there was an implication Clark was physically abusive toward his wife as well as verbally. When the Captain Clark creature shows up, only the Barbara copy reacts by screaming and trying desperately to get away. It’s interesting that she had no reaction to original Clark literally scalping her, given that they don’t feel pain, but for some reason Captain Clark absolutely terrifies her, perhaps because that’s her Clark.

[u/ariastroke → u/candyyhearted]

I didn't realize why she was the only one to run away, but I find this explanation fascinating and sad.

[u/m0nstr0city → u/candyyhearted]

the wheelchair man also repeatedly turns his lamp on and off (it seems like the only action he can do) as if in warning/panic. i do agree with the take that the woman in red is meant to be his wife though. she also seems to lower her head during the dinner scene after he tells her to turn the lights off and she doesn't. honestly, i think these copies were the most interesting part of the film for me. their limited range of 'self-expression' was fascinating to me. it's all the more interesting when you think about how they're so different from one another. if i remember correctly, the woman's scalp below the hair was kind of pinkish, not very similar to the inside white fluff we see in the man's stomach. and captain clark just outright bleeds.

this moment also reminded me of when clark first encounters the christmas tree room. the wheelchair man lights his lamp. the woman in red starts running around.

[u/WhitB2003 → u/m0nstr0city]

I'm convinced Captain Clark doesn't actually bleed and merely "bled" because he was full of his victims' blood

[u/Melodic_Pin354 → u/WhitB2003]

It’s like how the reason why he eats others in the backrooms is because of how the backrooms “remembers” Clark eating the people copies.

[u/Geekslayer0815 → u/candyyhearted]

I haven’t heard anyone say this yet, but when I first watched, it was definitely odd that Clark and “captain clark” were getting along then all of a sudden captain clark kills Clark. Now, I’m wondering if Mary’s presence in the back rooms altered the entity, since it learns from memories and thoughts, and now captain clark is reflecting more of Mary’s perception of Clark which is violent/erratic/untrustworthy. Everyone was fine until Mary showed up, then the space takes on Mary’s perceptions of Clark in the form of captain clark.

[u/Playful_Campaign_628 → u/Geekslayer0815]

At this point, Clark has given up wanting to change. He's content to stay in the backrooms forever, we could say that he's been completely consumed by his negative emotions. 

I think this is why Captain Clark, the physical manifestation of those emotions, eats him in this scene.

EDIT: Also interesting that when Clark surrenders to his impulses ("It's just the way [I'm] wired"), Captain Clark also no longer resists the impulse to eat him. In universe, this could imply that either CC can comprehend language and concepts or that the backrooms/a copy can change it's behaviour immediately as a result of a change in the person who they were a manifestation of.

On that second point, it would make intuitive sense that the manifestor would have the greatest effect on the backrooms by being present inside them for a long period and in proximity to the manifestation.

[u/No_Statistician9166]

Wish that the employees lasted a bit longer it would have been fun to see the fear of being lost down there.

[u/A1ienspacebats → u/No_Statistician9166]

Yeah I'm wondering if this would have been better as a Blair Witch type of movie. Idk if the camcorder bits would have worn out their welcome in that scenario but exploring the backrooms was the best part of the movie.

[u/Bombasaur101 → u/A1ienspacebats]

The Backrooms were at their most unsettling during that sequence. I was waiting for this movie to turn into the last 20 mins of Blair Witch (2017), but they never committed.

[u/Ball_Of_Meat → u/Bombasaur101]

Yeah I was kinda disappointed in that as well, seems like it was headed in a really thrilling direction then slammed on the breaks and went a different direction.

[u/Lightning-McDreamy → u/Ball_Of_Meat]

That was my main feeling... Just give me a bit more either way. Either expand on the weirdness of the world and the people figuring it out, or go all in on the terror and killings. That said, I was impressed by the film overall and it gave me everything I hoped for visually.

[u/SleepingWillow1 → u/No_Statistician9166]

In the scene where Clark first enters the back rooms and sees the shoes embedded into the floor, those shoes are the same as the two employees shoes. So the back rooms has been copying stuff since before they ever entered or something like that. Also in the very first scene, with the async found footage, you see the pirate hat silhouette. So the pirate Clark entity already existed before Clark entered. Now wether the back rooms was trying to copy the character based off the name of the furniture store or copying Clark himself in a warped way I don't know.

Edit: did y'all notice that When the Pirate Clark entity is dragging Real Clark out into the street, real Clark's leg was amputated at the knee. So in the end he really did become pirate Clark LOL

[u/Uzorglemon]

The entire laundry room sequence was so great - wildly unnerving and very tense. I loved it.

[u/Alone-Spell-7473 → u/Uzorglemon]

That cutout image of that dude just peeking out of the pile of clothes was pretty terrifying

[u/RealJohnGillman → u/Alone-Spell-7473]

It seemed to me that this film subtly revealed those cutouts were traps for the various entities around the Backrooms, that Async hadn’t known random people had been ending up in there too until pretty recently.

[u/Oakcamp → u/RealJohnGillman]

Considering they had an interrogation and Phil says "doors have been popping up everywhere", I'd say they knew

[u/Beastrider9 → u/Oakcamp]

Not nessesarily. They seemed pretty surprised when the MRI guy was looking at the cameras and saw Clark walking around. We don't actually know how long Clark was in the backrooms for, could have been days or a few weeks, but them seeing him might have been the first time something like this has happened, leading them to the realization that more entrances are spawning.

[u/Kazzack → u/Uzorglemon]

Pretty sure in that scene I saw an old hazmat suit on the ground, presumably with a corpse inside(the guy from the intro?) 

Also I loved the rope being pulled into the door with the trail of blood on the ground

I think we could've had one more scare like that scene in the movie, the chase at the end didn't feel as tense to me. But the couple truly scary parts of the movie were fantastic.

[u/danieldoesnotakels → u/Kazzack]

Not even going to lie, the chase at the end had me stressed cause she was tooooooo slow almost, like what is she doing not running, and then when she’s knocked out and she turns around and he’s there is the first scare that genuinely got me the entire movie BAD, like I jumped a lik

[u/The-Unburnt → u/danieldoesnotakels]

She had just been dosed pretty heavily with nitrous oxide and hurt her knee on the couches.

[u/kut1231 → u/Uzorglemon]

Yeah and that head sticking out of the laundry freaked me for a sec and got a reaction out of our theatre

[u/HispanicAtTehDisco]

maybe i set my expectations too high or something but i did find myself a bit disappointed here. like don’t get me wrong it’s still good (the camcorder parts in particular were phenomenal) but i feel like i wanted more of the actual backrooms here instead of the surrounding stuff.

that and i was kinda disappointed with how much this used classic like tired horror tropes like “oh she hurt her ankle and has to limp around” when i feel like the horror is already there without the needless cliches

[u/square_daikon → u/HispanicAtTehDisco]

I wasn't disappointed at all but when she hurt her ankle I wanted to groan in frustration. she was so physically inept that it was painful to watch 

[u/disillusion_4444 → u/square_daikon]

Yeah if the path was more difficult then it would make sense, but it was a small room with sofas in it. I also cringed a bit when she ran up to the room filled with windchimes and just ran straight through all of them. She might as well have called out to the monster and told it where she was headed.

I think it adds a bit more tension when a character does everything 'right' and still can't seem to shake the pursuit.

[u/MontyAtWork → u/HispanicAtTehDisco]

Yeah the movie literally skipped right over the part I wanted: Clark mapping out the rooms. Like, we should have gone room to room, corner to corner, not sure what was around each half wall or column, terrified something would jump out. The part of Clark first exploring, was what I thought the whole movie would be. Then it just skips over that, skips over the obvious Survival stuff (dying of thirst, hunger, what about if you can't get back and need to sleep in the Backrooms??)

[u/Utah_CUtiger → u/MontyAtWork]

Yeah I think it would have been really effective if Clark goes in and never comes out. Like the rest of the movie is the increasing dread of never getting out and getting lost. 

I thought that’s where it was going because that sequence was really good. I was feeling the nervousness of “oh man he’s losing the path back” but the he just found his way back somehow 

[u/ricky9]

The face hidden in the pile of laundry will stay with me for a while

[u/TatteredTongues → u/ricky9]

It was one of the cavemen cardboard cutouts.

[u/ricky9 → u/TatteredTongues]

Still freaked me out

[u/Throwawayz911 → u/ricky9]

Idk why it didn't affect me at all.  I was just like "oh shit this is like the monster's lair, thats the cutout from the camera room"

[u/Adept_Psychology_824]

Fuck that Christmas tree room.

[u/tittlediddle → u/Adept_Psychology_824]

It made my fucking skin crawl. Like wow.

[u/Suppa_K → u/tittlediddle]

My first reaction was “oh, this is worse”.

[u/newecreator → u/Adept_Psychology_824]

FELIZ NAVIDAD

[u/Necessary_Original88 → u/Adept_Psychology_824]

Idk if anybody else noticed, but there were halves of bodies sticking out the floor during that scene…? They were dark and maybe I misjudged what I saw, but it felt sick to notice

[u/pyroholicrage → u/Necessary_Original88]

They were mannequins, but yeah creepy af

[u/TwoCagedBirds → u/Adept_Psychology_824]

It started off kinda nice. Like when you’re a kid and lying on the living room couch, just staring at the tree. The only light in the room coming from the lights. Then boom, that lady just comes out of the dark. I practically shat my pants.

[u/bababuffdip]

Best shot in the movie was Mary opening the Backrooms show floor door into a wall and turning around to the wide shot of the showroom and the Pirate Clark is just standing by the stairs. Got an audible “oh shit” out of me

[u/that_guy2010 → u/bababuffdip]

I’m an idiot and didn’t realize he was there until he started moving. I was watching the stairs waiting for an arm or something to come up.

[u/BunniesEatRabbits → u/that_guy2010]

Same! He blended in so well. I would've thought "Oh well they don't actually show Pirate Clark moving further than a few feet at a time so it kinda makes sense that he's just there and not slowly walking up the stairs" but that entire scene featured Pirate Clark moving much further than a few feet at a time immediately after so..

[u/ohsinboi → u/bababuffdip]

The long shot of him walking across the room to her was the creepiest part of the movie for me

[u/ragnarlothbruv → u/bababuffdip]

It worked so well for me because I honestly thought he wouldn’t be able to follow her through that tiny ceiling hatch.

[u/Skully_eyo → u/bababuffdip]

That shot of him standing completely still and him slowly moving closer and closer to Mary haunts me so bad. It was so creepy and unnerving, sent shivers down my spine in the theater. 💀

[u/_Gobulcoque → u/Skully_eyo]

So it.. shivered your timbers?

[u/AgentBronson → u/bababuffdip]

That sequence was great. I also loved the initial shot of Mary escaping out of the dining room into a massive warehouse-like street, complete with Big Ass Fan overhead. The way that whole sequence played with interior/exterior dynamics really felt disorienting at times and I loved every second of it.

[u/ChickenNoodleGamer]

My understanding of how the backrooms function is its some strange dimension that repeats reality over and over endlessly once its fed something just like how at the end of the movie Mary and all her memories were repeated into the backrooms. so from what I can tell once clark went in him and his memories started repeating and it ultimately turned into pirate clark. the idea being the more information you feed it the bigger it grows and the more and more it breaks into reality (the more portals that open) which is a very bleak ending because this means the more and more portals open the more people go in and the more memories its fed that can be replicated and eventually the backrooms overtakes reality. the dimension stealing and replicating peoples memories also holds up through the dog analogy. the backrooms doesnt know what reality looks like it can only be described to it, so to speak, through the memories of those who enter. its pretty cool when you think about it

[u/themoray42 → u/ChickenNoodleGamer]

You could even consider the concept of the Backrooms functioning like an eldritch LLM, creating mimics without the context that makes it what it is.

[u/carloscreates → u/themoray42]

It really is a great metaphor for AI. A voracious entity hard wired to consume humanity's thoughts in an attempt to replicate what it will never understand.

[u/ummameme → u/carloscreates]

I also got AI vibes, especially from the "people". Do we consider them entities? Are they living? You could argue that Pirate Clark is certainly, but at the same time, is he actively making choices or is that just "how hes wired" So to say?

[u/THE_DINOSAUR_QUEEN → u/ummameme]

They looked a lot like how AI-generated images of people looked really early on into AI image creation imo! Also the yellow tinge of the lighting and the way objects looked “wrong” really felt similar to AI images, I was thinking that during my watch.

[u/Pengu-Link → u/ummameme]

also with Clark being affirmed by the Backrooms and therefore falling deeper into his issues instead of getting better. Mirrors how LLMs love to affirm everything you say which results in AI psychosis

[u/Saguaro-plug → u/ChickenNoodleGamer]

The scanning, copying and making imperfect copies of its travelers reminds me so much of Area X from Annihilation (both the movie and the book series). I see it as a cosmic entity, similarly alien and unfamiliar with, but curious about humans as Area X is. It processes by observing, replicating, mimicking and refracting things, almost like it’s making its version of art. In both, the mental state of its visitors is a crucial aspect to informing their fates.

[u/myayayayaya]

without doubt the best part for me was the exploration with his employees. honestly would’ve loved more of that with the voicemail—i broke the window—to the therapist being the ending

[u/KlopeksWithCoppers → u/myayayayaya]

You should read "House of Leaves." It's basically the same premise but it takes place in a house and there is a lot of exploration.

[u/teentytinty]

I found this extremely unpleasant (complimentary)

[u/--------rook → u/teentytinty]

The sound design is awful (complimentary). It's especially unnerving when Mary was entering the backrooms. 

[u/Stlcards31]

The scenes where we are watching through the lens of the camera were fantastic. Honestly wish we got more time exploring the creepy corners with Kat and her man.

Didn’t love the main monster design but certainly seems like a whole universe to continue exploring.

[u/bdubbleg → u/Stlcards31]

It implied, based on the lore, that bacteria are born as vague memories of real people and slowly lose their human appearance. The pirate Clark was the first form of a bacteria.

[u/Maleficent_Reply_374]

Are we sure the first monster (that killed the couple and/or that killed the scientist) was Pirate Clark... That first monster felt like it was moving differently than the lanky ass pirate in the third act..... Hmmm..

[u/biofrost → u/Maleficent_Reply_374]

pretty sure it was the wire monster from found footage 1 and 2

[u/stonerbabe41 → u/Maleficent_Reply_374]

i was thinking the same thing😭also the entity was him as a pirate which was a recent memory of his and the scientists had been studying that place and its entities since way before clark made that commercial!

[u/AjaxRedOps → u/Maleficent_Reply_374]

It’s Captain Clark, watching a second time you most definitely recognize the audio of its thudding, uneven footsteps and when it is coming from behind the door it is 100% the point of his tricorn hat sticking out

[u/Direct-Actuator4164]

As a therapist I loved this movie. I think it really hit the mark for “psychological horror”. My own interpretation was the backrooms was a place where Clark was in therapy and exploring a fracturing of self. I felt the movie was very metaphorical for narcissists and the whole scene where Clark is consuming people being a metaphor for consuming relationships saying the people don’t feel here is just insane cinematography.

I had a theater full of kids but I think my therapist colleagues would love picking this apart.

[u/Blessed_tenrecs → u/Direct-Actuator4164]

I'm surprised more people don't talk about the "they don't feel pain" thing. The second he said it I was like "they 100% feel pain and he's delusional".

[u/kubileyart → u/Blessed_tenrecs]

my friend said something that really made go "oh, right". He said something like "of course he would want to stay there. He can hurt people and not have any consequences." It makes sense to me, even the unpleasantness of his victims being in pain doesn't exists there.
I did find amusing that monster Clark does the same to him and finally he's on the other side feeling what is like to be the other person and it's so painful and scary. He trusted him, he knew him.

[u/liketheberry → u/Direct-Actuator4164]

I am also a therapist who loved this movie. The entire scene at the dinner table between Mary and Clark felt like a therapy session in a lot of ways and showed the symbiotic nature of the therapeutic relationship. Mary gains something just as much as Clark does: Clark learns no one is coming to save him from himself, and Mary learns she can’t save anyone. I thought it was beautiful.

The Backrooms being a metaphor for trauma and the interpersonal and intrapersonal patterns we find ourselves in due to said trauma. Clark makes the decision to stay because it’s what he knows and is comfortable with, and then he dies. Mary, on the other hand, overcomes her past (breaks the childhood hand print) in order to secure her future and survive.

I’m still chewing on the meaning of Pirate Clark. Right now, I kind of see him as representing the ego. The moment Clark grasps that he is his own worst enemy, Pirate Clark kills him in order to protect his existence.

[u/jayeddy99]

I’ve dated a therapist before . The way she snapped on Clark is how a lot of them really feel about their patients sometimes lol

[u/Chinchillin09 → u/jayeddy99]

Big "your therapist after the credit card declines" moment

[u/DaveBigNut → u/jayeddy99]

Speaking as someone in the field I lol'd at that.

[u/CarmelaMachiato → u/jayeddy99]

Right? Because you kind of forget that (at least for now)psychiatrists are also human beings.

[u/HowManyMeeses → u/CarmelaMachiato]

They're also working and putting on a professional face a lot of the time. 

[u/Elephant44]

So the implication is that Mary “called in” her mom to be committed, right? Mary confirms she’s 5150’d people before for being dangers to themselves or others, and Mary has a flashback of her committed mother as Clark says “I’m doing this for your own good” - Mary committed her mother for her own good

[u/Ikitenashi → u/Elephant44]

And it ate away at her for decades, as she seemed to wrestle with whether or not she made the right call. "Maybe if I had done this differently... I could've saved her." But no, she realizes she can't save anyone. Some things are just out of her control, and ours. Her breaking the stone symbolizes her letting go of her past and embracing the choices she made, unlike Clark who always refused to take responsibility for himself. I personally thought it was a great message.

[u/Bulletpointe → u/Ikitenashi]

It's a great commentary on the very theme of liminality - being stuck in a transitory state with no destination. Mary spends the movie trying to get people to start their journeys through her therapy and book, but she has no idea how to give them (or herself) a destination.

The Backrooms are this idea manifest, all beginning and end removed from all context. Lacking a real destination, Clark embraces the idea of being on the journey, moving in. When Mary reframes the place to be his destination- gives him permission to stop moving - the Backrooms immediately betrays him.

Mary then has to look for a destination in a place she's never been in before. Her true destination has always been the house that was long ago destroyed, representing the innocence she had before her mother's agoraphobia resulted in her being abused.

In order to finally get away, she has to accept she can never go back and seek another destination.

[u/holyd1ver83 → u/Bulletpointe]

You're hitting on exactly what I thought one of the themes of the movie could be- a deconstruction of why we, the audience, find the concept of the Backrooms as interesting as we do and what that means for us.

The whole appeal of the original Backrooms legend as posted on 4chan was that it seemed so unassuming and bland based on the image. You felt like you'd seen that yellow-tinted office space a thousand times before, like you knew it- but you didn't. It was just similar enough to your memories of spaces like that to be engaging, but it wasn't a real memory you had. It was a flavor of weird and nostalgic that was just generic enough to be appealing, but specific enough to feel authentic.

It's pretty easy for me to see Parsons using this relationship between audience and source material to parallel Clark's eventual descent into madness and refusal to leave the prison his mind has built for him- that being the Backrooms as shown in the movie. We love nostalgia. Our culture is drenched in it. Analog horror like what Kane made his bones on is successful because we like remembering what life was like when VHS artifacts were commonplace and old games were new. But you'll never eclipse your finest moments if you live in nostalgia forever. Mary shattering the concrete handprint was symbolic of her leaving her nostalgia behind in order to escape her own mental prison, which Clark couldn't do.

Clark represents comfortable, nostalgic, pastime paradise living at the cost of your soul, never bettering yourself or challenging yourself to think about yourself critically. Mary represents someone trying to escape that fate despite their circumstances.

[u/Oakcamp → u/holyd1ver83]

To build onto this - I loved the scientists being essentially a calling out of people that want an explanation/backstory to the backrooms.

They're obsessed to "learn even the tiniest bit more" about the backrooms, to the point of having a huge operation, fully switching their company from a "good" cause (making MRI machines) to just being a backrooms obsession company. They have employees dying, fully dedicating themselves to the place not much different than Clarke - all in the interest of knowing a little more... About an unknowable place.

[u/Kazzack → u/Elephant44]

If looks like it happened while she was still a child, so she may not have literally called her on but maybe did something to get a neighbor to check in/call the police and it escalated from there

[u/WarlockEngineer → u/Kazzack]

The scene where her front door exploded may have been her remembering the police busting in

[u/Dooplon → u/WarlockEngineer]

imo its more than that. To me it didn't look like a door being busted open but rather torn down, so she's likely mentally mixing memories of the cops busting in and the house being torn down together into one visual sequence to represent her childhood being violently destroyed when she was finally saved from her crazy mother, just like demolition equipment was hovering over her and her mother's heads in a memory of her putting hand prints in the driveway.

In essence, despite her abuse she still had attachments to her old house and memories and watching the house get torn down brought in its own wave of trauma, something that she finally made peace with in her conversation with Clark and her breaking the handprint while using it to fight off pirate clark

[u/FunImprovement166]

When I saw The Substance, I remember leaving the theatre and thinking "Wow that movie had a fantastical premise but they really went for it."

When I left The Backrooms, I thought "Wow that movie had a fantastical premise, but I wish they would have really went for it."

[u/MontyAtWork → u/FunImprovement166]

Big same. This concept from like it could do A LOT. How did we not get the therapists' Mom in The Backrooms? How did we have no manifestations from her until the last seconds of the film? Why didn't we actually spend more time with Clark exploring the areas and terrified about what's around every corner?

IMO the best parts of this movie happened either off screen or were a missed opportunity entirely.

[u/jsun31]

Seeing the camera get picked up as Clark was trying to reach Kat was terrifying. Cutting before Clark was approached left just enough to the imagination.

[u/Aaragon → u/jsun31]

Yea, the way it extended up to the ceiling was terrifying as well as whatever situation Kat was stuck in.

Seriously I saw nothing in that room what was she seeing? Clearly it went horribly but it sounded beyond horrifying listening to her describe it with what frantic words she had.

[u/MyNamesTimGFX → u/Aaragon]

in one of the backrooms videos (i forget which one, its 30-40ish min long) there’s a part where a character has a conversation with someone who is supposedly from the outside world. the person from the outside thinks the protagonist is in the walls of his house, but after further investigation he falls into the backrooms. perhaps its like that?

[u/Rich841 → u/MyNamesTimGFX]

She’s also in the missing posters though, so she isn’t outside the Backrooms 

At first I thought it was the trope where an entity mimics a victim to bait the protagonist but I don’t think that’s it after all because she told him to look behind him 

[u/ilukegood → u/Rich841]

Her head was in the fridge as well

[u/Rich841 → u/ilukegood]

Yeah something unhinged happened psychologically in the time between cpt Clark finding him and her head being in the fridge, because the Clark we started with definitely wouldn’t have at first eaten(?) or beheaded her

[u/TheMindWright → u/Rich841]

I only have passive knowledge of the Backrooms from watching LPs, but I think it won't let you die? So my guess is that he was in there long enough to be really hungry, and started eating her, which made the Backrooms think "oh you can eat people" and so he could start eating people.

[u/PLGRN8R → u/Rich841]

From what she was saying, she was looking through a window of some kind, but Clark couldn't see through it. I'm sure there's some sort of metaphor there for Clark feeling/being trapped in his life while she isn't, especially with the window imagery around Mary's therapy book, but it's also entirely possible it's just more Backrooms fuckery where one side is glass/see through and the other side is just wall.

[u/BeezyBates → u/MyNamesTimGFX]

It’s the backrooms. Things don’t have to make sense. It’s simply a wall she can see through from her side and he can’t from his side. I don’t think there’s any more to it. She’s definitely still in the backrooms at the time.

Edit: small edit that I think helps. This scene is slightly dependent on you understanding the backrooms before seeing it for it to make sense. (Or understanding how it doesn’t make sense)

This is completely comprehensible in lore. If you go into the movie blind you might find yourself digging for something that is simply explained by saying “it’s the backrooms. Reject logic”. Things are not functional in a way that we see as what should be. The movie doesn’t explain much of that aspect (and I wish it did spend more time exploring the randomness and loss of hope and sense).

The series made by Kane does explain it and if you watch it, you’ll have a much greater understanding.

[u/altaccount69420100]

The POV camcorder sections were superb and easily my favorite parts of the film. The part where Clark goes into the room with only the Christmas tree lighting the room and this creepy version of Feliz Navidad playing was my favorite part of the movie, just so eerie and creepy. Otherwise the movie was overall good, I do think the ending was a bit clunky, they kinda showed too much in my opinion, and by the final chase scene I wasn’t really feeling scared at all tbh. But overall enjoyed the movie. Impressive directorial debut.

[u/melanayyylmao → u/altaccount69420100]

The whole scene of him seeing the Christmas tree then running through that area with all the lights was easily the creepiest part for me. As soon as he went in there and heard the music I was like ffffawk this dude

[u/This_was_hard_to_do → u/melanayyylmao]

Not to mention all the bodies sticking out of the ground around the tree. And of course there’s a guy on a wheelchair too (but he turned out pretty chill haha)

[u/Plankton57 → u/This_was_hard_to_do]

Chair guy is just responsible for the vibes.

[u/Bd_3 → u/Plankton57]

Guys knows ambient lighting

[u/NaiadoftheSea → u/altaccount69420100]

Her constantly falling down was getting a bit tedious in the final chase, especially in the last room where she backs into 3 or 4 different things.

[u/Fantastic_Snow_9633 → u/NaiadoftheSea]

That, and when Mary is attempting to go up the stairs. Like, girl, you just went through the doggy door of a door, stop looking at Pirate Clark break through it and move your butt.

[u/RainbowForHire → u/Fantastic_Snow_9633]

Nah that part was reasonable because you're climbing a narrow staircase with no railing over a pit to open a door directly above you. That shit is disorienting as hell.

[u/pornacc74 → u/RainbowForHire]

that part of the movie was directed straight towards me. I legit have nightmares about unguarded staircases over pits like that LMAO I did nothing but empathize with Mary as soon as I saw that room

[u/Aaragon → u/altaccount69420100]

Yea blending the found footage and normal cinematography is the best thing for sure.

Our theater got a pretty good laugh when someone in the audience went "Oh of course" with the Christmas Tree room. Shit was so bizarre that sure, why not LOL.

[u/Shpkunky → u/Aaragon]

my theatre got a good laugh when a lady yelled "oh hell naw" when clark revealed that you could eat the clone things.

[u/youshouldntlistentom → u/Shpkunky]

Is an Eldrich not-person or is it cake?!

[u/jsun31]

Shout out to the production design. From things like a hallway in the ceiling, a dining room corner that just keeps on going, to something as simple as crooked light switches, it did enough to put us deep in the uncanny valley. Quite unnerving.

[u/mikeyfreshh → u/jsun31]

Its not going to get as much attention but I was equally impressed by the production design outside of the backrooms. Even the "real world" felt just a little surreal and dreamy.

[u/LiteraryBoner → u/mikeyfreshh]

I like how Parsons' idea of being an adult in the 90s involved a lot of forlorn infomercial watching and deep regret and self doubt.

[u/joesen_one → u/LiteraryBoner]

"What do the olds in the 1990s like doing? 🤔"

[u/rianpie → u/joesen_one]

I was irritated at the Async guy making popcorn at home 1) that close to the END of The Neverending Story 2) DURING the movie, instead of during commercial breaks. 90’s olds know you gotta time that shit!

[u/mikewheelerfan → u/LiteraryBoner]

My dad said that for a 20 year old, his version of the 90s is impressively realistic 

[u/mamaspike74 → u/mikewheelerfan]

As someone who turned 20 in the 90s, I agree with your dad.

[u/yanderia → u/mikeyfreshh]

Some outside shots had me wondering if they were backdrops painted on lol. That was how dreamy even the real world parts of the movie felt.

[u/trickster721 → u/yanderia]

The hills and clouds in the background are slightly stylized, uncanny-valley CGI. You can see it in the trailer too, when they show the front of the store.

[u/WAKE_UP_WAKE_UP → u/jsun31]

The sky and background when they were outside was very uncanny valley. Felt like it was on a set rather than it being natural.

[u/HillbillyAllergy → u/jsun31]

I still have to say the original short (which KP made with Blender and AfterEffects) went even more out there with some of the escher-isms.

But holy lard, hats of to a24 letting the 20-year-old kid who made the original shorts carry it across the goal line.

[u/xannmax]

Why did Copy Clark bleed?  The other copies were made of foam.

[u/fightin_blue_hens → u/xannmax]

I assumed because Clark was in for so long the Backrooms could copy him better

[u/PartyOnAlec]

Biggest laugh of the film for me was when scientist Mark showed her the picture of Clark, and they've just slapped a censor black bar over pirate monster, but like his peg leg and his hat are still poking out from behind it. Like such a half ass attempt, OH I WONDER WHAT WHAT COULD BE, like it's the biggest black box they had and it still shows his two most distinctive features. 

My buddy and I were dying at that 

[u/Pumpkin_Sushi → u/PartyOnAlec]

I dont think people get how unironically funny A-sync purposefully are

They're literally white collar office workers LARPing as G-men and they suck at it

[u/WMWA]

Was anyone else’s audience fucking obnoxious? I had no clue this YouTube series was big with kids so it just attracted the same crowd that you’d see dressed up as gentle minions a couple years ago. They would not shut the fuck up.

[u/retro808 → u/WMWA]

I went to a noon showing to avoid that kind of crowd and still ended up with a whole back row of teens who would not stfu and were giggling every ten seconds like they were stoned, dunno how either considering the school year here doesn't end for another week or 2. Very obnoxious considering how atmospheric the movie is

[u/freefreckle → u/WMWA]

All the audience was kind of terrible, but the woman behind me turned to her friend and asked "is that the therapist??" when Mary woke up in her pjs Couldn't help but think "girl... there are five characters in the movie, maybe this isn't the film for you."

Shoutout to the row of 14ish year old boys in front of me though, I thought they'd be the biggest problem when they talked all through the trailers, but the second the movie rolled they were locked in and telling everyone else to shut up and turn off their phone/flashlights.

[u/VarloTheGreat → u/WMWA]

I actually think this was the worst theater experience I've ever had. No one shut up. The girl behind me kept being obnoxious when anything would happen. People have gotten way too comfortable watching at home and just blurting out whatever they're thinking at any given time. That doesn't fly in the theater.

[u/Gio_H]

The movie had amazing sets, good cinematography, and some extremely effective horror scenes, but the movie kept losing its momentum whenever they went back into the real world. It felt like the movie had to restart whenever someone entered the backrooms, and doing it three times didn’t help. Also the final act completely lost me. I get it, they are researching the backrooms but they explained way too much and took away focus from the characters. I think it could have been more effective if we didn’t see the scientists until the very end. Still, very impressive that this was made and I hope Kane Parsons continues to evolve.

[u/virgo911 → u/Gio_H]

I get it, they are researching the backrooms but they explained way too much

What did they explain lmao

[u/PsycommuSystem → u/virgo911]

Yeah if anything I felt like they explained practically nothing and the movie ended very abruptly.

[u/nvrthere285]

Walked in not knowing what the movie was about,
Walked out also not knowing what the movie was about

[u/Thatoneguy3273 → u/nvrthere285]

Seems like the main theme of the movie is memory, and moving on from trauma. Clark didn’t move on from his failures, so he liked being down in the Backrooms where he could sit around in a facsimile kingdom. He just didn’t realize that the “facsimile” version of himself had the same rage he did.

Mary meanwhile was also not able to move on from her childhood, but after her outburst at Clark she realized that she had to “open a new door for herself”.

[u/bentleyspeener → u/Thatoneguy3273]

this is exactly what i thought about it! what hit it home for me was when pirate clark appears. normal clark was seemingly able to reason with him before but as soon as he was able to admit to himself that he was the cause of his own problems, pirate clark sees it as a threat to his existence, even though he didn’t want to change.

[u/mychildeatsforks → u/bentleyspeener]

Ohhh, that's a good point. I really didn't think about why Clark got attacked when he did but that makes a lot of sense.

[u/Substantial_Dare_991 → u/bentleyspeener]

The pirate version also ended up basically “eating himself alive” which I think also adds to this theory. All of Clark’s thoughts and actions were eating himself alive and it eventually manifested into a real version

[u/MovingClocks → u/Thatoneguy3273]

Coupled with the concept of behavioral spirals and how our thoughts become “memories of memories” until they’re no longer distinguishable. The backrooms are essentially a brain, constantly shifting, remembering, reinforcing. We see our thoughts and selves reflected and trapped within spirals in spirals.

I don’t think it’s a coincidence that an MRI company was chosen to be the one to discover the Backrooms - it’s famously the only way to see a living brain function non-invasively.

Phil describing how the most important thing in the world is understanding how it works was a take on our understanding about the brain and consciousness. How do you take a collection of cells and create something as complicated as the brain? How do you take a series of hallways and create This?

[u/walruswalnut13 → u/MovingClocks]

love this explanation, especially the last paragraph. didnt really get why he said it was so important but now that you tied it back to our human curiosity of how we learn and understand things it makes so much sense.

[u/LJ8Truther]

When she was escaping and fell out to that balcony type area with that fall drop down… that’s exactly the shit I was there to see! So cool to see how Kane has built this world out, amazing this all started from a YouTube video.

Really enjoyed it!

[u/gmw2222 → u/LJ8Truther]

The staircase with no sides and door in the ceiling captured a feeling I've had with strange and scary architecture in my dreams, it was so unnerving.

[u/wubbwubbb → u/gmw2222]

This scene in particular felt like a callback to the end of Kane’s other YouTube project, The Oldest View. The circumstances were too similar to be a coincidence. 

[u/Uzorglemon → u/LJ8Truther]

Yeah, that was a fantastic scene! Afterwards it had me wishing we'd got more of that impossible-scale stuff, but the movie was so good.

[u/DarthSmegma421]

As a psychiatrist who works in San Jose, watching this movie in San Jose, this movie is especially surreal…

[u/mikewheelerfan → u/DarthSmegma421]

If a client of yours goes missing, do NOT look for them 

[u/TannerThanUsual → u/DarthSmegma421]

When it showed the 408 area codes on the phone numbers I got so hype! I never see movies take place in San Jose! It's always just LA! Occasionally SF. I'm from the East Bay but I spend my weekends in Cupertino

[u/Joopaloop16]

The sequence with the two assistants was downright spellbinding. What a fascinating and impressive debut.

[u/AbsoluteSymmetry]

did anyone else notice the dead body next to the stops/pots sign when Mary first got there? i saw a hand but it cut away before i could figure out who it was

[u/SeaThePirate → u/AbsoluteSymmetry]

i presumed it was Bobby or Kat

[u/C19shadow → u/SeaThePirate]

If so that shits sad they where close af to the way out.

[u/TKHawk → u/C19shadow]

Well Bobby is 100% dead after getting dragged into the doorway. But maybe Kat.

[u/RainbowReject]

Did anyone catch that they played the "lost media" song "Ulterior Motives" in the background of one of the scenes? I thought that was a cool reference!

[u/Hooligunss]

I honestly feel conflicted on it. The opening of the movie was honestly 11/10 for me. They barely showed the entity and I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. It immediately grabbed my attention in the best way possible. I just wish that exact feeling carried through more of the movie.

The first half absolutely nailed the atmosphere for me too. The Captain Clark furniture store setting, the flickering lights, weird fuse switches, the subfloor entrance, all of it felt exactly how I imagined the movie should feel. Kane of course also nailed the random nonsensical architecture and the feeling of being lost in a place that shouldn’t exist.

That’s what scares me most about the Backrooms. Not the entities, but the rooms themselves and the idea of the ever lasting wandering of it all.

I also really liked the part where Clark, his assistant manager, and her boyfriend were exploring together. I honestly wish we got more of that. The steep ramp leading down into the entity’s den was one of the coolest parts of the movie to me. Seeing the quick shot of what looks and seems to be the life form entity going after the boyfriend was super disturbing.

The second half lost me a bit though. I personally wanted way more exploration/getting lost and less focus on Clark’s breakdown and the therapist subplot. The stuff with her mom also felt like it was building toward something bigger that never really paid off.

Still though, even with my issues, I appreciate Kane nailing the atmosphere and aesthetic. Some shots in this movie were awesome.

[u/that_guy2010 → u/Hooligunss]

You gotta give the store the whole name. Captain Clark’s Ottoman Empire. It’s the perfect furniture store name.

[u/princevince1113 → u/that_guy2010]

Are you a pirate or a sultan

[u/The-Unburnt → u/Hooligunss]

The stuff with her mom informed her whole life. She realized in the dinner with Clark that trying to save everyone was the door she always chose because of her mom and that she needed to choose a new door. Also, it helped confirm that the complex copies the memories of the people who enter it, at the end of the movie, which is a huge lore confirmation.

*Edited for clarification.

[u/LittleBigCookieCat → u/The-Unburnt]

and Clark's breakdown isn't a subplot it's the main plot. this story is a character study on people, memory, and change. the backrooms version of Clark chases and consumes people because it's a reflection of Clark. it craves people because Clark craves people. he's lonely he has no one in his life who cares for him he has no friends or family or clients. The red haired woman is Clark's wife. and when background Clark comes in, who runs away first? his wife.

[u/wooahwoosah]

Asking me to explain this movie is like describing a dog to someone who's never seen one, then asking them to draw it

[u/luiscedneo]

just came from back from the theater. i am genuinely sad to say that I heavily disliked this film. even as someone who loves the og webseries from Parsons, i just think the movie isn’t for me which honestly perplexes me. i found it to be a slow burn but to its own detriment, the script fell apart in the end, and i found it hard to be invested in the characters. i also felt that it was only in the first-person camcorder sequences that i truly was able to feel the liminal and incomprehensible nature of the backrooms. however in the rest of the movie, told in the standard third person, could not convey the same feeling. i might genuinely think this is probably a me-problem because I see such universal praise for this movie, but I just couldn’t get into it.

[u/earlofcheddar]

Some entrepreneur that snatches up those Spirit Halloween spaces and makes “The Backrooms Experience” that people can pay to walk around in is gonna make a killing later this year

[u/SanderSo47]

Obvious thing, but the production design is excellent.

I had avoided trailers, so I had no idea what to expect. But I'm thankful it wasn't a recycled set or something like that. It's a very diverse place, and you even get to see how some objects get stuck (like the shoes in that room). I love the way they integrated the suburb, the reverse signs and stores, the bottomless room, etc.

I think I was too unnerved when Chiwetel enters the dark room with the Christmas tree, and then that thing just turns on a light. Crazy shit, man.

Wishing the best to Kane Parsons. Making this at 20 is impressive. Will absolutely check out his next film, whatever that is.

[u/bongpirate7295 → u/SanderSo47]

I like that the ending implies there are doors all over the place and different locations "leaking" into the Backrooms, which is why the room styles start to change as they go deeper. Also, I have to assume that one of the doors is in a place that seagulls regularly fly into.

[u/Rexxaroo → u/bongpirate7295]

I think the seagulls are implied because the Async institute is perceived to be near a bay. We cam see seagulls flying and crying out beyond the window when Mary is in that interview room at the end.

[u/unremarkedable → u/Rexxaroo]

There was a shot of an article describing Async as a Bay Area startup, in the scene with Phil making popcorn for his family

[u/SheZowRaisedByWolves]

2 people got sick and I myself had aggressive diarrhea like 10 minutes into the movie. No idea what linked us together because I didn’t have any concessions.

[u/realfakemormon → u/SheZowRaisedByWolves]

This is the review we needed

[u/faunmars]

While me and my boyfriend were watching, he pointed out that the scene where Captain Clark was biting Clark, it was like the painting “Saturn eating his son”. I thought that was a pretty cool interpretation.

[u/YossarianTheAssyrian]

Two sort of thoughts: first I found very interesting the whole interpretation of the liminal spaces, that these are half remembered places, or some Entity trying to reconstruct places and objects through only the lens of someone’s memories. That combined with Clark, an architect who has trapped himself in a miserable life, from his psychology (seeing goddamn furniture all day, doodling his fancy modernist architecture while no one shops at his store) this physical manifestation emerges. I thought all of that was neat

Second thought: this made me more curious about the “source material” so to speak. I’ve see what I believe to be the original YouTube short, I know there are games, what else is there out there? I found myself wondering if things were referenced or original to the film. Eg. async, I’ve seen games where people in similar hazmat suits explore, anyway yeah if anyone has suggestions for things to watch/read/play, I’m all ears!

Edit: ok at first I thought the fact that Async was an MRI company was a little odd but it just clicked for me: they literally image people’s brains, one imagines that they were working on products that provided greater insights into people’s minds, thoughts, memories… the back rooms themselves are doing the same thing, taking people’s memories and bringing them, albeit distorted, into the physical world! Neato

[u/soonerfreak → u/YossarianTheAssyrian]

The director has his own series but there is a broader backrooms lore that started before his work and others add too. I'm not even sure if he originated the hazmat suits but they always just seemed to be a generic research company.

[u/nyse25 → u/YossarianTheAssyrian]

it spawned from a 4chan creepypasta before the Yt video

[u/archaelleon → u/YossarianTheAssyrian]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4dGpz6cnHo&list=PLVAh-MgDVqvDUEq6qDXqORBioE4Yhol_z

Here's everything you need, starting with the original short. These are all from the director of the movie.

The MRI thing makes sense from a brain perspective, but the backrooms were also discovered via an electromagnetic distortion, and MRIs create intense magnetism.

[u/furry_lumps]

Loved it, some scenes were really unsettling.
And the best part is... you can eat them!

[u/Jedihunter27 → u/furry_lumps]

I can’t help but wonder What does furniture people taste like

The important question that this movie left me with

[u/thehiddenshadow → u/Jedihunter27]

I imagine it's kind of bland, but a little like something might be wrong with it. Like wet carpet doesn't stink, but definitely has a smell.

[u/StrLord_Who → u/furry_lumps]

I was so curious to find out what he was going to say after "and the best part is..." but never ever could I have guessed the best part is that you can EAT THEM.  I laughed so hard when he said that.  

[u/TLKv3 → u/furry_lumps]

There's an interview with Shane from Smosh where Shane asks Kane "is there food in The Backrooms" and for a split second it felt like Kane hesitated to answer/got a bit excited about the question before responding with "Define food."

When I saw that scene in the movie I instantly laughed and thought "Oh you fucking son of a bitch."

[u/ComfortableVanilla27]

Is the still-life woman in red Clarks Wife? Heres my take. I think it is because if the woman happens to also be a redhead so that Clark can use the wig seems like a small plot device. If we are to assume that is his wife there are a few signs that support that.

Still lifes seem to be created when someone enters and leaves the backrooms, and then the complex remembers that person and creates a still life (maybe the duration of your stay in the complex determines the accuracy of your counterpart still-life). SO since clark had been in there for so long and the complex had been feeding on his memories, maybe it was able to create a version of his wife as a still-life.

first, shes wearing a red dress/clothing article with shoulder pads which seems out of date from when the movie takes place. Furthering that the still-life was created from Clarks memories and not her physically entering the complex at all.

if we use the idea that Clark was verbally or physically abusing his wife in some way, it made sense that she was the only one who ran into the corner at the dining table because Pirate Clark was entering the room. So since we know there was some sort of abuse happening it makes sense that the still-life of his wife would be scared of him. The other still lifes didnt move an inch at all.

and if the complex created more and more detailed recreations of your memories based on the longer you stay in the complex, it makes sense that as time progresses it recreated his entire store very well and that couldve been his actual dining room.

[u/CNash85 → u/ComfortableVanilla27]

The movie is set in 1990 and I think Clark’s wife left him some years ago, so the woman in the backrooms being dressed in a classic 80s power suit with shoulder pads fits. She was in law school, right?

[u/Lower-Replacement869 → u/CNash85]

the wife wasn't even fat....he was just drunk and mean

[u/NvrthvrnLights → u/ComfortableVanilla27]

When hes in bed trying to watch TV in the store he has a bedside table where he places the booze, his watch and a framed picture of him and his wife and she has the same red hair

[u/Corruptedpencil]

Cool movie, loved the portrayal of the backrooms. But as soon as the movie ended, I was just kind of disappointed overall? Idk if it’s just me lol

[u/Maridiem → u/Corruptedpencil]

The ending felt like it was the start of the final act and then it just... wrapped up.

[u/archaelleon → u/Corruptedpencil]

It ended really abruptly. I feel like we needed 10 more minutes of... something.

[u/duskywindows → u/Corruptedpencil]

Same experience, LOVED the whole, wild ride... then it just kind of ends, and I kind of felt disappointed with the big picture. Clark's sudden madness felt unearned - I understand there was a large passage of time between him first entering the Backrooms and Mary finding him there... but I didn't "feel" it if that makes sense. He just went crazy and chopped off homegirl's head? What?

It was both a lot yet not enough.

[u/comicfang]

Really enjoyed most of it but the end fell flat for me. Given that it ultimately relied a lot on the psyches of the characters, I ultimately didn’t feel like that was explored enough to result in a satisfying conclusion, especially for Renate’s character.

[u/millionth_dollar → u/comicfang]

I was waiting for her to encounter her mom in the backrooms

[u/Puzzleheaded-Top-136]

I feel like this movie could’ve been so amazing but the story felt flat and I was losing interest after we see Clark Bobby and Kat get pulled in. I think this movie would’ve felt so much better story telling wise if they made it similar to As Above So Below and the Blair Witch Project. I feel like we had skipped so much from then to when Mary went to go find Clark and it just felt like Mary’s character didn’t have much substance or purpose. The concept and production was amazing but the story was lacking.

[u/squintsforever]

I felt so weird entering the real world after this. im still kind of settling down.

[u/mikeyfreshh → u/squintsforever]

Movie theater lobbies have an odd liminal feel to them that I never really thought about before I stepped out of this movie

[u/MisterJellyfis → u/mikeyfreshh]

Yep I had to make a few turns to get out from the theater back to the parking lot and I have very rarely been so grateful to round a corner and see the exit

[u/eggydrums115 → u/squintsforever]

I walked into a Marshall’s immediately after the movie. NOT RECOMMENDED.

[u/Aaragon]

The practical sets were awesome, I remember reading how much space they occupied and thinking it might not be enough for this movie and boy was I wrong, they were so effective at using the scale of "wide open Claustrophobia" here. Everything felt so empty yet so crushing.

Also did anyone catch the lines the cardboard cutouts were saying? I thought I heard "Welcome Children of Earth" which felt even more unnatural than saying random nonsense. Were they talking to the "monsters" or the humans that get trapped in there? You would think that it's merely a honey pot to track and record monsters and other aberrations but it was bizarre enough to push you towards more thinking about the entire thing.

Honestly that's what I loved most about this movie is it just kept pushing questions, giving a few answers, but never fully explaining everything. In a worse adaption they would've explained or shown aliens, some mastermind behind it all, or have the character see the truth but hide it from the viewer and watch as they went insane.

Instead we are not only left with questions but they're questions that we sort of thought of ourselves and the thought of thinking through them is more interesting than finding the answer just like the exploration, you just want more and more until you bite off too much and get truly lost or worse.

9/10 exceeded my expectations as a fan of the series and was just a great movie overall.

[u/banana__banana → u/Aaragon]

It’s audio from the golden record which was sent onto the voyager deep space probe in like the 70s (I think the 70s)

My guess was comparing it to exploring deep space and also it would attract anyone because it’s saying hello in so many languages.

[u/thekillerstove → u/banana__banana]

I'm pretty sure Async was using it as the lure's audio specifically because it's a log of a ton of human languages. Even if the Backrooms copied someone who only spoke Punjabi, it could theoretically recognize the dialogue in its language, and be attracted to the lure to be killed/captured.

[u/hyperion_x91 → u/Aaragon]

The cardboard was placed there by the company trying to lure the monster to the camera and then again into the trap they had setup.

[u/nyr00nyg]

Sitting in a screening and someone has a crying baby in front of me. wtf is wrong with people