I’ve been trying to figure out why liminal space horror has been so big recently. Is it because people feel more lost now than they ever have? As characters wander and fumble around M. C. Escher-style spaces that seem to have no beginning or end, maybe it’s easy for us to identify with those trapped disoriented souls. Maybe we even envy them, because in a world that seems crazier now than it ever has, who wouldn’t want to just get lost somewhere in those zoned-out spaces?
Backrooms is the newest addition to the ranks of liminal space films (joining other recent films like Skinamarink, Exit 8 and The Space Between) and the first two acts of the film masterfully set up the story and move it along. As for the third act? Well, Truman Capote once said “Life is a moderately good play with a badly written third act”. Unfortunately, so is Backrooms.
In the 1990’s, struggling furniture store owner Clark (Chiwetel Ejiofor) is coping with alcoholism and a recent divorce. He regularly has sessions with psychotherapist Dr. Mary Kline (Renate Reinsve), who secretly wrestles with her own psychological issues stemming from her mentally ill mother.
When Clark accidentally steps through the portal-like basement wall of his furniture store, he enters a seemingly endless space with corridors and staircases that twist in random directions. With a mixture of delight and curiosity, he starts mapping the space, even telling a skeptical Dr. Kline about it. But the longer he explores the “backrooms”, the more he realizes he’s not the only one journeying through it. What are those sounds he keeps hearing always coming from around the next corner?
The most enjoyable (dare I say intoxicating?) parts of Backrooms are when Clark is exploring the backrooms, with so many random doors and objects appearing that you never know what’s going to pop up when he walks down a slope, turns a doorknob or crawls through a narrow passageway. There’s something addictive about it. I think we all crave the unknown and these scenes deliver it spectacularly.
At one point, he takes along his two airhead store employees Kat (Lukita Maxwell) and her boyfriend Bobby (Finn Bennett) to explore with him. Bobby’s armed with a video camera and for a while, the film turns into a pretty solid found footage film. I could have watched 3 hours of the trio roaming through the corridors but unfortunately these exploration scenes are surprisingly short in comparison to the rest of the film.
Director Kane Parsons and writer Will Soodik choose instead to layer on some psychological angst, devoting a good chunk of the film’s beginning to showing how Clark and Dr. Kline are both dealing with past trauma. At points it’s a bit too on the nose, especially when Dr. Kline keeps telling Clark that he’s “taking the same path and refusing to try a different direction” in dealing with his alcoholism and divorce. He’s taking the SAME PATH instead of trying a DIFFERENT DIRECTION, get it?
I found the third act of the film disappointing, as it takes a sharp turn into body horror that feels completely different from everything that happened before it.
Chiwetel Ejiofor and Renate Reinsve give their usual top-notch performances, which elevates the film to another level. I’m not sure how director Parsons was able to sign them up for his film but I’m glad he did. Both actors throw themselves into the roles 100% with not a hint of humor or irony, no matter how insane things get. Ejiofor gives an especially great performance, giving incredible weight and pathos to his character.
If you have any of the following fears: monophobia (the fear of being alone), claustrophobia (fear of confined spaces), nyctophobia (fear of being in the dark), acrophobia (the fear of heights), you’ll definitely get some chills from the film and its multi-faceted mysteries.
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