May I ask your review of the Backrooms movie?
it was a mixed bag for me, really awesome and fun on a technical level, loved the sets, all the kane pixels type stuff was even better than I was expecting it to be, I could definitely tell when it swapped over to sfx rather than physical sets but it was still clean as hell. some really creepy visuals in the quieter moments and there is also a ratman mural straight out of a Portal game which I think is why so many people are mentioning Portal regarding this film. I also felt that the cinematography was gorgeous and even a lot of the scenes outside the backrooms were shot beautifully. I think my favorite scene was that very long and tense dining room scene where certain rules of the backrooms get sort of "explained" (by a guy who is absolutely insane so you can't really tell what's real and what's not) really fun stuff and really eerie.
I'm not a movie buff but I really did not get with the script. it just kind of felt pretentious, like the actual definition of pretentious, like it was putting on airs as a prestige drama when I really couldn't pick up on much actually going on under the hood. there was so much setup about that therapist's trauma and history and then she bashes that handprint rock to pieces on the side of the pirate monster's head. okay? that felt as though it was supposed to be some big character arc defining moment but if it had real significance it was lost on me. her story and Clark's story felt like they didn't pair well together like oil and water. the therapist had so much setup and then all that has to take a backseat so she can have a final girl chase scene and then the movie just ends. rly fun chase scene (barring 1 fuck ass screw the audience jumpscare) but just felt like it derailed anything the movie mightve been going for in terms of themes or a message
Im also gonna fall on the grenade for anyone else who might be in the same boat as me and say I did indeed not really understand the mechanics of the backrooms and I didn't really get the ending and frankly it just left me kind of annoyed and dispassionate in a contrast to some other movies with odd endings that I immediately wanted to get to the bottom of. I know this is just begging for people to mock me but yep didn't get it beyond the vaguest concepts. the backrooms are basically like silent hill and Clark is so fucked in the head he manifested one that sucked in everyone else in his life like a vortex. any twists beyond that escape me. it definitely felt like the scientist she spoke to had some kind of shenanigans going on that I certainly did not pick up on. I mean if he didn't then he was an entirely pointless character to the film. I'll be curious to see what that caveman standee was saying in all those different languages!
there was also just a lot of annoying tropey writing that put me off... all the classic annoyances that come with a plot about someone discovering something supernatural in the real world. if you've heard me rant about this stuff on stream you know the drill. I know he's supposed to be totally unhinged and friendless but the scene of him trying to explain the backrooms to his therapist had me rolling my eyes pretty hard. I'm sure though when I see a youtube video about this movie in 2 months it'll explain how actually the whole world of the movie was all in the backrooms and that makes all the dumb stuff make sense!!
so yeah mixed bag. didn't feel like a waste of time and in terms of horror Ive seen a hell of a lot worse. 3 out of 5 stars from me
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