Backrooms

Directed by Kane Parsons, Backrooms follows Chiwetel Ejiofor’s Clark as he discovers a portal to the expansive, mysterious title locale. Filmmaker Parsons, armed with a screenplay by Will Soodik, does a terrific job of instantly drawing the viewer into the admittedly erratic proceedings, as Backrooms kicks off with a striking opening sequence that effectively establishes the compelling, spooky central atmosphere – with the picture, beyond that point, seguing into a leisurely-paced narrative focused on Ejiofor’s surprisingly well-developed figure. (And this is to say nothing of Renate Reinsve’s strong turn as Clark’s concerned therapist.) It’s clear, ultimately, that Backrooms is at its best within a low-key midsection focused on Clark’s engrossing exploration of his newfound environs, as the picture’s eventual sharp detour into palpable surrealism is perhaps not quite as captivating as Parsons has surely intended. (There’s an oddball scene detailing Clark’s encounter with a few of the backrooms’ off-the-wall denizens that just seems to go on and on, for example.) By the time the enthralling, exciting climax rolls around, however, Backrooms has definitively cemented its place as a stirring horror effort that (hopefully) heralds the arrival of a promising new genre filmmaker.

*** out of ****