tech
‘I found a place’: how Backrooms captures the horror of sinister architecture
Buzzy new thriller Backrooms takes us on an unknowable journey through liminal spaces, the latest film to turn a building into a horror villain
TL;DR
- Backrooms is a new A24 thriller directed by 20-year-old Kane Parsons, based on his YouTube series of the same name.
- The film explores the concept of "liminal spaces," described as eerie, in-between places devoid of identity, often stemming from modernist architecture and consumer culture.
- The story centers on Clark, a furniture store owner who discovers a portal to a mysterious, endless "backrooms" realm in his showroom's basement.
- The movie utilizes architectural elements like drop ceilings and fluorescent lighting to evoke feelings of absence, nostalgia, and bureaucratic dread.
- The horror in Backrooms is generated by the unknown, focusing on what is left out and the lack of clarity regarding the governing forces of the space.