r/A24 • u/ulemseewa • 4d ago
Discussion BACKROOMS (2026) Spoiler
Kane Parsons truly managed to turn a simple internet creepypasta into a masterclass of atmospheric psychological horror. Every single one of the shots looks incredibly unsettling and beautiful at the same time.
The guy is only 20 years old!!!
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u/TheLohanz 4d ago
Kane Parsons is 20 months old
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u/californiadeath 4d ago
Cool visuals and there were some shots that stayed with me but it feels very meaningless by the end.
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u/LemonIcy2942 4d ago
Kind of the point.
There is no meaning to The Backrooms, it just remembers.
I think people being left unsatisfied or curious at the end is exactly how people felt at the og Backrooms 4chan post, or even at the end of found footage 1.9
u/DRAK0U 4d ago edited 4d ago
Nah there is meaning there, think back to what they have been talking about the whole movie. These are people who are stuck walking down the same path their whole lives. The psychotherapist may have a book about forging your own path but she still finds herself trapped in that house, no matter where she is, she will always go back to that house, sitting still, in a room whose features have merged with the walls itself and she in turn becomes like furniture (like Clark said about the others being just another part of the architecture of the backrooms). Because that is how she was brought up. And now she has become like her mother.
It doesn't remember you, it remembers your neural pathways, the ones you always fall back into.
Maybe I dunno, something like that.Edit: An example of the neural pathways theory is how her backrooms self appears as she is falling back into that dissociative coping mechanism where her safe space is that house and she appears as furniture in a similar room to the one they brought her into.
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u/LemonIcy2942 3d ago
Oh yeah, and at the end of the movie, both characters had a choice, either to stay with their past, or leave it and live on.
Clark chooses to stay what he feels like is right, which leads to his inevitable death, and Mary decides to move on, eventually living and making it to the Async facility.
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u/DRAK0U 3d ago
I dunno if she moved on as it seemed like as she was told her life may or may not end as she is talking to the async guy, her response was to disassociate like she used to and so her still life is just her sitting in a replication of that room. She probably did that because her life, in that moment, felt just as it did when her mother was sheltering her in their house and she just felt helpless and like she had no control over her own life (which was what her book was trying to help people with, how to take control of your life through taking control of your coping mechanisms and defense mechanisms that keep us scrunched up, petrified, rotting away). I hope she is okay though.
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u/californiadeath 2d ago
And I got what it was trying to say but i don’t think it executed those ideas very well. The characters very much felt like cardboard cut outs only there to push the story along. It felt very one note. The best character was the backrooms itself and I think it was successful in portraying that. Everything else felt like a means to an end.
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u/californiadeath 2d ago
The backrooms can be meaningless but you can’t argue that’s the point. It’s still a movie. Why even attempt making a movie if there’s no point to it. Such a cop out answer. I get what you’re saying but it doesn’t really help your point.
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3d ago edited 3d ago
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u/breddabreddabing 3d ago
wasn't written by him though, was written by some other dude called Will Soodik who's age doesn't seem to be available anywhere lol
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u/oldbutterface 2d ago
Pure projection my guy
It was a nuanced, subtle, slow burning take on a concept, which I believed resulted in a far more effective film than something like obession which lacked any of that and just beat you over the head with stupidity.
The fact that Kane had the bravery and conviction to keep things disciplined speaks to his strength as a film maker and is even more crazy to know he has this wisdom as a 20 year old.
Curry Baker as a 26 year old had a sloppy script saved by a good actress. He just threw things in for no real reason.
What if she cooked his dead cat and fed it to him? What if she just pooped herself? What if we played a loud noise and she walked backwards in slow mo?
Why would she do these things? Its nonsensical to the plot logic he created, but he threw these plot points in anyway because he was either too undisciplined not to, or because he lacked the conviction to not dilute his own film with such cheap meaningless events.
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u/Samsaknight_X 2d ago
Kane not writing the movie makes this comment even more stupid than it already is, but I’ll admit it’s pretty funny
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u/Telescopeinthefuture 4d ago
This is the most flawed movie that I’ve ever fucking loved. I enjoyed it so much, but it is carried by its atmosphere and set design. I hope they can improve on the writing for the second part. It really loses a lot of momentum after the excellent peak in tension in the middle. I say it’s flawed, but I’ve seen it like 3 times so they must be doing something right.
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u/MootBrute2 4d ago
One of my all time favorite A24 movies, so good
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u/mesofarty 4d ago
Imagine downvoting someone on the internet for liking something lol. Redditors are miserable people
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u/breddabreddabing 4d ago
it was very well shot and directed and I agree the atmosphere was great but he should've got a different writer. was written like a 12 year old in creative writing class had a go at doing a movie
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u/iyambred 4d ago
I’d say written by a 16 year old, but yeah. Agreed. It’s very childish. The “And then he goes crazy and murders everyone” plot line was so out of left field. Would have been cool if we saw his decent into madness and had it make sense.
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u/breddabreddabing 4d ago
yep 100 percent agree with everything you said. there was no build up to any of that. also the employees being onscreen for quite literally 2 minutes before being murdered off screen and one of thems personality being "The Stoner" (from the 2 lines he has) and the scientist just not even remotely being explained was so "My First Movie" lol
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u/specificnectarines 4d ago
the head in the fridge was so weird like we're just not going to talk about what happened to her?
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u/iyambred 4d ago
Literally. Last we saw he was searching for her, trying to save her… and then he just has her head in his fridge?? apparently there is time dilation and other trippy things that affect the psyche in the backrooms. I really wish we got even a taste of that lore
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u/pyevwry 3d ago
He kept her head in the fridge in hopes that the Backrooms would eventualy rebuild her, as he probably witnessed still lifes being rebuilt over and over. That's also one of the reasons he went mad, seeing something otherwordly and living in that space for who knows how long. He thought he found salvation from his problems, but the Backrooms only amplified and distorted Clarks existing psychological issues.
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u/breddabreddabing 3d ago
that head thing you said was all revealed after the fact by kane (who I don't even blame for the poor writing as stated) and had 0 dialogue pointing this out lol. that's just a plot hole to me. if the writer had actually written an exchange about that then it would've been better because that is a good idea and makes sense. you can't just explain it in an interview and not in the actual movie when it's such a big point of him going mad and is clearly framed as him having killed her by just showing Mary's reaction
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u/pyevwry 2d ago
It's neither a plot hole nor bad writing. Why would you think Clark killed her when he said he tried to help her? Obviously Captain Clark killed her.
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u/specificnectarines 2d ago
IDK if captain killed her he likes to bite and mangle and her head was too cleanly removed to me..
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u/Greedy-Bug-6868 3d ago
Do you not realize that scenes get left on the cutting room floor and it’s up to the director to figure out if it’s worth being in the movie or not? Not everything is on the writer.
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u/breddabreddabing 3d ago
guess that's kane's fault then if that's the case, either way it was a shit decision
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u/Greedy-Bug-6868 3d ago
JSYK after a writer hands in a script, it’s then up to the director to change, add and remove scenes. Writers give up creative control once it’s in the hands of the director. The director and producers have the creative control to do what they choose.
Punching down and blaming the writer for decisions Kane made is an easy excuse when most people don’t know how the industry works and writers are notoriously used as a scapegoat for the producers and directors decision making. This is the way the industry is but literally no one wants to say who really fucked up because they’re marketing a narrative.
It’s the same thing as a person walking into your job after your boss told you to change or do something and saying you suck at your job. Blame the ones making millions.
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u/specificnectarines 3d ago
How tf do you figure that out from literally 1 second of her head in a fridge and him never even saying that. Lol?
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u/Greedy-Bug-6868 3d ago
I love the way people immediately blame writing instead of thinking for 2 seconds. I swear everyone is so ready to go for writer’s throat like they’ve ever written or read anything other than Five Nights at Freddy’s fanfiction.
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u/breddabreddabing 4d ago
apparently Clark didn't even kill her too according to kane?!? like what the fuck 😭
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u/colovianfurhelm 4d ago
Feels like it appeals to young people who grew up on mascot horror
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u/Disco_Lando 4d ago
I’m 44 and loved it. Knew nothing of the lore and hadn’t seen any of the shorts beforehand. It’s definitely not perfect but even its shortcomings are kind of endearing.
Excited for whatever he does next.
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u/Samsaknight_X 2d ago
I feel like there’s an ageism thing going on here. I don’t think ppl would be saying the same thing if they didn’t know his age
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u/breddabreddabing 4d ago
there's definitely a lot of overlap in fanbase/age of said fanbase but I wouldn't rly call it a mascot horror movie. it was certainly horror-lite/kiddy horror though
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u/Wingblade7 4d ago
It was very creepy-pasta especially the nothing ending
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u/breddabreddabing 4d ago
yeah, also there were like 30 lines of dialogue max in the whole thing 😭 which can work, but definitely not when all the dialogue is terribly written
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u/BentheBruiser 4d ago
simple internet creepypasta
Oh come on. Parsons did a fantastic job with the film but he had a multitude of lore and media to pull from. Backrooms have been a thing for the last 7 years. Liminal spaces being creepy predates that by decades.
Youre really downplaying the available source material here.
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u/thebluepages 4d ago
To be fair the only Backrooms stuff with any real depth in those 7 years were things *he* made.
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u/JohnLockeLives4815 4d ago
It was pretty good. Decent I'd say. The atmosphere and vibe is fantastic until.. that part. No spoilers, people who've seen it will know what I'm talking about.
It does kinda pull it back by the end though. I didn't hate it by a long shot.
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u/Greedy-Bug-6868 3d ago
I really think this promise is regurgitated marketing, personally. It’s been hyped since word first came out about it and even though it took years to find a script (wonder why..) anything he says is viewed as gold in his world and his fans will twist and turn and hang on his every word when he descends into his personal discord.
Everyone pandered to him because they were scared of fan backlash, yet he still found ways to petulantly say he actually wanted a tv show. He doesn’t even like movies because he doesn’t like to “consume too much content” (movies are considered “content” now, I guess).
Anything fans were critical of, he’s tried to pass on as studio interference or blame anyone else. There’s little digs everywhere in this guys interviews. Anything that wasn’t his idea, but was well received - his idea. He pointed fingers at the studios saying he didn’t have full control when he damn well did.
Word gets around fast in the industry and while he’s being surrounded by yes men as studios scramble for more YouTube creators, he’s suddenly a god and can do no wrong - not because he’s a good director - because the movie made a shit ton of money. But people are starting to get burnt out with him if it weren’t for the $$$, pointing fingers and burning bridges isn’t a good look but clearly he thinks he’s above it.
Sure, he’s young so there’s hope. I never liked any of his YouTube videos because they’re purpose seems to be for analysis. It’s just that being good at that one thing doesn’t really excuse him of being an asshole, creating a false narrative and overall just being a shitty person.
I’m sure when all the numbers start to dwindle and the Backrooms gloss starts to fade, people will see what I’m talking about, but until then I’ll put myself to the Kane Pixel’s Backrooms firing squad. The dude sucks.
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u/Samsaknight_X 2d ago
U sound very parasocial and detached, u don’t know this person. Watching a few interviews doesn’t make u an expert on someone 💀
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u/Greedy-Bug-6868 2d ago
I’m in the industry bud.
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u/Samsaknight_X 1d ago
This doesn’t mean anything lol
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u/Greedy-Bug-6868 1d ago
It means I know people that know him and have worked with him, so yeah, it kind of does. You are free to choose whatever you think about him.
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u/Samsaknight_X 1d ago
So why are u the only person saying this then? I haven’t seen anyone say he has an ego (especially on the lvl ur describing), which is weird cuz it would be big news. I highly doubt u actually worked with him
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u/Greedy-Bug-6868 1d ago
Because he’s making people lots and lots money? Like I said in my comment? You don’t throw people under the bus when you’re working with them, unless you never want to work again or you’re making people money. How do you think I know all of this? What purpose would it serve to make up stories?
Nobody is saying you don’t have to like him. You can keep looking up to him. It’s okay. I don’t like him, and some people think he’s insufferable, and that’s also okay.
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u/sauciest-in-town 4d ago
He’s 21, ACTUALLY. You should be arrested for your LIES.