Horror in 2026 is increasingly about atmosphere and space, not just shocks. A handful of new voices are steering a possible next wave, turning attention to liminal, threshold-level dread built from empty interiors.
YouTube sensation Kane Parsons expands his signature analog-horror style into a full-length feature with Backrooms. The premise is simple but unsettling: a sprawling maze of shifting rooms that can swallow a person whole. In the film, Clark, a weary furniture dealer, slips into this world and becomes consumed by its peculiar logic.
The movie sings when it stays within Parsons’s wheelhouse—large, tactile interiors that make the unreal feel tangibly real. The spaces bend sense rather than breaking it, turning doors, stairs, and windows into disorienting oddities. The strongest moment comes when Clark wanders through room after room with little dialogue, and the mounting suspense lands with quiet, creeping fear.
Dialogue-heavy stretches—especially exchanges between Clark and his therapist Mary—momentarily pull the rhythm away from the mood the visuals build. Still, Parsons’ mature directorial hand shines through, a notable achievement given his youth and early start on the internet.
The film’s real lure is the imagined location itself. The backrooms are rendered with expansive scale and meticulous detail, inviting wonder about what lies just beyond the frame. As danger escalates, Parsons keeps the tone restrained, letting dread accumulate rather than shouting it. The ending leaves most questions unanswered, a fitting echo of the labyrinthine corridors at the story’s core.
Why it stands out
Backrooms is all about world-building. The set design sustains a hypnotic unease, and the most memorable scenes hinge on what’s implied rather than shown. Two long VHS-style sequences capture Parsons at his most confident, delivering brisk shocks while letting the audience fill in the gaps with imagination.
Author Esther Rosenfield notes the clear control of mood and pace, and the film’s quiet confidence makes it feel like a trailblazer for a potential new direction in horror cinema. The closing beat keeps the mystery alive, mirroring the endless, yellow-walled corridors that define the film’s atmosphere.
Written by Esther Rosenfield, Backrooms marks a promising debut from a young creator who already feels at home in a distinctly cinematic language.
Source: Original article
