When a horror movie breaks records for its studio, you know you're probably onto something special. Kane Parsons's Backrooms was a relevant in its opening weekend and has now cemented its place at the highest-grossing A24 movie of all time. But does it deliver fully on the promise of big screen liminal spaces? We break it down in this episode of the Certified Forgotten podcast.
Clark (Chiwitel Ejiofor) is a man caught in the in-between. His marriage is failing; his furniture store, the charmingly named Capt’n Clark’s Ottoman Empire, is on the verge of closing. So when Clark’s drunken wanderings cause him to discover endless corridors behind his building, he can at least tell his therapist – the infomercial-famous Dr. Mary Kline (Renate Reinsve) – that he’s not imagining things. But when Clark goes missing, Dr. Kline decides to take things into her own hands, causing her to explore the titular backrooms in search of her patient.
In this short clip from the episode, Matt Donato shares some of his misgivings about the film:
I think Parsons does a good job when we go grainy, handheld, and enter the backrooms as we would one of those hazmat suit characters. But for as much as I love Chiwetel Ejiofor, I think Clark's arc towards the backend really loses steam and really loses the essence of what horror exists in these liminal spaces.
The Backrooms episode of the Certified Forgotten podcast is now available to stream on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube Music, or the podcast platform of your choice.
