Dr. Mary Kline (Renate Reinsve) in ‘Backrooms’
A24
In Backrooms the most terrifying creature lurking inside the sickly yellow labyrinth might just be yourself.
Adapted from digital folklore, Backrooms is directed by YouTuber Kane Parsons, who translates the viral creepypasta into a surreal horror film.
The movie follows a furniture salesman trapped in a stagnant life, ending abruptly with a hint of a possible sequel.
Warning—Spoilers Ahead
What Is the Plot of ‘Backrooms’?
The entrance to the Backrooms is discovered by Clark (Chiwetel Ejiofor), who is living in his low‑budget furniture store after a painful divorce and nursing resentment toward his circumstances.
After a candid session with his therapist Dr. Mary Kline (Renate Reinsve), it is clear that Clark struggles to accept his role in his marriage’s breakdown.
Clark blames his ex‑wife for his menial job, which sometimes forces him into cheesy pirate‑themed commercials.
He eventually “noclips” through a wall in the store’s lower level, entering the Backrooms.
The Backrooms are rendered faithfully to the internet myth: flickering fluorescent lights, carpeted floors you can almost smell, and endless office corridors littered with random, eerie objects that seem fused into the walls.
The space absorbs all artificial detritus—tacky trophies of commercialism appear everywhere.
When Clark realizes a mysterious, violent creature stalks the corridors, he manages to escape, but the Backrooms continue to beckon.
He returns with his two employees, Bobby (Finn Bennett) and Kat (Lukita Maxwell), and documents the experience on camera.
These pixelated, first‑person sequences echo Parsons’ viral Backrooms videos on YouTube since 2022 and remain some of the film’s most unsettling moments.
After a deadly encounter with the monster, the therapist Mary discovers the entrance while looking for a client. She finds Clark, who has clearly lost his mind.
Clark forces a disturbing “dinner” conversation, insisting the Backrooms are his sanctuary and demanding Mary absolve him of blame for his divorce. Mary, however, turns the tables and blames Clark for his misery.
The monster, a grotesque version of Clark’s pirate persona, appears. Clark convinces the creature that his therapist has validated him, and the beast devours him.
Why Does the ‘Backrooms’ Monster Eat Clark?
In this scene, Clark articulates the film’s thesis: the Backrooms house fragmented, distorted memories from the outside world.
They function as the subconscious of modern life—anyone who enters leaves a piece of themselves behind.
For Clark, the monstrous pirate embodies his worst self: stagnation and unfulfilled potential. By staying, he embraces denial and escapism.
He notes that the Backrooms’ inhabitants feel no pain and seem almost lifeless, yet he envies them.
When Clark forces Mary to validate his delusions, the self‑destructive cycle closes, and he is ultimately consumed by his own psyche.
The Ending of ‘Backrooms,’ Explained
Mary flees the creature, traversing increasingly distorted, dreamlike corridors as the Backrooms grow more abstract.
She reaches a room filled with gas canisters rigged to explode when a cardboard cutout falls. Using a childhood memento, she defeats the monster and escapes.
Men in hazmat suits transport her to a laboratory where the creature is captured.
There, a researcher named Phil (Mark Duplass) of the enigmatic company Async interrogates her. Async, originally a maker of MRI machines, now studies the Backrooms, suggesting they are a world‑changing discovery linked to brainwave patterns.
Images show the Backrooms infused with Mary’s memories, culminating in the reveal that a replica of Mary now exists among the distorted inhabitants Clark once admired.
Rather than being rescued, Mary appears destined to participate in Async’s experiments, likely to return to the Backrooms and confront her own trauma.
Will There Be a ‘Backrooms’ Sequel?
A24 has not officially confirmed a sequel, but the film hints at a broader narrative.
In an interview with Polygon, Parsons said Backrooms could launch a series of films.
“This film is the first part in what I would desire to be several narrative steps, in terms of approaching what I consider to be the true heart of the idea. I just don’t think you could get to it in the time you have for a single movie.”
“A series would be my dream scenario, personally. I think that’s the most practical way to narratively get what you want.”
