When people get turned around and find somewhere that they’re not supposed to be, somewhere empty with no one around you, they find a liminal space.

A liminal space is somewhere that’s both eerie and desolate, filled with the absence of others.

The Backrooms as a concept were born from an eerie image of the upstairs of a hobby store in Oshkosh, Wisconsin and has captivated the internet ever since.

The original image shows yellow wallpaper and old carpet baked in fluorescent light that invokes an unsettling feeling.

The internet turned this image into a place that goes on forever and has no rhyme or reason.

This singular image has given rise to liminal horror with video games releasing trying to replicate this style and fan interpretations being written to explain what the Backrooms are.

However, the issue with these interpretations and the recently released movie, simply titled “The Backrooms,” is that the Backrooms are being explained.

When you fill the corridors with monsters and evil corporations, it’s no longer empty and, by extension, no longer truly liminal.

That being said, Kane Parsons, the 20-year-old director making his debut, still does an amazing job at depicting these corridors.

The set design is the best example of this as it feels like the Backrooms have been ported directly from the original image as they had so much depth and time put into capturing the unsettling feeling of the truly infinite expanse

This makes sense as Parsons previously produced a YouTube series comprised of found footage to tell the story of people who fell into the Backrooms.

There are two found footage sections in the movie and they are easily the best parts. The first-person perspectives and the scenes they are used for work insanely well.

The visuals are also amazing, even when not in the found footage portions, and the camera placement captures the emptiness of the Backrooms, isolating the characters as they explore.

This movie does an excellent job of building a sense of dread as we follow Clark (Chiwetel Ejiofor) and Mary (Renate Reinsve) as they explore the infinite expanse.

Clark is living his life on the edge, grasping for normalcy in his life as he deals with the absurdity of it. Ejiofor does well playing a deeply disturbed man, making him a highlight of the movie.

Mary plays an interesting role in the movie serving as a major side character for the start and then becoming the protagonist in the final act. Reinsve does a great job of capturing her desperation and fear in the finale.

All the characters in the limited cast feel like real people who are pushed to comprehend something that can’t be.

“The Backrooms” is a movie that does not hold your hand when it comes to its messaging. It’s up to you to interpret the ideas laid out before you and that’s where people will probably not enjoy the movie.

There are interesting themes explored throughout the movie like mental health and the downsides of capitalism in the ‘90s.

Will Soodik, the screenwriter of the movie, had his work cut out for him bringing the script together for such an iconic liminal space, but it doesn’t always work.

This is especially true in the third act of the movie where some scenes feel like they just go on for too long and some dialogue can feel choppy.

The main entity, when it’s revealed, is goofy while being scary at the same time. The movie is at its best when the entity is hidden from the viewer.

When “The Backrooms” reaches its climax and has all the cards on the table, the presentation isn’t as strong as the buildup leading to it throughout the movie.

The entity is built up with so much fear and dread thought the movie making you fear for the characters safety every second they stay in the Backrooms.

The entity looms over the empty corridors, only pictured in paintings and in very blurry camera shots. The audience sees the destruction in its wake and what it does to the people who run into it.

Unfortunately, a lot of the tension was gone after the entity’s initial reveal. It never really feels like a threat outside of one specific scene and the final chase sequence drags on.

The movie isn’t perfect, but it’s still one of the best adaptations of the Backrooms.

Rating: 4/5

Emerson Reynolds can be reached at 581-2812 or at [email protected].