Backrooms (2026) reviews

The Fuzzy Mushroom take on Backrooms

By Fuzzy Mushroom · Updated 13 November 2026 · The Pros 82 · The Punters 54 · Spore Score 69 · How we write our takes

Why The Pros rate it higher than The Punters

Backrooms is one of the clearest critic-versus-audience splits of the year. The Pros give it 82, The Punters only 54, and the Spore Score lands on 69 with a fuzzy tag. That 28-point gap makes sense once you know what the film is. It is a slow, eerie, mood-first horror film built on dread and empty space rather than jump scares, and critics tend to reward that kind of control. Many viewers arrived expecting a monster chase based on a famous internet legend, and some of them left frustrated by how little the film explains.

What it is

Backrooms is the feature debut of Kane Parsons, the young filmmaker behind the hugely popular Backrooms web series on YouTube, which grew out of the online creepypasta about an endless maze of yellow office rooms. A24 released it in American cinemas on 29 May 2026, with a script by Will Soodik and producers including James Wan's Atomic Monster and Shawn Levy's 21 Laps. Chiwetel Ejiofor plays Clark, the owner of a struggling furniture store who finds a glowing gap in the wall of his basement that leads into the Backrooms. Renate Reinsve plays Mary, his therapist, with Mark Duplass, Finn Bennett and Lukita Maxwell in support.

What it does well

Parsons knows exactly what made his videos work: the hum of fluorescent lights, the damp carpet, the corridors that go on too long, and the sense that something is just out of view. The film keeps that low-key, found-footage feel while giving it real actors and a proper story about two lonely people. Ejiofor and Reinsve take the material seriously, which makes the strange stuff land harder.

Where The Punters have a point

If you want answers, you will not get many. The pace is deliberate, the scares are spread thin, and the ending leans into mystery rather than payoff. Fans of the web series may also feel that the slow build of the original works better in short bursts than across nearly two hours.

Who it is for

Anyone who loves liminal-space horror, slow-burn A24 films, or the original Backrooms videos. If you prefer horror with a clear villain and regular jolts, try something else first.

The Fuzzy Mushroom verdict

Good bet, with a Spore Score of 69. A confident, unsettling debut that critics clearly admire, but its slow, puzzle-box style splits ordinary viewers right down the middle.