Enter a Rotten Tomatoes movie slug to inspect the stored movie, batches, snapshots, and reviews.
Movie ID: 276
RT slug: backrooms
RT URL: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/backrooms
Release year: 2026
Runtime: 110 mins
Wide release date: 2026-05-29
Limited release date: —
Festival premiere date: —
Streaming release date: —
Tomatometer final: —
Audience score final: —
Genres: Horror, Sci-Fi
Directors: Kane Parsons
Writers: Will Soodik
Producers: Chris Ferguson, Dan Cohen, Dan Levine, James Wan, Jenno Topping, Kori Adelson, Michael Clear, Oz Perkins, Peter Chernin, Roberto Patino, Shawn Levy
MPAA rating: R
Executive Producers: —
Created: 2026-05-14 16:37:22
Updated: 2026-06-04 16:46:50
A strange doorway appears in the basement of a furniture showroom.
—
Canonical reviews: 270
Canonical fresh: 237
Canonical rotten: 33
Canonical calculated Tomatometer: 88%
Latest snapshot UTC: 2026-06-17 12:12:59
Snapshot Tomatometer: 88%
Snapshot review count: 269
Snapshot fresh count: —
Snapshot rotten count: —
Source note: Imported from manual review paste batch #1398 (delta_update)
| Company | Role |
|---|---|
| A24 | distributor |
| 21 Laps Entertainment | production |
| A24 | production |
| Atomic Monster | production |
| Chernin Entertainment | production |
| Billing | Name | Character |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chiwetel Ejiofor | — |
| 2 | Renate Reinsve | — |
| 3 | Mark Duplass | — |
| 4 | Finn Bennett | — |
| 5 | Lukita Maxwell | — |
| Batch ID | Status | Mode | Created | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 291 | processed | — | 2026-05-14 16:37:22 | Processed successfully into movie_id=276 using update_mode=merge_non_empty. |
| Batch ID | Local Snapshot | UTC Snapshot | Entered % | Entered Count | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1398 | 2026-06-17 07:12:00 (America/Panama) | 2026-06-17 12:12:59 | 88% | 269 | processed | Mode=delta_update. Processed 19 row(s); 0 row error(s). Parsed unique reviews in this batch=19, fresh=16, rotten=3, tomatometer=84%. Net new reviews added=19, fresh=16, rotten=3. Current canonical totals=270 reviews, 237 fresh, 33 rotten, tomatometer=88% (87.778%). WARNING: entered headline 269 reviews / 88% did not match current canonical totals 270 reviews / 88%. |
| 1036 | 2026-06-09 09:39:00 (America/Panama) | 2026-06-09 14:39:25 | 73% | 11 | processed | Mode=full_snapshot. Processed 11 row(s); 0 row error(s). Parsed unique reviews in this batch=11, fresh=8, rotten=3, tomatometer=73%. Net new reviews added=11, fresh=8, rotten=3. Current canonical totals=251 reviews, 221 fresh, 30 rotten, tomatometer=88% (88.048%). Entered review count matched parsed batch count (11). Entered tomatometer matched parsed batch value (73%). |
| 983 | 2026-06-07 11:01:00 (America/Panama) | 2026-06-07 16:01:14 | 90% | 10 | processed | Mode=full_snapshot. Processed 10 row(s); 0 row error(s). Parsed unique reviews in this batch=10, fresh=9, rotten=1, tomatometer=90%. Net new reviews added=10, fresh=9, rotten=1. Current canonical totals=240 reviews, 213 fresh, 27 rotten, tomatometer=89% (88.750%). Entered review count matched parsed batch count (10). Entered tomatometer matched parsed batch value (90%). |
| 903 | 2026-06-04 11:37:00 (America/Panama) | 2026-06-04 16:37:46 | 85% | 39 | processed | Mode=full_snapshot. Processed 39 row(s); 0 row error(s). Parsed unique reviews in this batch=39, fresh=33, rotten=6, tomatometer=85%. Net new reviews added=39, fresh=33, rotten=6. Current canonical totals=230 reviews, 204 fresh, 26 rotten, tomatometer=89% (88.696%). Entered review count matched parsed batch count (39). Entered tomatometer matched parsed batch value (85%). |
| 816 | 2026-06-01 10:12:00 (America/Panama) | 2026-06-01 15:12:13 | 92% | 13 | processed | Mode=full_snapshot. Processed 13 row(s); 0 row error(s). Parsed unique reviews in this batch=13, fresh=12, rotten=1, tomatometer=92%. Net new reviews added=13, fresh=12, rotten=1. Current canonical totals=192 reviews, 172 fresh, 20 rotten, tomatometer=90% (89.583%). Entered review count matched parsed batch count (13). Entered tomatometer matched parsed batch value (92%). |
| 788 | 2026-05-31 12:23:00 (America/Panama) | 2026-05-31 17:23:17 | 83% | 12 | processed | Mode=full_snapshot. Processed 12 row(s); 0 row error(s). Parsed unique reviews in this batch=12, fresh=10, rotten=2, tomatometer=83%. Net new reviews added=12, fresh=10, rotten=2. Current canonical totals=179 reviews, 160 fresh, 19 rotten, tomatometer=89% (89.385%). Entered review count matched parsed batch count (12). Entered tomatometer matched parsed batch value (83%). |
| 773 | 2026-05-30 09:43:00 (America/Panama) | 2026-05-30 14:43:07 | 90% | 10 | processed | Mode=full_snapshot. Processed 10 row(s); 0 row error(s). Parsed unique reviews in this batch=10, fresh=9, rotten=1, tomatometer=90%. Net new reviews added=10, fresh=9, rotten=1. Current canonical totals=167 reviews, 150 fresh, 17 rotten, tomatometer=90% (89.820%). Entered review count matched parsed batch count (10). Entered tomatometer matched parsed batch value (90%). |
| 764 | 2026-05-29 17:13:00 (America/Panama) | 2026-05-29 22:13:06 | 94% | 17 | processed | Mode=full_snapshot. Processed 17 row(s); 0 row error(s). Parsed unique reviews in this batch=17, fresh=16, rotten=1, tomatometer=94%. Net new reviews added=17, fresh=16, rotten=1. Current canonical totals=157 reviews, 141 fresh, 16 rotten, tomatometer=90% (89.809%). Entered review count matched parsed batch count (17). Entered tomatometer matched parsed batch value (94%). |
| 757 | 2026-05-29 13:25:00 (America/Panama) | 2026-05-29 18:25:47 | 100% | 18 | processed | Mode=full_snapshot. Processed 18 row(s); 0 row error(s). Parsed unique reviews in this batch=18, fresh=18, rotten=0, tomatometer=100%. Net new reviews added=18, fresh=18, rotten=0. Current canonical totals=140 reviews, 125 fresh, 15 rotten, tomatometer=89% (89.286%). Entered review count matched parsed batch count (18). Entered tomatometer matched parsed batch value (100%). |
| 742 | 2026-05-29 09:00:00 (America/Panama) | 2026-05-29 14:00:37 | 88% | 17 | processed | Mode=full_snapshot. Processed 17 row(s); 0 row error(s). Parsed unique reviews in this batch=17, fresh=15, rotten=2, tomatometer=88%. Net new reviews added=17, fresh=15, rotten=2. Current canonical totals=122 reviews, 107 fresh, 15 rotten, tomatometer=88% (87.705%). Entered review count matched parsed batch count (17). Entered tomatometer matched parsed batch value (88%). |
| 734 | 2026-05-28 14:49:00 (America/Panama) | 2026-05-28 19:49:53 | 100% | 7 | processed | Mode=full_snapshot. Processed 7 row(s); 0 row error(s). Parsed unique reviews in this batch=7, fresh=7, rotten=0, tomatometer=100%. Net new reviews added=7, fresh=7, rotten=0. Current canonical totals=105 reviews, 92 fresh, 13 rotten, tomatometer=88% (87.619%). Entered review count matched parsed batch count (7). Entered tomatometer matched parsed batch value (100%). |
| 731 | 2026-05-28 11:56:00 (America/Panama) | 2026-05-28 16:56:43 | 71% | 7 | processed | Mode=full_snapshot. Processed 7 row(s); 0 row error(s). Parsed unique reviews in this batch=7, fresh=5, rotten=2, tomatometer=71%. Net new reviews added=7, fresh=5, rotten=2. Current canonical totals=98 reviews, 85 fresh, 13 rotten, tomatometer=87% (86.735%). Entered review count matched parsed batch count (7). Entered tomatometer matched parsed batch value (71%). |
| 718 | 2026-05-28 10:13:00 (America/Panama) | 2026-05-28 15:13:09 | 94% | 18 | processed | Mode=full_snapshot. Processed 18 row(s); 0 row error(s). Parsed unique reviews in this batch=18, fresh=17, rotten=1, tomatometer=94%. Net new reviews added=18, fresh=17, rotten=1. Current canonical totals=91 reviews, 80 fresh, 11 rotten, tomatometer=88% (87.912%). Entered review count matched parsed batch count (18). Entered tomatometer matched parsed batch value (94%). |
| 706 | 2026-05-27 16:15:00 (America/Panama) | 2026-05-27 21:15:48 | 89% | 9 | processed | Mode=full_snapshot. Processed 9 row(s); 0 row error(s). Parsed unique reviews in this batch=9, fresh=8, rotten=1, tomatometer=89%. Net new reviews added=9, fresh=8, rotten=1. Current canonical totals=73 reviews, 63 fresh, 10 rotten, tomatometer=86% (86.301%). Entered review count matched parsed batch count (9). Entered tomatometer matched parsed batch value (89%). |
| 693 | 2026-05-27 13:54:00 (America/Panama) | 2026-05-27 18:54:48 | 86% | 64 | processed | Mode=full_snapshot. Processed 64 row(s); 0 row error(s). Parsed unique reviews in this batch=64, fresh=55, rotten=9, tomatometer=86%. Net new reviews added=64, fresh=55, rotten=9. Current canonical totals=64 reviews, 55 fresh, 9 rotten, tomatometer=86% (85.938%). Entered review count matched parsed batch count (64). Entered tomatometer matched parsed batch value (86%). |
| ID | Critic | Outlet | Fresh? | Score | RT Time Raw | Approx Published UTC | Quote |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 177901 | Bob Grimm | Reno News and Review | Fresh | 4/5 | 2026-06-17T01:57:11.000Z | 2026-06-17 01:57:11 | Oh man is this one ever so weird. |
| 177902 | Edwin Arnaudin | Asheville Movies | Fresh | B+ | 2026-06-16T20:49:33.000Z | 2026-06-16 20:49:33 | New nightmare fuel has dropped. |
| 177903 | Marcelo Paredes | Cinencuentro | Fresh | — | 2026-06-16T18:27:56.000Z | 2026-06-16 18:27:56 | Backrooms remains an interesting, atmospheric film, clearly made by someone with very concrete ideas about what they want to convey, even if some of that ambition ultimately exceeds their ability to fully develop it. [Full review in Spanish] |
| 177904 | Marija Jevdasina | Bangkok Post | Fresh | — | 2026-06-16T18:14:00.000Z | 2026-06-16 18:14:00 | Besides doing a great job of being a horror movie, Backrooms amazes with its careful attention to detail and scene settings. |
| 177905 | Ananya Shankar | The Hollywood Reporter India | Fresh | — | 2026-06-15T19:53:50.000Z | 2026-06-15 19:53:50 | Like most things in life, the backrooms remain impossible to fully understand. And perhaps that's exactly why they're so frightening. |
| 177906 | Tina Kakadelis | Beyond the Cinerama Dome | Rotten | — | 2026-06-13T20:26:59.000Z | 2026-06-13 20:26:59 | It’s exciting that a film based on an internet story could make it to the big screen helmed by a teenager, but Backrooms needed to plot its path in a more honed-in fashion. |
| 177907 | Paul Emmanuel Enicola | Movie-Blogger.com | Rotten | 3/5 | 2026-06-13T18:32:53.000Z | 2026-06-13 18:32:53 | ...the fairest way to talk about Backrooms: not as a perfect expansion of an internet phenomenon, and not as a failed experiment either. It sits in the uneasy middle, where the best parts are good enough to make the weaker ones more frustrating. |
| 177908 | Shalini Langer | The Indian Express | Fresh | 3/5 | 2026-06-12T19:21:50.000Z | 2026-06-12 19:21:50 | This certainly innovative horror of Parson’s imagination works best when it leaves us to try and put two and two together, scrap it, and try all over again. What gives Backrooms its punch is the sense of the inexplicable and yet the familiar... |
| 177909 | Michael Nordine | Movie Brief | Fresh | — | 2026-06-11T20:04:46.000Z | 2026-06-11 20:04:46 | The eponymous setting is endlessly off-putting in its featurelessness, the interior-design equivalent of Michael Myers’ expressionless mask: the more you look at it, the more nothing looks back. |
| 177910 | Walter Chaw | Film Freak Central | Rotten | 1/4 | 2026-06-11T18:20:12.000Z | 2026-06-11 18:20:12 | Ultimately, its childishness is what makes Backrooms a tough pill to swallow–more so than its roughness, its obviousness. There is about it a sense of unearned superiority. |
| 177911 | Devesh Sharma | Filmfare | Fresh | 4/5 | 2026-06-11T18:10:20.000Z | 2026-06-11 18:10:20 | Parsons understands that an empty room can be more terrifying than any apparition when it feels loaded with forgotten meaning. |
| 177912 | Ayaan Paul Chowdhury | The Hindu | Fresh | — | 2026-06-11T18:03:09.000Z | 2026-06-11 18:03:09 | ...Parsons possesses a rare ability to translate the absurd and deeply unsettling mythology of the online world into a cinematic language that feels entirely his own. |
| 177913 | Abhimanyu Mathur | Hindustan Times | Fresh | 3.5/5 | 2026-06-11T17:55:23.000Z | 2026-06-11 17:55:23 | It is an ambitious film told in a novel way. But it is also indulgent and chaotic, and not always in a good way. |
| 177914 | Neil Soans | The Times of India | Fresh | 3.5/5 | 2026-06-11T17:33:45.000Z | 2026-06-11 17:33:45 | What it lacks in narrative momentum, however, it often makes up for with atmosphere, visual confidence and a strong sense of identity. |
| 177915 | Rubén Rosario | MiamiArtZine | Fresh | — | 2026-06-10T16:24:29.000Z | 2026-06-10 16:24:29 | Backrooms is the real deal, a calling card film so accomplished that it makes you forget you are watching a calling card film. |
| 177916 | Bill Arceneaux | Moviegoing with Bill | Fresh | 5/5 | 2026-06-10T14:47:38.000Z | 2026-06-10 14:47:38 | A personal favorite film of 2026. A revelatory reminder of true form cinematic possibility? |
| 177917 | Keri O'Shea | Warped Perspective | Fresh | — | 2026-06-09T17:12:22.000Z | 2026-06-09 17:12:22 | Part mystery, part existential horror, its spaces seem open only to those already trapped in a kind of limbo on the other side. |
| 177918 | Ruben Peralta Rigaud | Cocalecas | Fresh | — | 2026-06-09T17:10:16.000Z | 2026-06-09 17:10:16 | When the film works best, it achieves something very difficult within contemporary horror cinema: creating a truly new atmosphere. [Full review in Spanish] |
| 177919 | Caralynn Matassa | CBR | Fresh | 6/10 | 2026-06-09T16:19:22.000Z | 2026-06-09 16:19:22 | The set-up, camera work, and set design offer up a ton of promise. The actual execution, though, is where Backrooms fails to live up to the perhaps inherently unreachable hype. |
| 150192 | Jim Ross | TAKE ONE Magazine | Fresh | — | 2026-06-09T13:44:24Z | 2026-06-09 13:44:24 | BACKROOMS is an eerily realised creative vision, but it’s difficult to escape the idea that it takes a suboptimal turn away from the technical strengths that give this adaptation such a firm footing. |
| 150193 | Adam Olinger | Adam Does Movies (YouTube) | Fresh | — | 2026-06-08T22:03:13Z | 2026-06-08 22:03:13 | Backrooms is more about the journey than the destination, but it's definitely one worth exploring. |
| 150194 | Josh Larsen | LarsenOnFilm | Fresh | 3/4 | 2026-06-08T21:20:56Z | 2026-06-08 21:20:56 | Parsons proves to be an expert manipulator of space with the camera. |
| 150195 | Luis Martínez | El Mundo (Spain) | Fresh | 5/5 | 2026-06-08T17:38:57Z | 2026-06-08 17:38:57 | Kane Parsons rewrites the rules of horror with a disturbing and illuminating approach to the general state of fear in which we live. [Full review in Spanish] |
| 150196 | Chris Barsanti | PopMatters | Fresh | 6/10 | 2026-06-08T13:55:52Z | 2026-06-08 13:55:52 | Kane Parsons’ uncanny creeper is a Borgesian labyrinth of thrilling yet ultimately disappointing potential. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. |
| 150197 | Joey Magidson | Awards Radar | Rotten | 2.5/4 | 2026-06-08T04:44:49Z | 2026-06-08 04:44:49 | Backrooms has vibes and visuals for days but needed a more developed story. |
| 150198 | Candice McMillan | Seattle Refined | Rotten | — | 2026-06-08T04:30:42Z | 2026-06-08 04:30:42 | Even with performances by esteemed actors Ejiofor and Reinsve, Backrooms is an elongated trauma salad, giving viewers plenty of perfunctory visual delights, but losing the characters' superficial backstories to the overpowering peculiarity. |
| 150199 | Mel Valentin | That Shelf | Fresh | — | 2026-06-08T01:46:47Z | 2026-06-08 01:46:47 | Flawed in parts, hampered by an overindulgent running time, and self-conscious thematic and narrative opacity, [it] delivers what the web series and the subsequent announcement of the film adaptation promised. |
| 150200 | Rachel Shatto | Bloody Good Horror (Podcast) | Fresh | — | 2026-06-07T22:51:34Z | 2026-06-07 22:51:34 | What’s so incredible about this movie is that Kane Parsons translated incredibly abstract ideas about consciousness, trauma, memory, and anti-capitalism to the screen in a way that feels concrete while remaining thoroughly entertaining — and scary. |
| 150201 | Robin Holabird | Robin Holabird | Fresh | — | 2026-06-07T20:47:54Z | 2026-06-07 20:47:54 | Kane Parsons, who put together the initial Backrooms online media sensation, transforms his visual concepts into a feature film that emphasizes the process more than solution |
| 150202 | Danny Minton | Houston Community Newspapers | Rotten | C+ | 2026-06-07T16:34:37Z | 2026-06-07 16:34:37 | Maybe in the future I could find this to be a decent horror film, but upon my first viewing, I found the unfamiliarity with the prior videos to be a handicap, making the movie that much harder to understand or enjoy. |
| 142450 | Nadira Goffe | Slate | Fresh | — | 2026-06-05T23:41:09Z | 2026-06-05 23:41:09 | The Backrooms part of Backrooms is great, well-rendered, and incredibly unsettling. Though the story supporting the film could use a little work, the production is overall an achievement. |
| 142451 | Micheal Compton | Bowling Green Daily News | Fresh | A | 2026-06-05T22:46:50Z | 2026-06-05 22:46:50 | Parsons has crafted a hauntingly original horror film that takes elements from David Lynch and creates something truly original and memorable. |
| 142452 | Ray Pride | Newcity | Fresh | 9/10 | 2026-06-05T22:26:16Z | 2026-06-05 22:26:16 | Horror-as-art-installation universe... clangorous metaphor for the monstrosity of which AI is capable... uncanny prescience as a dissection of AI hallucinations. |
| 142453 | Dominic Dante Rembert | MovieJawn | Fresh | — | 2026-06-05T21:38:08Z | 2026-06-05 21:38:08 | Heavy on narrative and psychological themes that feel retable, Backrooms is not a movie to watch: it’s one to experience. |
| 142454 | Javier Ocaña | El Pais (Spain) | Fresh | — | 2026-06-05T18:17:52Z | 2026-06-05 18:17:52 | With two excellent actors like Chiwetel Ejiofor and Renate Reinswe, and a suffocating, nightmarish atmosphere, Parsons (as Myrick and Sanchez) delivers a curious oddity with enough visual audacity to be an immediate success. [Full review in Spanish] |
| 142455 | Korey Coleman | Double Toasted | Fresh | — | 2026-06-05T05:26:25Z | 2026-06-05 05:26:25 | Backrooms is meant to make you think long after you watch it. |
| 142456 | Marlon Wallace | The M Report (WBOC.com) | Rotten | — | 2026-06-04T21:05:06Z | 2026-06-04 21:05:06 | ...he [the male protagonist] seemingly becomes trapped... How he survives should have been something the film depicts, but it's rather skipped over to go to Mary and her brief exposure, which doesn't amount to much. |
| 142457 | Kristian M. Lin | Fort Worth Weekly | Fresh | — | 2026-06-04T20:52:55Z | 2026-06-04 20:52:55 | It’s one thing to make a good horror flick, and quite another to make a whole other kind of horror that we haven’t seen before. That novelty is why the crowds have flocked to this yellow-tinted box of insanity. |
| 142458 | Karlie Rogers | Exclaim! | Fresh | 6/10 | 2026-06-04T18:35:39Z | 2026-06-04 18:35:39 | Backrooms thrives when Parsons leans into his found footage instincts and lets the environment speak for itself, allowing it to be the spectacle it deserves to be. |
| 142459 | Vincent Mancini | The #Content Report (Substack) | Fresh | B- | 2026-06-04T16:38:17Z | 2026-06-04 16:38:17 | As a movie it's mediocre at best, but as a takedown of millennial cringe it's about as good as it gets. |
| 132577 | Ty Burr | Ty Burr's Watch List (Substack) | Fresh | 3/4 | 2026-06-03T17:24:32Z | 2026-06-03 17:24:32 | The movie’s grip holds, even past the point where it’s clear no traditional explanation is coming to save the characters or us. |
| 132578 | Margot Harrison | Seven Days (VT) | Fresh | 8/10 | 2026-06-03T17:23:34Z | 2026-06-03 17:23:34 | If you’ve always found haunted houses more interesting than what haunts them, Backrooms is for you. Conversely, if you’re waiting for the appearance of something far more horrific than endless fluorescent ceiling panels, it may not be. |
| 132579 | Joel Harley | Starburst | Fresh | 4/5 | 2026-06-03T16:34:51Z | 2026-06-03 16:34:51 | Its approach may divide opinion, but Backrooms emerges as one of the year’s most striking horror films. It’s Backrooms for the masses, but has lost none of the core weirdness which made it so enthralling in the first place. |
| 132580 | Derrick Murray | NERDBOT | Fresh | — | 2026-06-03T16:17:30Z | 2026-06-03 16:17:30 | Backrooms is visually unnerving yet narrative clunky, its festering production design and surrealist descent into the liminal unknown almost making up for its underdeveloped characters and deeply flawed 3rd act. |
| 132581 | Bryce Hanson | Horror Movie Talk | Fresh | 10/10 | 2026-06-03T03:54:45Z | 2026-06-03 03:54:45 | It accomplishes a great feat in bringing a very specific flavor of horror to the masses. Liminal horror. the unsettling feeling of the spaces between spaces... The word that exemplifies Backrooms is uncanny. |
| 132582 | Charles Koplinski | Reel Talk with Chuck and Pam | Rotten | 2/4 | 2026-06-03T00:11:26Z | 2026-06-03 00:11:26 | "Backrooms" may be tops at the box office for the moment. As for me, it reminds me of a certain emperor who was very proud of his new clothes. |
| 132583 | Colleen Morrissey | Chicago Reader | Fresh | — | 2026-06-02T22:58:49Z | 2026-06-02 22:58:49 | In all, this is a deliciously unnerving and accomplished film from a very young filmmaker. |
| 132584 | Rick Bentley | KGET-TV (Bakersfield, CA) | Fresh | B- | 2026-06-02T22:46:58Z | 2026-06-02 22:46:58 | “Backrooms” is an example of how a film can be fascinating and frustrating at the same time. |
| 132585 | Coleman Spilde | Salon.com | Fresh | — | 2026-06-02T20:53:14Z | 2026-06-02 20:53:14 | Even in the moments it falters, “Backrooms” is like someone coming across the cage we’ve been pacing around in, and pointing out that the bars were always big enough to slip through. |
| 132586 | Lauren Veneziani | WBAL-TV (Baltimore) | Fresh | 3.5/5 | 2026-06-02T20:15:44Z | 2026-06-02 20:15:44 | Kane Parsons is a talented filmmaker and I'm intrigued to see how far into his Backrooms world he can take us. |
| 132587 | Chuck Bowen | Style Weekly (Richmond, VA) | Fresh | — | 2026-06-02T19:00:35Z | 2026-06-02 19:00:35 | The movie is comfortable being weird. For most of its 110 minutes, you feel as if you are wandering in an alternate dimension. |
| 132588 | Lisa Laman | The Spool | Fresh | — | 2026-06-02T18:26:40Z | 2026-06-02 18:26:40 | Building off its source material’s grounding in lo-fi internet horror and pairing it with Ejiofor’s great performance connects it with a new, rising age of horror. |
| 132589 | Stephen Thompson | Pop Culture Happy Hour (NPR Podcast) | Fresh | — | 2026-06-02T17:53:44Z | 2026-06-02 17:53:44 | This movie is very light on lore and very heavy on just showing you things that will creep you out. |
| 132590 | Reanna Cruz | Pop Culture Happy Hour (NPR Podcast) | Fresh | — | 2026-06-02T17:48:53Z | 2026-06-02 17:48:53 | There's a bunch of things going for it. It's technically stunning. The production design, I find incredible. The choices that Kane Parsons is making as a director feel very beyond his years. |
| 132591 | Nick Johnston | Vanyaland | Fresh | — | 2026-06-02T17:02:29Z | 2026-06-02 17:02:29 | For all of the first-film mistakes that Parsons makes along the way, it is one hell of a striking feature debut. |
| 132592 | Keith Uhlich | (All (Parentheses)) (Substack) | Fresh | — | 2026-06-02T16:56:51Z | 2026-06-02 16:56:51 | A hearty feast of sentient dust bunnies collated within and self-assuredly loosed from Parsons’s savantish psyche; hilarious that Osgood Perkins was among his "mentors" when student has so bullishly shown-up sensei. |
| 132593 | Gabriela Meza | Fuera de Foco | Fresh | 4.5/5 | 2026-06-02T16:33:27Z | 2026-06-02 16:33:27 | Kane Parsons doesn't rush you to the deepest hole. He wants you to fall slowly. |
| 132594 | Alise Chaffins | MacGuffin or Meaning (Substack) | Fresh | 4/5 | 2026-06-02T15:30:00Z | 2026-06-02 15:30:00 | This full-length creepypasta has a shaky ending, but the exceptional production design, phenomenal performances, and commitment to the concept make it a force to be reckoned with. |
| 132595 | Matt Goldberg | Commentary Track (Ghost.io) | Rotten | 2/5 | 2026-06-02T14:35:56Z | 2026-06-02 14:35:56 | In 'Backrooms,' there’s plenty to explore, but little to find. |
| 132596 | Dan Scully | ScullyVision | Fresh | — | 2026-06-02T12:10:55Z | 2026-06-02 12:10:55 | Respect to a mainstream film for avoiding easy answers and instead letting the audience sit with their discomfort and wonder. |
| 132597 | Matthew Monagle | Certified Forgotten | Rotten | 2.5/5 | 2026-06-02T03:23:09Z | 2026-06-02 03:23:09 | Reinsve is never given enough emotional scaffolding to create something narratively load-bearing. |
| 132598 | Thelma Adams | AARP Movies for Grownups | Fresh | 4/5 | 2026-06-01T23:46:20Z | 2026-06-01 23:46:20 | Feelings of dread, anxiety and confinement infuse this well-crafted, well-acted movie that’s terrifying despite (or because of) the generic nature of evil lurking just beyond a simple basement door. |
| 132599 | Jeffrey M. Anderson | Common Sense Media | Fresh | 4/5 | 2026-06-01T23:45:55Z | 2026-06-01 23:45:55 | Unique, ambitious, and unsettling, this downbeat but impactful horror movie makes use of spooky "liminal spaces" to explore themes including trauma, anxiety, identity, memory, and imagination. |
| 132600 | Justin Chang | The New Yorker | Rotten | — | 2026-06-01T23:27:30Z | 2026-06-01 23:27:30 | The deeper we plunge, and the more we get to know the phantasms of Clark’s anguished psyche, the more “Backrooms” seems to shrink, conceptually, into a hard, unsatisfying nubbin of a movie |
| 132601 | Adam Nayman | The Ringer | Rotten | — | 2026-06-01T23:25:52Z | 2026-06-01 23:25:52 | Horror cannot live on vibes alone, or else said vibes have to be immaculately bad: rancid, unsettling, unfathomable... Parsons never works up the compulsive terror needed to justify all the surrounding obliqueness |
| 132602 | Doug Walker | Channel Awesome | Fresh | — | 2026-06-01T22:46:50Z | 2026-06-01 22:46:50 | 3 / 4 Strange enough to be creepy and vague enough to be intriguing. |
| 132603 | Mae Abdulbaki | Pajiba | Fresh | — | 2026-06-01T22:42:19Z | 2026-06-01 22:42:19 | While the film presents themes that it isn’t ready to tackle as thoroughly as needed, its maze of enthralling psychological horror, atmosphere, and disconcerting set production will stay with you. |
| 132604 | David Nusair | Reel Film Reviews | Fresh | 3/4 | 2026-06-01T22:28:33Z | 2026-06-01 22:28:33 | ...a stirring horror effort that (hopefully) heralds the arrival of a promising new genre filmmaker. |
| 132605 | Leandro Ariel Porcelli | Cinéfilo Serial | Rotten | 2/10 | 2026-06-01T20:13:58Z | 2026-06-01 20:13:58 | A barebones narrative that rings hollow without even some scares or atmosphere to sustain the empty experience. A couple of nice shots or sequences doesn't make up for what's essentially a mediocre Netflix pilot. [Full review in Spanish] |
| 132606 | Rua Fay | Cinemasters | Fresh | — | 2026-06-01T20:06:33Z | 2026-06-01 20:06:33 | Backrooms truly is something to behold. |
| 132607 | Dustin Chang | Floating World | Fresh | 3/5 | 2026-06-01T19:41:17Z | 2026-06-01 19:41:17 | It's just vibes, distorted and context free, just like the inhabitants of the backrooms. But just like the original digital catnips Parsons created, I want more. |
| 132608 | Johnny Oleksinski | New York Post | Fresh | 3/4 | 2026-06-01T19:14:26Z | 2026-06-01 19:14:26 | Even so, this is an undeniably exciting and actually quite sophisticated horror flick, and a fantastic bow for Parsons. |
| 132609 | Michael Atkinson | LA Weekly/Village Voice | Fresh | — | 2026-06-01T19:12:54Z | 2026-06-01 19:12:54 | It's gorgeously irrational, anti-algorithm, and certainly not something AI could’ve mustered from scratch. |
| 132610 | Alistair Harkness | Scotsman | Fresh | 5/5 | 2026-06-01T19:05:44Z | 2026-06-01 19:05:44 | Though at heart it’s a film about the damage we do to ourselves and others by holding on to the past, Parsons transforms the hackneyed trauma narrative that powers so much horror into something properly creepy. |
| 132611 | Alci Rengifo | Entertainment Voice | Fresh | — | 2026-06-01T19:03:49Z | 2026-06-01 19:03:49 | Backrooms avoids becoming conventional, while also avoiding getting too experimental. |
| 132612 | Emma Wolfe | SpookyAstronauts | Fresh | 8/10 | 2026-06-01T19:02:31Z | 2026-06-01 19:02:31 | I thought it was fantastically put together. |
| 132613 | Sara Heredia | Sensacine | Fresh | 5/5 | 2026-06-01T18:23:24Z | 2026-06-01 18:23:24 | Backrooms is a film to be swept away by the experience Parsons offers. [Full review in Spanish] |
| 132614 | Desirée De Fez | Fotogramas | Fresh | 5/5 | 2026-06-01T18:17:14Z | 2026-06-01 18:17:14 | ...Parsons masterfully translates the mystery, terror, deranged logic, and aesthetics of his videos, all available on YouTube, to the screen. The result is a masterful blend of horror and science fiction. [Full review in Spanish] |
| 132615 | Alison Willmore | New York Magazine/Vulture | Fresh | — | 2026-06-01T16:13:08Z | 2026-06-01 16:13:08 | It’s haunting but also weirdly inviting, the kind of space you’d want to keep exploring, despite knowing better. It’s just all the other stuff around it that needs work. |
| 117282 | Andrew Murray | The Upcoming | Fresh | 4/5 | 2026-06-01T14:48:31Z | 2026-06-01 14:48:31 | [A] haunting liminal horror that touches on themes of memory and trauma to eerie effect. |
| 117283 | Nicolás Delgadillo | Knotfest | Fresh | — | 2026-06-01T14:15:15Z | 2026-06-01 14:15:15 | Kane Parsons proves that his talents extend far beyond internet virality, delivering a horror film packed with unforgettable imagery, suffocating atmosphere, and several sequences that rank among the genre’s most effective this year. |
| 117284 | James Mottram | The List | Fresh | 4/5 | 2026-06-01T10:48:40Z | 2026-06-01 10:48:40 | In truth this is a story that’s best felt rather than explained, and Parsons does admirably to leave you with a queasy sense of dread. |
| 117285 | Rebecca Sayce | FILMHOUNDS Magazine | Fresh | 4/5 | 2026-06-01T08:33:34Z | 2026-06-01 08:33:34 | Agonisingly tense from the first scene to the batshit insane climax, Backrooms continues 2026’s run of formidable horror films and adaptations, proving to be one of the year’s most unsettling offerings so far. |
| 117286 | Sara Michelle Fetters | MovieFreak.com | Fresh | 3/4 | 2026-06-01T03:24:01Z | 2026-06-01 03:24:01 | Parsons’s film is a dynamic WTF spellbinder that isn’t interested in providing straightforward answers. It doesn’t want to make the viewer comfortable. That’s not on the agenda. |
| 117287 | Agustín Pérez | Emol.com | Fresh | 3.5/5 | 2026-06-01T00:24:42Z | 2026-06-01 00:24:42 | This is a film that executes its premise remarkably well, creating a gripping big-screen experience, though it never quite develops characters capable of giving real weight to its context. |
| 117288 | Sebastian Zavala Kahn | Cinencuentro | Fresh | 4/5 | 2026-05-31T22:32:46Z | 2026-05-31 22:32:46 | A horror film made with consideration and intelligence, delivering a story that makes excellent use of both its central concept and the nineties context in which it unfolds. [Full review in Spanish]. |
| 117289 | Joe Friar | Fort Worth Report | Fresh | 4/4 | 2026-05-31T19:50:04Z | 2026-05-31 19:50:04 | Shiver me timbers! Kane Parsons’ debut feature, based on his web series, is the stuff nightmares are made of. I savored every moment Chiwetel Ejiofor and Renate Reinsve shared in the character-driven first half. |
| 117291 | Brogan Luke Bouwhuis | InBetweenDrafts | Fresh | 9/10 | 2026-05-31T19:27:59Z | 2026-05-31 19:27:59 | For any film, this is a remarkable accomplishment. For a debut feature from a filmmaker who started working on the film when he was still in high school, it is something else entirely. |
| 117292 | Kevin A. Ranson | MovieCrypt.com | Fresh | 3/4 | 2026-05-31T19:16:59Z | 2026-05-31 19:16:59 | ... being where you're not supposed to be... resisting a descent into madness from safe yet static lives, a cosmic laugh at whatever reality humans construct for themselves. |
| 117293 | Emmanuel Noisette | The Movie Blog | Rotten | 5.5/10 | 2026-05-31T17:34:59Z | 2026-05-31 17:34:59 | Backrooms is it’s a chilling, eerie experience that takes you on an incredibly wild, insane ride. However, it ditches you in the middle of nowhere, and you’ve got to figure out how you’re going to get home. |
| 117294 | Dallas King | Flick Feast | Fresh | 4/5 | 2026-05-31T17:19:08Z | 2026-05-31 17:19:08 | Audiences will be on the edge of their seats during the events on screen, and on edge long after they have left the cinema. A sense of dread will creep into the bottom of their stomach every time they enter a room with yellow-tinged walls… |
| 114078 | Sarah Vincent | Sarah G Vincent Views | Fresh | — | 2026-05-31T09:37:21Z | 2026-05-31 09:37:21 | While the horror element is present, it is anti-climactic and verging on laughable. See "Exit 8" (2025) instead if it is still playing in theaters near you. |
| 114079 | Allen Almachar | The MacGuffin | Fresh | B+ | 2026-05-31T08:16:40Z | 2026-05-31 08:16:40 | It’s creative in its style and execution, contains some legitimate suspense, and features two actors operating in top form. |
| 114080 | Cassie Hager | Pop Culture Leftovers | Fresh | — | 2026-05-31T02:35:26Z | 2026-05-31 02:35:26 | Fans of the original series will appreciate the visuals, but people hoping for clear answers will probably be frustrated. Like the Backrooms themselves, the film invites countless interpretations within Clark’s mind and this strange world. |
| 114081 | Andrew Parker | The Gate | Rotten | 5/10 | 2026-05-31T01:47:30Z | 2026-05-31 01:47:30 | Parsons expands on his short here with admittedly mixed results, crafting a film that wants to build lore while revelling in stylistic ambiguity. |
| 114082 | Jon Negroni | Thank God for Movies | Fresh | — | 2026-05-30T18:05:50Z | 2026-05-30 18:05:50 | Backrooms, likes Obsession just weeks before it, proves that a kid from YouTube can walk into the multiplex and out-think nearly everyone there about the exact anxiety eating their generation alive. |
| 114083 | Kate Sánchez | But Why Tho? | Fresh | 6.5/10 | 2026-05-30T17:22:19Z | 2026-05-30 17:22:19 | While the ending soured much of the time in my theater, Parsons’s vision of insanity and exploration of liminal spaces demonstrates a mind destined for the great and bizarre. |
| 114084 | Michael Ward | Should I See It | Fresh | 3/5 | 2026-05-30T16:37:49Z | 2026-05-30 16:37:49 | Even as the story struggles to resonate in a meaningful way, it should become obvious to anyone watching this why Kane Parsons received this opportunity. |
| 114085 | Cate Marquis | We Are Movie Geeks | Fresh | 2.5/4 | 2026-05-30T16:33:27Z | 2026-05-30 16:33:27 | Sometimes old buildings can hold such secrets, unused forgotten rooms or sub-basements, and the temptation to explore is ingrained in human nature, but the backrooms in this film hold other secrets and mysteries, and even dangers. |
| 114086 | Jonathan DeHaan | Nightmare on Film Street | Fresh | 69% | 2026-05-30T16:08:49Z | 2026-05-30 16:08:49 | At its best during the found footage sequences that feel like expansions on the original short. The film also abandons its spooky premise for a more Art House finale which is bound to make it one of the most divisive and debated movies of the year. |
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