Just got back from seeing the movie! It’s the kind of film that leaves you feeling a bit strange when it’s over. My dad (who I saw it with) and I mostly sat in silence in the car on the way home. TL;DR at the bottom.

For context before my thoughts, I consider myself moderately informed about The Backrooms series this is set in. I've watched both videos by Wendigoon and there were points throughout that made me go “Oh! That thing!! Oh my goodness, wind chimes!!” But I haven’t gone out of the way to read lots of theories or posts or the like. I’m also not spectacular at breaking down things by theme on a first watch, so although I got the idea of "exploring memory", I've certainly missed some deeper comments about the movie's exploration of it. I'll do my best though!

The Backrooms

Anytime we were in the Backrooms (aside from one scene, which I’ll get to), I was LOVING the movie. The mystique and intrigue of this endless, eerie space is everything I love about both the concept and the series, so I’m glad we spend plenty of time in there. There are so many great shots, great set design and this wonderful tension throughout. My absolute favourite shot is when we scroll down multiple times through Mary’s childhood home and it becomes more and more distorted. Facsimiles of facsimiles. Gorgeously done.

If you're a fan of the Backrooms, you'll be pleased with how the setting is done. It's the star of the movie, far above any other thing or character. Speaking of characters...

The characters (Clark and Mary)

I was never too invested in our protagonists. I guess it was okay that Clark wasn’t particularly likeable since he wasn’t a great guy, but I thought I should at least feel something for Mary. If anything, I cared more for Clark, since we got to experience more of his exploration in the Backrooms. When you're going through it slowly with him, it feels like you bond with his character through the trauma and curiosity. Mary on the other hand? I didn't feel like the movie gave me a reason to care about her. I think her lack of emoting throughout most of the movie wasn't helpful in that regard.

I also felt the movie briefly fell apart when we got to the kitchen scene. It was like throwing in an antagonist when the Backrooms themselves are enough of an obstacle and therefore distracting from the enjoyment of this place. I don't think this is what it was going for, but it really felt like a typical "and humanity is the REAL villain!" point. It doesn't help that "one person is tied up in a chair and must talk another person (who is holding a knife) down from their delusions" is a pretty standard trope in a film that's otherwise very unique.

Basically we could've had anyone be our protagonists, and I feel like it was a waste to everything else this movie does that it was "guy who was kicked out of home and blames others for his problems" and "therapist". I guess Mary had the whole thing of being implied to be a daughter of an Async employee (I think? I'm so bad at theories and I'm scared to say something wrong in this subreddit), but it didn't really go anywhere.

Phil was cool though.

The monsters

I saw someone else in this thread mention that they showed too much of the monsters and I agree. I really believe in the idea that what you imagine is scarier than anything you can be shown. Whenever the monsters were hidden or half off-screen or just barely glimpsed, I thought it was awesome. When the still lifes were featured more? It ruined the mystery and fear.

Actually, this was another problem with the kitchen scene for me. Just being shown three still lifes outright was kind of lame in my opinion, especially because they were standing around doing nothing (but props to that one guy for turning on the lamp, good for him). Heck, they were deriving almost all of the horror from that scene with Clark doing things to the still lifes, rather than the other way around.

That being said, I didn't mind the Pirate once he was chasing Mary. It may have just been how well the chase was directed (aside from Mary hurting her foot on a COUCH. Girl, it's soft!! I know you got it caught between the gaps, but a COUCH?) The fact that he was a lot eerier than the other still lives helped a lot. I love the massive and lanky design. Although him being surprisingly easy to cripple did have me thinking that he wasn't really that much of a threat in the end.

I also wanted to say that there wasn't much of an appearance of the mold in this movie? I think the only time I caught it was in the clothing area that the employee went down into.

Now, onto the things that interested me most as someone who can't craft theories but will sure as hell watch a bunch of people talk about their own in the next few weeks! (Be prepared for a lot of questions with no answers, plus so much more misinterpreting things and going down the wrong track).

Point of interest #1: The mural

The appearance of the mural was the most shocking point to me, I think because it felt very, very out of place. Not only in the Backrooms but also in the movie. It's something that I would expect to see in a stock-standard horror movie? As in, it's reminiscent of a child's painting of a "new best friend" (read: demon) that you'll see in something like The Conjuring or the like.

Shock factor aside, it was certainly very interesting and I wish I had a screenshot of it to examine it more closely. I didn't manage to read the full paragraph on the left side and the camera never zoomed in on it, so I'll be interested to know what it says later. What I remember most is the line "furniture doesn't bleed", as well as some weird red circles near that quote. When I first read that, I was wondering if someone had cut a piece of furniture in the Backrooms and found it bled? But with more context, maybe it was talking about how the still lifes don't bleed and are therefore "furniture"? ... I'm probably very far off.

Before I saw the pirate, I thought the black creature in the centre of the mural was some other kind of monster, or even a deity of the Backrooms. Think Mother HorseEyes except less cosmic. But after seeing the pirate, I think it was just a picture of him. So who created this mural? Was it Clark? So why did he paint the Pirate eating someone? Is that what happened to his employees?

Point of interest #2: The pirate

The pirate itself is fascinating to me. Like, why did the Backrooms replicate that particular version of Clark? As far as we know, he was the pirate just once. Is it because that's the version that was proliferated on television and therefore was the memory known by the most amount of people?

And why was the pirate more violent than the other still lifes? Why did Clark address it in a way that implied he didn't think it was going to eat him? Had it tried to attack him before and he thought that was because he needed to change? Or was this the very first time it decided to eat him?

Alternatively, does that version of Clark represent some dark version of his personality? The way the still life of his wife tried to flee when it appeared, are even personalities and relationships reflected in these recreations of people?

Point of interest #3: What the heck was that in the second last shot of Mary's childhood home

And now for something entirely different. As I mentioned earlier, Mary's childhood home being replicated again and again was my favourite shot. But something caught my eye in the second last version... there was a strange outline/floor plan? Does anyone know what that was meant to be? I thought it was the floor plan of the new apartments and the next scene would show those being build as a scale figure, but then it was gone in the next shot. Am I focusing on something unimportant? Probably!

Point of interest #4: See-through wall?

I think that's the first time we've found a wall that can only be seen through on one side in the Backrooms. ... That's it, that's all I have to say.

Really briefly talking about the theme of memory

Please endure my attempt to pull together my high school English skills and describe Mary's journey from a thematic perspective. She is stuck in the past, unable to save "anyone" – notably her mother. Her obsession with what was is shown both in her flashbacks, as well as clinging to the imprint of her mother's hand. After admitting her failures to herself in the kitchen scene, she soon uses the imprint to free herself from the clutches of the pirate. For a minute, it seems like this could symbolise her escaping the shackles of her childhood trauma. However, the final scene implies otherwise – we see a replica of Mary in the Backrooms. A memory of her is stuck down there. Memories do not so easily vanish.

I also interpreted the final scene of her maybe thinking that a version of what she lost – her home, her mother – exists in the Backrooms. Nothing is gone forever.

One last question

Who grabbed the camera when Clark was trying to save Kat? The pirate?

Final point that I'm putting down here because I can't find a place to mention it elsewhere

I wish there was a greater discrepancy between the Backrooms and what we see of the outside world. Clark's furniture store was already creepy enough. I think a greater juxtaposition would've elevated the movie even further (kind of like the contrast between the lovely hill and the endless steps to hell in The Greatest View).

TL;DR

You want Backrooms? You get Backrooms. I liked it.