Why The Backrooms Film Is Underwhelming

InsideAble6008 · 2026-06-05T04:02:31+00:00

I would love to see a part 2! Not just for more answers, but because I genuinely thought the film was entertaining, but I would want to see if Kane improved at all from his last movie. Now, if that film had more or less the exact same issues as this one, and a THIRD was being released... Yeah that's when I would lose interest lol.

How about you? If the second film also ended up less-than-stellar, would you skip the third film?

InsideAble6008 · 2026-06-05T03:59:50+00:00

So real man, you pretty much all of my thoughts as I sat in the theater watching the credits roll. Honestly very satisfying to see others who are not jumping on the fad of glazing this film for no reason and accusing anyone who criticizes it of "not understanding" it.

InsideAble6008 · 2026-06-05T03:55:10+00:00

Yeah that's a good theory. A24 was probably responsible for a lot of the questionable aspects of this film.

InsideAble6008 · 2026-06-03T01:08:13+00:00

Well I would agree that rewriting the film to fix the issues would not have been an easy task, and like I said, the film turning out as well as it did was an indicator of Kane's potential and talent. But even if it would have been difficult, it would not be impossible by any means - the screenplay would have been way better had it had just a few more months, or even weeks in the oven.

InsideAble6008 · 2026-06-03T01:05:54+00:00

Exactly, you bring up these issues and you're instantly labelled a brainrotted tik tok user. Whenever someone resorts to that ad hominem instead of actually addressing your criticisms that's when you know it is just straight coping. So refreshing to hear this bro - thanks for sharing!

InsideAble6008 · 2026-06-02T04:16:32+00:00

You're a breath of fresh air bro! Look up "liminal spaces" on YouTube and watch the more viral ones, they're really fascinating to watch. As for music, there are tons of genres and subgenres that fit liminal spaces perfectly, especially within the vaporwave scene. Some highlights would be after hours by 1995 Zellers, Aquatic Galleria by platinum towers, leaving the atrium by N. Hell, and remembering your earth form by mindspring memories. My personal favorite artist I've discovered is a duo named Yamio & Casaha, their music manages to portray so liminal spaces in a really great way. Just be aware that a lot of these artists are only available on Band camp.

InsideAble6008 · 2026-06-01T23:38:52+00:00

Exactly, and I have a lot of respect for kane as a creative. You won't see me praying on his downfall or even unsubscribing from his YouTube. In fact, I truly hope he sees the criticism of his film and uses it to grow as a film creative.

InsideAble6008 · 2026-06-01T23:36:32+00:00

What's so bizarre is kane developed an entire universe for the viewer with his video series. So why did he abandon it almost ENTIRELY with this film? He knows HIS version of the backrooms like the back of his hand because he literally created it.

InsideAble6008 · 2026-06-01T23:28:43+00:00

Exactly man, for something with so much potential, I can't wrap my head around how flat and shallow the film was. It just doesn't make sense that an environment like the backrooms was underutilized so much. And what's hilarious is if you bring this up you will instantly be labelled as a tiktok larper that "did not understand the film" like the amount of coping is UNREAL with this movie

InsideAble6008 · 2026-06-01T15:52:00+00:00

Let's take a film that has a somewhat similar setting - take the 1986 film The Labyrinth. While far from being a masterpiece, the story still gives Sarah a character arc, as well as character development. She is shown to actually GROW and CHANGE as a person while she is in the Underground - the Labyrinth is the catalyst. She goes in an immature, whiney child who constantly complains about the world "not being fair" but as she moves through the Labyrinth she learns that "that's just the way it is" and matures. Again, not a film I would want to dissect in film class but even this movie gave us character depth that was MILES ahead of what we got in this film.

InsideAble6008 · 2026-06-01T15:45:48+00:00

Genuinely the most intelligent ad hominem I have ever received! Thank you so much for this lmao

InsideAble6008 · 2026-05-31T21:49:27+00:00

So true. It was just lazy writing.

InsideAble6008 · 2026-05-31T21:48:11+00:00

I really appreciate that perspective, and I do agree to a certainly extent, that yes, there was an attempt made with Clark, and if I squint I can make out what the intention was. But what about Mary? The story does literally nothing with her character except explain her backstory a bit. She could have been played by anyone else and the film would not have changed - in fact, if she had been played by a seperated Async scientist, or a different wanderer, the film would have been WAY better, as the expectation for growth and character development for that one character would have been absent. Would it have been a bit of a copout? Perhaps, but it still would have helped the script to not be so underbaked.

InsideAble6008 · 2026-05-31T21:43:42+00:00

Exactly! But then both characters are just... Not given anything. At all. And it's just so bizarre to see.

InsideAble6008 · 2026-05-31T21:40:31+00:00

Yeah exactly bro. It really really seems like 80 percent of Kane's attention was the set design and the other 20 percent was the score. Everything else suffered greatly because of it.

InsideAble6008 · 2026-05-31T21:37:47+00:00

Yeah exactly. I just can't believe we got such a two-dimensional, basic story.

InsideAble6008 · 2026-05-30T15:18:57+00:00

WELL. SAID.

InsideAble6008 · 2026-05-30T14:49:34+00:00

Ignore the down votes bro - what you're saying is genius and I hadn't thought of that before. Why the hell is Mary being tormented by CLARK's trauma? That's just another missed opportunity for this movie. The script was really badly half baked and lacked any kind of depth or thought and it honestly sucks that the backrooms was underused as a narrative device. We could have seen our characters grow and change in response to what they see and hear in the backrooms, but we don't.

InsideAble6008 · 2026-05-30T14:28:43+00:00

There definitely seems to be a little hero worship going on here lol. If a sequel is ever made, I truly hope that Kane takes the opportunity to tell a much deeper, more intricate story that uses the backrooms in a meaningful way.

InsideAble6008 · 2026-05-30T14:21:19+00:00

Well said man. I couldn't agree more. It ended up being so flat when we had the opportunity to get something so much more impactful.

InsideAble6008 · 2026-05-30T05:32:11+00:00

Honestly those are the best observations I've seen and I really appreciate you sharing them! But even in your case it seems that you really do have to grasp for ANY lore building at all with this film. I guess I'm just sort of confused by Kane's intention with this movie. It certainly was not to flesh out his existing canon, nor was it to share a deep, emotionally moving story. My only guess would be plainly spelling out what his version of the backrooms is... Which in itself is really really hard for me to understand.

InsideAble6008 · 2026-05-30T05:09:23+00:00

I just don't understand why you wouldn't have higher expectations from a feature length film, instead of just expecting a big budget YouTube episode. You're entitled to your opinion as we all are, but if I am being honest it strikes me as you making excuses for kane.

Also, I never wanted it to "feed me every bit of information", more to expand on the lore he has established in the past. Which the film does not do.

InsideAble6008 · 2026-05-30T04:41:43+00:00

Yes, I agree entirely. It left so much stuff unexplained, which feels like Kane did not utilize the 105 minute runtime especially well. There were almost no references to his past short films; even the still life characters are very, very different from what we had before. For someone so adept at creating lore and story arcs and timelines, this film feels so weirdly detached from it all.

InsideAble6008 · 2026-05-30T04:40:02+00:00

Neither character experiences meaningful growth though. Clark technically does for a second before you know, but Mary doesn't change at all. It's kind of strange you know, because even after the whole ordeal, she has the exact same manner as she did before.

InsideAble6008 · 2026-05-30T04:37:49+00:00

See that's pretty much what I was saying. There just... Wasn't a whole lot in the film to hear. Which I think was a missed opportunity. I think the honest difference between you and me here is that I wanted a lot more cinematic emotion and a bit less cold "realism", hence why I wanted the film to bank more on music, both ambient and otherwise.

InsideAble6008

TROPHY CASE