Few thrillers in recent years have managed to sustain suspense from beginning to end, but “Backrooms” succeeds by keeping audiences constantly guessing what lies beyond the next doorway.
The highly anticipated sci-fi horror film lives up to its buzz. Already a global phenomenon, “Backrooms” shattered expectations during its opening weekend, earning US$118 million worldwide and claiming the No. 1 spot at the global box office. The film also delivered the biggest opening weekend in A24 history, the largest debut ever for an original horror film, and the biggest launch for a first-time filmmaker.
Now, Filipino audiences will finally have the chance to experience the film when it opens in select Philippine cinemas beginning today, June 3, brought to local theaters by CreaZion Studios, A24’s official partner for “Backrooms” in the Philippines.
For fans of internet horror, “Backrooms” taps directly into the unsettling appeal of classic creepypasta lore. The film embraces the concept of liminal spaces or those ordinary yet strangely disturbing locations that feel wrong when empty or abandoned like endless hallways, forgotten rooms and silent corridors.
Directed by 20-year-old filmmaker Kane Parsons, the young filmmaker whose viral “Backrooms” web series amassed millions of views online, the film transforms a digital urban legend into an immersive cinematic nightmare.
The story begins when a mysterious “doorway” appears in the basement of a furniture showroom, opening a path into a world where time slips away and reality itself becomes unreliable.
Beyond the doorway lies an endless maze of rooms. Some contain abandoned furniture. Others reveal swimming pools, Christmas trees, and strange objects that seem disconnected from logic or purpose.
The deeper the characters explore it, the more the film reminds viewers that curiosity comes with consequences.
During the premiere screening, the audience reacted exactly the way a horror filmmaker would hope. Gasps, screams and nervous laughter filled the theater. There were countless moments when viewers seemed to silently beg the characters, “Don’t go in there.”
But of course, they always do.
What makes “Backrooms” particularly effective is how it builds tension through atmosphere rather than relying solely on jump scares.
But beyond its unsettling visuals, “Backrooms” can also be viewed as a reflection of mental struggles. Its endless maze of rooms may resonate with viewers who see parallels to anxiety, isolation, or feeling trapped inside their own thoughts.
And while the premise may sound bizarre, it takes a uniquely imaginative — and twisted! — mind to dream up a world this strange and unsettling.
By the end of the film, one may never look at everyday spaces the same way again.
The back corridors of shopping malls. The underpasses of Manila. Basement levels of office buildings. Empty parking structures late at night.
After watching “Backrooms,” every one of those places will feel like a doorway to somewhere people were never meant to enter.
“Backrooms” stars Chiwetel Ejiofor and Renate Reinsve, alongside Mark Duplass, Finn Bennett, Lukita Maxwell, Avan Jogia, Chelah Horsdal and Toby Hargrave.
It opens in select Philippine cinemas beginning June 3. IZA IGLESIAS