Backrooms Did Something I've Never Seen Happen In A Movie Theater

"Backrooms" is a skin-crawling liminal nightmare that's disrupting Hollywood. While tentpole franchise releases like "Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu" are underperforming, Kane Parsons' surreal debut is conquering the box office and proving that audiences are starving for original, thought-provoking storytelling. The box office numbers speak for themselves. However, my experience after seeing "Backrooms" in the theater hammered home the impact it's having on the culture.

I've been visiting the theater on an almost-weekly basis since 1998 — ever since my uncle took me to see Roland Emmerich's hated "Godzilla" remake and made me fall in love with cinema (it's a good movie, sue me). That's almost 30 years of attending multiplexes, and not once has a stranger approached me after a screening to discuss and dissect what we watched. Well, that changed when I saw "Backrooms" on a wet Monday night in Coatbridge, Scotland.

The stranger in question — who must have been in his late teens or early 20s at most — was buzzing, confused (in a good way), and ready to unpack the deeper meaning behind Parsons' disruptive hit. As of this writing, I'm still trying to get my head around the film's ending, but the stranger and I bounced around multiple theories that gave us plenty of food for thought. That's a testament to what the cast and crew accomplished with "Backrooms," but the exchange also made me feel optimistic about the future of cinema.

Much has been written about movies like "Backrooms" and "Obsession" cementing a new trend for horror. Both films were made by Gen Z YouTubers who rose to fame telling stories that resonate with young adults and highlight their existential woes. My conclusion? Gen Z is the driving force behind original horror's recent momentum — and its moviegoers are intellectually engaging with the art they consume.

My aforementioned theater experience isn't unique, either. Some of my colleagues here at /Film recounted similar tales of witnessing Gen Zers having in-depth conversations about "Backrooms" and "Obsession" after the end credits rolled. These types of impassioned and thoughtful discussions inspire people to recommend films to their friends, creating word-of-mouth momentum that leads to box office success and interesting discourse.

More importantly, the success of "Backrooms" — and the conversations being inspired among viewers — makes me feel confident that art will survive all of the challenges it currently faces. That brief conversation with a stranger eased my concerns about AI slop and soulless franchise cash-grabs taking over the multiplex in the coming years. It was a reminder that weirdness and originality created by humans still excites people on a mainstream scale. Long may it continue.

Heck, the success of "Backrooms" also shows that people are still willing to visit the theater to watch interesting flicks. My own experience with the film reminded me that good movies can bring people together, enabling them to consider points of view they wouldn't otherwise contemplate. That can only be good for our society as a whole, as well as the future of cinema.