Backrooms
A24 | Release Date: May 29, 2026 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
77
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 45 Critic Reviews
Positive:
37
Mixed:
8
Negative:
0

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
60
EmpireJamie GrahamMay 27, 2026
This movie is most certainly not for everyone. It favours opacity, half-glimpsed creatures and a steady sense of unease over crowd-pleasing jumps, and is sure to spark endless debate and interpretations among those who aren’t bored silly by it. Read full review
60
New York Magazine (Vulture)Alison WillmoreJun 2, 2026
Backrooms suggests that while we’re teetering on the verge of something new, filmmakers are going to have to do more work to wrestle these nonnarrative, non-centralized ideas into something that can sustain a story. Read full review
58
The A.V. ClubJacob OllerMay 27, 2026
It’s suburban strip mall horror, which Parsons demystifies over the course of his overwrought directorial debut. Read full review
50
The Associated PressJake CoyleMay 27, 2026
Despite a paper-wall-thin concept, both Ejiofor and Reinsve give “Backrooms” some depth. Read full review
60
The Hollywood ReporterAngie HanMay 27, 2026
If the film captures something of the concept’s intriguing unease — with 20-year-old director Kane Parsons drawing from his own Backrooms-set short films, created when he was just a teenager — its underbaked storytelling made me wonder if some spooky ideas might be better left as whispers in the dark. Read full review
60
The New York TimesBeatrice LoayzaMay 28, 2026
Ambiguity is key to this style of horror, where space and atmosphere do most of the heavy lifting, and though the story isn’t over-explained, mind you, it’s filled out enough to break its own uncanny spell. Read full review
40
The TimesKevin MaherMay 27, 2026
It's like watching fantastically dull scenarios from the 2007 first person video game Portal apparently a source of inspiration for Parsons. There are breaks for backstory — Clark had a volatile marriage; Mary's mother was sectioned — but these add little meaningful context or narrative grounding. Read full review
49
TheWrapWilliam BibbianiMay 27, 2026
If this movie was nothing but a sightseeing tour of disquieting office buildings Parsons probably could have gotten away with it. But the more 'Backrooms' tries to have a point, the more pointless it feels. Read full review
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