Backrooms - The Liminal Space Between Character & Vibes

MOVIE DISCUSSION: 

Shirleon & Kathryn join Melvin to discuss Kane Parsons' silver-screen debut for his hugely popular web-series; Backrooms! How does Parsons handle the transition from in-world storytelling to omniscient camera storytelling? The web-series doesn't really have character-driven narratives, so what do they think of Clark & Mary as the film's leads? And most importantly... is it good? Tune in and find out!

Topics:

• (PATREON EXCLUSIVE) 37-minutes discussing The Mandalorian & Grogu's shockingly awful 70% second-weekend drop-off against Obsession's generational box-office legs & Backrooms' incredible first weekend, and what this might signal for the industry (PATREON EXCLUSIVE)
• This is the first of Kane Parsons' "Backrooms" entries to be character-led, whereas the rest of the story has been largely ambient and abstract. How did it turn out?
• Rather than overloading the film with "lore-bloat", Backrooms cleverly adds nods to fans of the web-series through background material, visual trickery, dialogue, and much more.
• Thoughts on the characters of Clark & Mary.
• When the film ends... are they still in the Backrooms?
• The correlation between the Backrooms and people's consciousness.
• Clark's pivot in the third act feels like it jumps the shark, but the gang still thinks the ending works.
• Talking about Kane Parsons' appreciation of Valve and his impressive exploration of the deteriorating 90s aesthetic despite being born in the later 2000s.

Recommendations:

• I Found a Lost Hallway in a Dying Mall by Ben Farthing (2024) (Book)
• The real story behind the Backrooms (2025) (YouTube Video)
• People Still Live Here (2025 - X) (YouTube Series)