Like so many internet “creepypastas”, the Backrooms concept originated from an unassuming post on a message board: a picture of an empty room in a furniture store with beige carpet and drab wallpaper, all bathed in a sickly yellow light. This photo inspired a web of crowd sourced mythology about a bizarre realm outside of reality, stalked by monsters. Beginning in 2022, young filmmaker Kane Parsons adapted the premise into a series of short films released on YouTube that steadily garnered a cult following. This year, his feature film expansion of The Backrooms series hit theaters and quickly became something of a phenomenon, grossing more than $400 million off of a reported budget of only $10 million and becoming one of the most talked about films of the first half of the year.
From getting lost inside the 30,000 square foot set made up of impossible, intentionally disorienting architecture to capture a look for the film that creates a permeating sense of unease, Camera Operator spoke with A camera and Steadicam operator Leonardo Harim, SOC along with second AC John Fleming to learn more about what was involved with shooting Backrooms.
For whatever reason, the world doesn’t quite seem to fit Clark. His wife has thrown him out after a drunken outburst, and he now sleeps in the show room of his struggling furniture store. His therapist encourages him to break out of destructive cycles and forge healthier paths forward, but why does he need to change? After all, it’s not his fault that the world dealt him a bad hand. One night, as Clark is settling in with a nightcap, he notices a strange light coming from the other side of the wall in the basement of his furniture store. As he steps through this portal, he finds himself in a world that is uncanny and bizarre and just maybe the place he belonged all along. Backrooms is directed by Kane Parsons from a screenplay by Will Soodik, and stars Chiwetel Ejiofor, Renate Reinsve, Mark Duplass, Finn Bennett, and Lukita Maxwell.
Watch the interview here on SOC.org
