Why Horror Movie’s Finale Is Proving Divisive

Backrooms‘ ending has been divisive since the movie’s premiere last week. The horror project based on Kane Parsons’ series has split fans, with many torn on how things go in the movie.

Backrooms is directed by Kane Parsons from a script written by Will Soodik. The cast of the movie is led by Chiwetel Ejiofor and Renate Reinsve, and also stars Mark Duplass, Finn Bennett, Lucite Maxwell, and Avan Jogia. The script comes from Will Soodik and Roberto Patino, while James Wan and Michael Clear are producing for Wan’s Atomic Monster.

“A strange doorway appears in the basement of a furniture showroom,” reads the brief and mysterious logline for the movie.

Backrooms ending explained

For those who haven’t seen Backrooms yet, it’s best to wait to check this out before seeing the movie, as we’ll be discussing some of the biggest reveals in the movie.

The latest A24 horror movie is a massive hit for the company, but has split fans based on how it ends. For those unaware, Backrooms largely follows the discovery and exploration of a mysterious, extradimensional space known as the Backrooms. The movie follows architect-turned-furniture-store-owner Clark (Chiwetel Ejiofor) as he finds the space and slowly spirals into accepting the place as his home.

Toward the end of the movie, Clark has gone missing after telling his therapist, Mary (Renate Reinsve), about the existence of the Backrooms. Mary goes to find him, and discovers the Backrooms herself, before finding Clark, who has now lost his mind a bit, and who incapacitates Mary. She awakens tied to a chair at a dinner table, while Clark explains that he won’t be coming back, and is happy in the Backrooms, and exists amongst a litany of “still lifes,” copies of humans the Backrooms has tried to make of the people who find it.

After some back-and-forth in which Clark demands Mary roleplay as his divorced wife (something they did earlier in the film), Mary explains that Clark is the reason for his depression and unhappiness. Clark comes to his senses for a moment and frees Mary, only for the pair to encounter the “main” creature of the movie, a towering, deformed version of Clark dressed as his pirate character from the store he owns.

While Clark tries to talk down the creature, it eventually kills Clark and chases after Mary. This kickstarts a chase that ends with Mary and the creature being gassed by the mysterious Async, a company that once developed MRI machines before discovering the Backrooms. Mary asks if she’ll be allowed to leave but researcher Phil (Mark Duplass) refuses to answer. The movie then ends with a montage of shots of the Backrooms, before ending with a monstrous look at Mary inside of a Backrooms version of the interrogation room she’s in.

Backrooms ending has divided fans of A24’s horror movie

The ending is fairly non-traditional for a horror movie, and as such has left fans split. Unlike most traditional horror films, there are no big scares or resolutions in Backrooms. Instead, the movie largely focuses on the psychological aspects of those involved.

Throughout the movie, Clark is shown as someone unhappy in life, and coping with his inner demons. Mary is also shown as having grown up in a traumatic upbringing, and suffers from recurring nightmares. The movie doesn’t explicitly touch on all of this, but many have been torn on whether or not the Backrooms in the movie is a physical or mental space, even though by all accounts it does seem like a physical, real-world thing in the movie.

On top of that, some fans also left the movie a bit disappointed by the more artistic approach to the ending. The final montage largely explores the effects of the real world on the Backrooms, before ending with Mary’s copy. Thematically, this is a great connection, as now the copy of Mary is trapped inside of a place she likely can’t leave, similar to that of how young Mary was brought up by a reclusive mother. However, fans who were hoping for more of a terrifying creature were left unhappy with how the film resolved.

Luckily, it seems like we’re due for more Backrooms. The movie’s success almost assures something else will come. Parsons isn’t sure whether that’s a movie or not, though. Speaking to USA Today, Parsons said he believes the best route for more Backrooms content is in a serialized TV format. “I still feel very adamant that it would need to be a television series,” Parsons said. “I don’t think you can finish ‘Backrooms’ as a narrative in a bunch of feature films, and I don’t even think it would be a good idea to do that many feature films. I think being specific is good.”