28 Years Later: The Bone Temple (2026) Film Review

As Spike is inducted into Jimmy Crystal’s gang on the mainland, Dr. Kelson makes a discovery that could alter the world.

28 Years Later: The Bone Temple is directed by Nia DaCosta director of Little Woods (2018), Candyman (2021), The Marvels (2023) and Hedda (2025). The film serves as a sequel to 28 Years Later (2025) and is the fourth installment in the 28 Days Later film series.

28 Years Later brought back the franchise last year and ended up being one of the best films of the year. Bone Temple continues this momentum and delivers what can be argued to be better than its predecessor.

Like last time, the performances are absolutely fantastic. Starting with Ralph Fiennes who dives even deeper as Dr. Ian Kelson, I still believe that he is one of the best written characters from a film in the 2020s and after this film that argument grows even stronger. Especially with the final moments we get with Kelson, Fiennes has plenty of jaw dropping moments here that are truly phenomenal. Between the final act (more on this in a bit), the moment where Kelson turns Samson into a human being, or any of the interactions he has with Samson. It’s all so masterfully done and quite easily one of the best performances of the year, it’s a perfect companion version of Ian Kelson from the previous film.

Jack O’Connell as Sir Lord Jimmy Crystal is terrifying, not only is it one of the best performances so far this year but it’s one of the most terrifying. O’Connell really leans into A Clockwork Orange (1971) territory and it’s quite brutal and tense to watch, every action of Jimmy Crystal is unpredictable as you have no idea what he has planned in his head or how he’s going to react. Even if you can predict something he does, he will throw another trick at you.

O’Connell captures this portrait of a nasty and evil man yet in some ways you can understand why Jimmy became the monster he did, he’s the direct opposite of Kelson. Whereas Kelson still finds hope throughout the virus and its destruction on human life. Jimmy sees this virus as some sort of punishment from a higher power, this could drive people to insanity especially if you let that insanity take over your mind. This is why Jimmy is such an interesting character and is the perfect opposite of Kelson. This becomes incredibly clear during the film’s final act.

Other fantastic performances include Alfie Williams who does just as fantastic as he did in the previous film, this film still has that “hero’s journey” type of feel all be it in a much more darker way. Chi Lewis-Parry as Samson is a beautiful performance, as mentioned earlier his interactions with Ralph Fiennes are some of the film’s best moments. The decision to give him a lot more to do this time around was a very smart one. Erin Kellyman as Jimmy Ink/Kellie is perhaps her best performance to date, her bond with Alfie Williams is some of the biggest amount of light you are going to get in the disturbing and dangerous atmosphere so it stands out quite well.

The cinematography combined with the music is phenomenal, while it is a bit of a shame that Young Fathers did not return to do the music for this film. I do think the score we got here fits the film quite well, cinematographer Sean Bobbitt captures the absolute disturbing and dark nature of the film’s world while Hildur Guðnadóttir captures the tense and atmospheric ride of the score. When combined together they help create this dark and disturbing world that feels a lot more closed off than its predecessor, which completely fits the tone of the film.

Nia DaCosta’s direction is quite fantastic and manages to capture the spirit of this franchise while also including her own ideas, what DaCosta really excels at here is giving this film a yin and yang sort of thing with the previous film, whereas the previous film felt more adventurous and was more about what it means to be human plus life and death. This film is much more closed off and is a lot more on the darker side, questioning why this virus even started and seeking answers that are next to impossible to find. There is also a focus on brutality and the true evilness of the virus and how mad it makes certain people.

Finally there’s the last act of the film, we see the personalities of Jimmy and Ian collide. This final scene feels like you are in hell, there is a lot of craziness, Iron Maiden and chaos. Yet along with this comes the film’s most important and powerful moment, It’s when Ian Kelson says “There’s no God, there’s no devil, but there’s hope because there’s us. There’s humanity.” Not only is this the perfect final touch on Ian Kelson as a character but it’s the perfect way to describe this film. All we can count on is ourselves, look after each other and not let evilness take over. This represents Ian Kelson helping people such as Nelson, Jimmy Ink looking after Alfie and Jimmy letting evilness take over his mind to the point where he inflicts pain onto others.

28 Years Later: The Bone Temple is simply put one of the best films of the decade so far. It’s a brilliant film that perfectly fits with its predecessor and is a film that will almost surely leave the viewer with a long lasting impression.

28 Years Later: The Bone Temple is available on all VOD platforms.

10/10 A+

Send Help (2026) Film Review

An overworked analyst and her arrogant nepo-baby boss survive a plane crash near Thailand and must cooperate to survive on a remote jungle island while their workplace power dynamic collapses around them.

Send Help is directed by Sam Rami director of Evil Dead (1981), Evil Dead II (1987), Army Of Darkness (1992), Spider-Man and its two sequels (2002-2007), Drag Me To Hell (2009), Oz the Great and Powerful (2013), Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022) and a few others.

After a few franchise films, Sam Rami returns with an original film that brings him back to his roots and what he’s best at. Send Help is everything you can really ask for from a Sam Rami horror project. Excellent act, the perfect blend of horror and comedy and creative writing that puts a spotlight on several different themes that all mesh well together.

The performances from Rachel McAdams and Dylan O’Brien are some of 2026’s best so far. Rachel McAdams goes from being calm and collected to insanity in a snap, it’s an unhinged performance that perfectly captures the atmosphere Rami creates with this film. There’s almost this strategic element in McAdams’s performance that the viewer slowly but surely starts to dive into as the film goes on, McAdams has always been a fantastic actress, but here she really kicks it up a notch. From the moment her character Linda Liddle is introduced you immediately get into her character, we as the viewer slowly watch her slowly change over the course of the film and it’s just a huge blast to see.

Dylan O’Brien is also quite fantastic as well, he plays a complete and total asshole and does quite a great job at doing so. The scenes of him trying to stand against an unhinged Rachel McAdams is some of his best moments, the fear in his eyes and the suspense is the perfect combination. The best however is the dynamic between the two, they work effortlessly together, whether it’s the film’s opening moments of O’Brien’s character Bradley Preston being a complete and total asshole to Linda, or when Linda has Bradley at a brutal point where he has no choice but to listen to her. Everything about McAdams and O’Brien working together in the film just makes a lot of sense.

The writing is quite clever, it ties in themes like generated power dynamics, hierarchy, nepotism and toxic workplace politics in both a humorous and serious way. The film is not saying anything particularly new about these topics, however the way the film manages to tie in these topics into the story (you slowly start to see them come into play as the film goes on) is very interesting and what makes the writing so investing.

As I said before Sam Rami returns to his roots and that means we get some fantastic gore, some well done shots (with the help of cinematographer Bill Pope) and creatively built atmosphere. What makes Rami such a compelling and fascinating director is the atmosphere he builds for his films and that’s no exception here. McAdams and O’Brien are quite easily able to capture the atmosphere the film requires, it’s feel of a film that balances its humor and horror perfectly. The film is able to both make the viewer cackle at a simple joke and make you feel somewhat disturbed by some of the gore. It’s the perfect blend that really hits the ball out of the park.

Overall Send Help is a fantastic film, In a year that has been excellent for horror so far. This is definitely one of the best of the pack.

Send Help is available on all VOD platforms.

10/10 A+

Iron Lung (2026) Film Review

In a post-apocalyptic future after “The Quiet Rapture” event, a convict explores a blood ocean on a desolate moon using a submarine called the “Iron Lung” to search for missing stars/planets.

Iron Lung is directed by Mark Fischbach also known as Markiplier which is his directorial debut. The film is based on the 2022 video game of the same name.

Markiplier is a YouTuber that I never watched but have always respected, everything I’ve heard about him or seen of him when he shows up in an article is always positive. When I heard that he would be making a film I was definitely interested to see what he could do, something that I really have to give credit where credit is due is the many swings Markiplier takes here with this film (which I’ll get into.) It should be noted that I have not played the game, so I’m more than likely missing a few things.

Iron Lung wastes no time at all, we get straight into the film with a very neat voice over and then the film takes into the action. Right from the start Mark Fischbach’s performance is actually quite impressive and while there are some hiccups, it’s not nearly enough to take you out of the film. There’s this genuine fear in his eyes and voice that are quite effective and mix in well with the atmosphere and even cinematography. Fischbach also does quite a great job with the dialogue exchanges with the rest of the cast, even if this is just mainly the Fischbach show. The rest of the cast are still great and have this effectiveness that keeps you in the film.

As I said earlier, the film takes a couple of big swings here that actually do land. The first one being that this is a cosmic horror film that is a directorial debut, cosmic horror is hard to nail down by itself but tackling it on your directorial debut is even harder. From what’s presented here and the elements that are included, Fischbach does such a fascinating job of really putting the audience right into the experience. The other huge swing is the over the top finale that should not work yet and it does. Perhaps it’s the nasty imagery and practical effects that really compliment the film, they are nice and gooey plus has a lot of character to it.

The main flaws here simply come down to the 2 hour and 5 minute runtime plus the story feeling a bit confused. I will absolutely admit that there were times that I genuinely had no idea what exactly was going on, which does lead into this interesting angle where it felt almost intentional and other times it did not feel intentional. When you combine that with the runtime being a bit long and sort of a slog to get through during the film’s first, there is a bit of a mess here.

With that being said however, that isn’t nearly enough to take away the positives of the film. Fischbach’s direction is genuinely solid and knows how to create a thrilling atmosphere that adds in some claustrophobic moments that are bound to get you invested.

Overall Iron Lung is a film that is quite interesting, it’s heavily flawed and could have been trimmed down. However it’s a fascinating watch that understands the atmosphere incredibly well.

Iron Lung is available on all VOD platforms.

7/10 B

Tribeca Review: The Last Day (2026)

Inspired by Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway, The Last Day unfolds over a single summer day in New York, where the lives of two mothers briefly entwine. Julia, a writer and mother, is unsettled by creative stagnation, unprocessed grief, and the approach of her daughter’s adolescence. An unexpected encounter with Taylor—a labor and delivery nurse in the midst of a postpartum crisis—pushes Julia to reconsider the life she has built, and whether she can rediscover herself within it.

The Last Day is directed by Rachel Rose which is her directorial debut.

The Last Day was the final film I watched for this year’s Tribeca Film Festival and it’s a solid film to end on. There are definitely some frustrating moments that the film opts to not really elaborate on, however between the performances, the atmosphere and the many swings the film makes adds up to a quite interesting experience.

The performances are what really make the film, Alicia Vikander gives a strong performance that luckily she’s able to fully go all out with. It’s refreshing to see Vikander tackle a script that actually allows her to use her acting talent because there are some incredibly striking moments here that really remind you of just how excellent she really is. The scene with Wagner Moura (his only scene) during the film’s first act is a standout, Vikander and Moura bouncing off of each other dialogue wise is truly fascinating to watch and leaves the viewer thinking of this scene in particular.

What Victoria Pedretti does here is outstanding, even if the film largely does not focus on Taylor’s (played by Victoria Pedretti) story, the scenes that we do get are quite fantastic and show just how fantastic Pedretti is as an actress. She captures the dark side of motherhood, there’s many scenes of Taylor just breaking down. Trying medication after medication, Taylor clearly loving her kids but can’t make it through the day it’s all there that really makes the viewer feel for Taylor as a character. Pedretti’s facial acting and body language is also quite fantastic here, you can see the struggle on her face and her eyes it’s hard to watch at times yet it really adds to the film.

I do think the compare and contrast element of Julia (played by Alicia Vikander) and Taylor’s stories is interesting although I do wish we got to see a lot more of Taylor’s. While Vikander does a great job as Julia and the story being told is solid, it does not have the connection that Taylor’s story has, there are interesting ideas in Julia’s story that are presented but the film does not quite land them when it comes to execution. With that being said there are still powerful moments here that go the long way, the film’s style adds a few weights into the mix that help the film stand out.

Overall The Last Day is an interesting one, not every single part of it works. But for the most part it’s a pretty solid film with some excellent performances that make the film worth experiencing.

The Last Day currently has no release date.

7/10 B

Tribeca Review: Iconoclast (2026)

Follows a reclusive young man whose dangerous obsession with a live-streaming influencer increasingly erodes his grip on reality.

Iconoclast is directed by Gabriel Basso which is his directorial debut.

Iconoclast is the film I knew the least amount about going into the Tribeca Film Festival and I’m glad that was the case. This is a film that slowly but surely sets the viewer into its world and creates this surprisingly disturbing look at how damaging parasocial relationships can be, plus with a twist ending that ties everything together incredibly well.

The performances all across the board are fantastic, Gabriel Besso does such a fantastic job of giving this on the edge of being disturbed type of performance. As the film goes on we see Connor slowly but surely lose himself, just when you think he might be able to be pulled into reality he goes right back into the insanity. Besso does such a fascinating job of showcasing this whether it be through is direction of the film or his performance.

Courtney Eaton is fantastic here as well, she delivers such a tense yet relaxed performance that shows you two sides of her character Nika. Throughout the film when Connor is listening and watching Nika’s streams we only ever hear her voice, however we do get to see Nika when Connor sees her everywhere he goes. It’s a very effective way of showing the viewer two different angles of this story that once you get the full picture in the end is quite disturbing.

Finally there’s Rain Spencer who continues to impress as an actress, while Spencer’s role might seem a little undercooked during the film’s first half. She quickly starts to find a place in the film and ends up being quite effective, her character Morgan is in the dark about the whole situation with Connor and these moments of trying to unknowingly try to bring someone back to normalcy are effective. The dialogue shared between the two is fantastic, Rain Spencer seriously brings her talent front and center here.

As mentioned before, the film takes a look at how damaging parasocial relationships can be. It also does take a look at online radicalization, the film delivers some quite disturbing and raw moments that sharpen the film’s narrative in this careful way that avoids making it come off as disturbing for the sake of being disturbing. Besso’s direction definitely helps here, the slow burn element that Besso includes here works wonders for the film. It helps create this atmosphere that the viewer slowly but surely gets put into, all of this adds up to the film’s ending which does leave quite an impact on the viewer.

Overall Iconoclast is a very well acted, directed and atmospheric ride from beginning to end. The film’s pacing can definitely feel a bit too slow at times, however that is not enough to stop the film from being quite effective.

Iconoclast currently has no release date.

8/10 B+

Tribeca Review: In Memoriam (2026)

A terminally ill actor becomes obsessed with being featured in the Oscars’ “In Memoriam” segment, exploring ego, humility, and legacy.

In Memoriam is directed by Rob Burnett director of We Made This Movie (2012) and The Fundamentals Of Caregiving (2016).

In Memoriam perhaps has one of the most unique premises I’ve heard of so far this year. The whole idea here is an aging actor is faced with terminal cancer but then wants to make it on the In Memoriam section of the Oscars ceremony, it’s a very eye catching idea that works quite well. While there are a few hiccups along the road, the film does a great job of executing its ideas and helps build its characters around it.

Marc Maron gives one of the best performances of his career, he’s able to balance the film’s dramatic and comedic moments expertly which leads to some genuinely hilarious and impactful dialogue exchanges. He plays off the supporting cast incredibly well, his most hilarious moments come in when he’s on screen with Michael McKean and his best dramatic moments come in when he’s on screen with Talia Ryder.

Speaking of which, Talia Ryder continues to show that she is incredibly underrated. The little moments of Maura (played by Talia Ryder) wanting her father Langston (played by Marc Maron) to teach her about acting have this raw atmosphere to them that you really can’t help but love. The father and daughter bond the two display throughout the film is the heart of it all, it leads to an admittedly predictable yet beautiful ending that will absolutely make you shed a tear or two.

The rest of the cast is great, as mentioned earlier Michael McKean is quite hilarious. Megalyn Echikunwoke makes for a fun addition during the film’s second half and Lily Gladstone although not having a large presence in the film, still goes all out with her performance. The dialogue exchanges between her and Maron are some of the film’s highlights.

As far as writing goes In Memoriam is quite strong, it goes for this dramady type of feel that really works. It’s definitely understandable if some moments could feel like a whiplash for some viewers, but luckily the film does a great job of mostly preventing that by having plenty of down to earth serious moments yet strangely funny. The theme of the time someone has left when faced with a situation like cancer is truly well done and has this sense of care that’s put into it.

The film is admittedly very predictable especially during the second half as it does have a ton of genre cliches. However I don’t think that ruins the movie, the performances, the beautiful moments and the premise itself keep this one afloat. It’s the type of film that you root for due to it just being so charming and in the end the film reaches that finish line.

Overall In Memoriam is a very charming and caring film that has some great performances and is quite hilarious. At times it can feel familiar but one thing is for sure that the film will leave you with a great impression.

In Memoriam currently has no release date.

8/10 B+

Tribeca Review: Clean Hands (2026)

The inspirational true story of hero drug cop turned recovery advocate Kevin Simmers and his daughter Brooke. The film examines the American drug crisis from the opposing eyes of cop and addict who were also father and daughter.

Clean Hands is directed by Jake Allyn who previously directed Ride (2024).

Clean Hands is based on the true story of Kevin Simmers and his daughter Brooke the latter of which struggled with opioid addiction. The two navigate the American drug crisis on opposite sides of the law. While the film does strike in a lot of familiar categories, there is this beautiful level of rawness when it comes to the film’s performances that are quite easily the best part of the film.

Zach Braff and Esther McGregor work wonders with the film’s father and daughter dynamic, there are plenty of moments here where the film really focuses on the facial expressions of the characters. That’s especially the case with Brooke, we see the pain and tears in her eyes that is truly gut wrenching to watch at times. McGregor does such a fantastic job of really bringing these moments right to the viewer and you constantly are reminded of what she’s going through as the film goes on.

Zach Braff gives a very strong dramatic performance here, Kevin Simmers’s devotion to his daughter’s wellbeing is commendable and leads into some very powerful moments between the two. Braff is definitely more recognized for his comedic work, but Clean Hands shows he is incredibly capable of dramatic work.

Clean Hands does unfortunately suffer from incredibly slow pacing and familiar story elements (even if the film is based on a true story.) The film also confuses itself by jumping ahead without bringing this connecting piece, however these issues are largely in the first act. Which I guess does work in the film’s favor since the rest of the film does pick up once it enters the second act. With that being said, you would not be blamed if you felt completely taken out of the film by the second act.

Overall Clean Hands is not a bad movie, it’s an admittedly powerful story with some excellent performances that are bound to make you shed a tear or two. If you can get through the first act and the meds that comes with it, you will probably end up liking the film.

Clean Hands currently has no distribution

6/10 C+

Tribeca Review: Rain Reign (2026)

The story follows Rose, a neurodivergent 12-year-old obsessed with rules and homonyms, who embarks on an emotional search for her missing dog during a superstorm.

Rain Reign is directed by Erika Burke Rose which is her directorial debut.

Rain Reign is a very straightforward coming of age story that works mainly due to its cast, the care that Erika Burke Rose put into the story and its quite authentic portrayal of neurodivergence.

The performances are quite beautifully done across the board. Felice Kakaletris (a neurodivergent actress) plays Rose a 12 year old neurodivergent girl who we follow throughout the film. We get to see her personality and some traits that tie into the film’s story, one of the main ones being homonyms something that Rose loves (hence the title of the film.) Kakaletris does such a beautiful job here, not only does the performance feel authentic but Kakaletris fills with this anxiousness of feeling out of control. The beautiful delivery lets the viewer see behind Rose’s shields whether that be heartache or frustration, she has a bunch of quiet moments that truly are effective. It’s a well done performance that the viewer quickly grows attached to and never lets go.

Jeremy Sisto and Paul Rudd are also both fantastic here. Sisto plays Wesley, Rose’s father who is going through rough trauma making caring for his daughter a lot harder. Sisto brings a lot of depth to a performance that could have easily went down the “one dimensional” route. Rudd plays Uncle Weldon the direct opposite of Wesley, he has a much better gentleness and connection. Combined together, Sisto and Rudd both do wonderful here and are at best when they share the screen with one another.

As someone who is neurodivergent how the film portrays neurodivergence is very well done. We get to see how Rose sees the world, how she communicates with the people around her and her general understanding of certain situations. One early scene of Rose having to be excused from the classroom and taking deep breaths is truly touching. Later in the film a classmate of her’s is sharing their experience with the storm that just occurred, the classmate was on the verge of crying so Rose asks “do you need to step outside” and goes with the classmate. This is by far my favorite scene of the film simply because we see Rose look at the people around her and wants to bring this light into the world.

There’s also the beautiful third act involving Rose’s dog Rain, not only does it have some solid character moments for all the characters. It’s a sweet ending that ties up all the film’s plot lines in a nice little bow, sure the way these plots are tied up are not anything new and certainly won’t surprise the viewer. But there is this level of charm that you can’t help but appreciate.

Rain Reign is not anything new, but as I said before it’s the film’s performances and authenticity that really sells it and pushes it to the finish line.

Rain Reign currently has no distribution

7/10 B

Scary Movie (2026)

Cindy and her friends as they are forced to reunite when the original masked killer returns 26 years later.

Scary Movie or Scary Movie 6 (2026) is directed by Michael Tiddes director of A Haunted House (2013), A Haunted House (2014), Fifty Shades Of Black (2016), Naked (2017), Sextuplets (2019)and Half Baked: Totally High (2024). The film is the sixth installment in the Scary Movie series. It’s a spiritual sequel the first two films.

The Scary Movie series were without a doubt the most popular set of films that came from the parody movie era of the 2000s and the early 2010s. The first two films I still think are fun comedies that really nail down the whole idea of parody, there is still quite a bit of charm there that works well. The third and fourth movies have their moments, not everything works with the two but you do get some quite memorable moments. The fifth movie is quite horrendous and came out at a time when the parody genre was reaching its fall off.

Scary Movie is luckily FAR better than Scary Movie 5 (2013). Although that is not exactly saying much and I can’t necessarily say that this is a good movie, when it comes to a parody movie not being as bad as ones like Scary Movie 5 (2013), Disaster Movie (2008), Epic Movie (2007) and a few others that is absolutely considered a win.

First and foremost Anna Faris and Regina Hall once again do a really great job as Cindy Campbell and Brenda Meeks respectively. They both still have the comedic timing that they pull off incredibly well even with the movie’s more lame jokes, it’s great seeing the two together again and really showcases that without the two, the Scary Movie series just does not work nearly as well. Other characters that return are Doofy (played by Dave Sheridan), Shorty (played by Marlon Waynes) Ray (played by Shawn Waynes), Greg Phillippe (played by Lochlyn Munro) and Bobby Prinze (played by Jon Abrahams (although the latter two have very small roles.) The cast works well together and have the same level of charm they had in previous entries of the series.

The introduction of the new characters is very mixed, their inclusion makes a lot of sense. After all the main story the movie is parodying is Scream 5 & 6, a majority of them however do feel underutilized. Credit where credit is due I do think the movie’s ending is a nice spin on the whole new characters in horror franchises sort of thing.

As far as cameos go, I do think the movie does a pretty great job. There is shockingly not a whole lot of them and the ones that do appear got laughs out of me, definitely a breath of fresh air when you compare this to other parody movies that focused more on shoving as many cameos as possible.

The first half of the movie is definitely the strongest, the movie comes out swinging with a quite strong and clever intro scene that while does capture the familiarity feel of these movies. It also has this nostalgic welcome back feel that you can’t help but appreciate, what follows is a steady string of good bits that you can tell the cast was having a blast with. While not every single one of these jokes lands as you do have a few that feel either forced, overly explained or stretched for way too long, for the most part the first half of the movie manages to stick the landing.

Unfortunately that’s when things go downhill, the second half of the movie really reflects as to why the parody movie genre died. Most of the jokes in the second half feel like they are stretched for way too long, the movie does not let its own jokes breathe, when you combine that with shockingly slow pacing (how is this even an issue?) and you have yourself a very rough second half to get through. It’s frustrating because there are some decently clever set ups for jokes, but unfortunately the delivery and timing is incredibly messy.

The movie also very clearly has a lot of scenes missing, there were points where it felt like this very messy project that was due the night before. There is a whole lot of jumping around from parody to parody that almost felt reminiscent of Family Guy cutaway gags. While a few of these jokes offer some great laughs, others feel like a complete waste of the movie’s time.

Overall Scary Movie is really about what you expect, I think the main problem here with this one is it does not go far enough with its humor and does not do a whole lot to stand out. It ultimately does feel like just another parody movie that has a few memorable scenes attached to it. As I said before, this is far better than Scary Movie 5 (2013) and if you are a fan of these movies you will get some entertainment out of it. Just don’t go in expecting this to be up there with the earlier installments.

Scary Movie is currently in theaters.

4/10 D+

Backrooms (2026) Film Review

After a therapist’s patient disappears into a dimension beyond reality, she must venture into the unknown to save him.

Backrooms is directed by Kane Parsons which is his directorial debut. The film is based on Parson’s web series and inspired by the Backrooms which came from a 2019 thread on 4chan.

Backrooms is a very interesting one, what may on the surface seem straightforward turns out to be something much more strange and chaotic as the film goes on. It’s one of those films where this is not what I expected but in a very good way, the film does have bumps in the road but the overall package is quite fascinating.

The performances are quite strong here, starting with Chiwetel Ejiofor who plays Clark a furniture store owner. Ejiofor gives this raw portrayal of a man going through loneliness, resentment and even declining mental sanity. As the film goes on we see all of this slowly but surely come together and the effect the Backrooms have on his character Clark, Ejiofor also captures the film’s surreal experimental atmosphere quite effectively and brings the viewer on this unsettling yet fascinating journey.

Renate Reinsve gives yet another fantastic performance, Reinsve plays Mary a therapist who navigates the Backrooms. While Mary may seem like she is not one of Reinsve’s most developed characters she’s played. The development mainly comes from her body language, reactions to the Backrooms and what she finds in them. There’s moments where she hesitates while being pursued as well as standing there, the look on her face has this sense of sadness, sympathy and depression. It’s truly a prime example of how incredible Reinsve as an actress.

What is truly incredible here is 20 year old Kane Parsons directing this, he does such an incredible job of bringing this atmosphere that is truly haunting. The first act brings you right into things with a found footage moment that truly brings tension to the viewer, it does a fantastic job of setting the atmosphere and bringing you into the experience. We also do get another found footage moment later on that is just as effective (quite honestly some of the most effective found footage moments in a while.) While the second does have incredibly slow pacing and is admittedly weaker than the first and third act, the direction from Parsons, the performances and the atmosphere are able to keep the viewer along for the ride.

Then we get to the final act which is quite chaotic yet has some interesting themes that the film explores quite well. Mark by this point has lost sanity and he makes this known, there are some quite suspenseful scenes that really bring the viewer close to the action and the exploration of the film’s world. When you combine this with the effective cinematography from Jeremy Cox you truly do get unsettled as the viewer.

Backrooms is one of those films where you should go in as blind as possible, overall the film is truly fascinating and Kane Parsons hits it out of the park. Parsons shows his ability to bring thrilling atmosphere with some well done characters (even if I wished there was a bit more development.) Backrooms is not going to be for everyone, but I do recommend giving this one a go!

Backrooms is currently in theaters.

8/10 B+