Critics Left Stunned In First Reactions To The Backrooms Movie
On May 29, 2026, horror fans everywhere are going to be treated to the release of "Backrooms." Want to hear why critics have their jaws on the floor over A24's latest buzzy release? Click the video above for all of the details.
After an exclusive press screening, critics started giving their initial impressions of "Backrooms" on X. So far it's been all raves. Joshua Rothkopf of the Los Angeles Times wrote: "BACKROOMS is horror stripped to its essentials: a hallway, a door, knowing that you will go through it. Conceptually, it's a triumph, a nightmare with its own weather." He ended with some praise for young director Kane Parsons, who, Rothkopf claims, knows exactly how to chill his audience.
Also on X, the Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic Courtney Howard (who has written for both Variety and the AV Club) agreed with Rothkopf's assessment of "Backrooms." She called the film "a brilliant, frightening vision. Beautifully claustrophobic, pulse-pounding & freaky AF." She adds that the movie's scares are top notch and that the performances from the two lead actors are great. "Renate Reinsve & Chiwetel Ejiofor are terrific," Howard wrote.
Backrooms has some competition at the box office
It's been an especially good year for minimalist, independently produced genre films at the box office. The movie most comparable with "Backrooms" might be Markiplier's "Iron Lung," which made over $50 million on a budget of roughly $3 million. "Backrooms" seems set to duplicate that kind of success: Projections have the motion picture at a $20 million opening, which is quite a competitive number. It could turn into a sleeper hit if it has legs, possibly even becoming one of the biggest A24 films of all time. Its closest horror competition is the buzzy indie film "Obsession," which arrives in theaters two weeks earlier on May 15.
"Obsession" has been forecast to earn over $10 million on its opening weekend, so it's offering some serious competition. On top of that, a trio of smaller horror films — "Sick Puppy," "Passenger," and "Saccharine" — will be released one week before "Backrooms" on May 22. Also coming out on that day is "Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu," which might complicate those box office predictions. And that's without mentioning the sixth "Scary Movie" film, which comes out just one week after "Backrooms" on June 5.
There's clearly a lot of competition, but if the early critical response to "Backrooms" is anything to go by, the film has every chance of standing out from the crowd and becoming a hit. Want to know more about what the critics thought after attending a sneak preview of the film? Check out Looper's video above for the lowdown on the reactions.