What The Lifeform From The Backrooms Movie Looks Like In Real Life

Contains spoilers for "Backrooms"

The title liminal spaces are obviously the main attraction in "Backrooms," the directorial debut of Kane Parsons that's based on his massively successful series of YouTube videos. But no scary movie is perfect without a memorable monster. In "Backrooms," the most prominent entity is the film's rather unique take on the lifeform stalking the Backrooms — a nightmarishly distorted version of the movie's protagonist, Clark (Chiwetel Ejiofor), dressed in the pirate costume that the real Clark wore in a commercial for his failing furniture showroom. 

This manifestation, and that of others who become trapped in this realm, are never explicitly explained in the ending of "Backrooms," a very good horror movie that gets caught between some big ideas. But the implication is that the bizarre dimension that Clark enters through a portal in his store basement makes these deformed versions of humans who enter the space, as a projection of their own fears, flaws, or subconscious images of how they view themselves. The pirate Clark entity is played by Robert Bobroczkyi, and his portrayal of this tall, unnerving creature may yet be remembered as a classic horror monster.

The "Backrooms" monster is plenty peculiar, and it's only Robert Bobroczkyi's second credit when it comes to playing hulking horror creatures: In 2024, he portrayed the Offspring in "Alien: Romulus." There's every chance that Bobroczkyi will find more roles like these heading his way too. Coming from a basketball background, he was a whopping 7 feet, 7 inches at just 17 years old – a frame that makes him perfect for playing such characters.

While Bobroczkyi's physique has led to two interesting roles to date, it has unfortunately also led to some issues in the shape of occasionally unwelcome attention. "At the beginning, I just tried to ignore it," he told The Washington Post. "But then as I grew up a bit and got more mature, I realized that just ignoring it is not necessarily the right solution. You have to be smart about it. Not everyone is necessarily polite, and some people have never seen such a tall person before, so it's a normal reaction. Now I try to be more accepting and just smile."

It remains to be seen whether Bobroczkyi will become a prominent creature performance expert like Javier Botet, who has appeared in "It," "The Last Voyage of the Demeter," and "Slender Man," among others. However, he's certainly putting in the work so far — and he's terrifying in "Backrooms."