'Backrooms' Review: A24's Creepypasta Horror Gets Lost In Its Own Lore

The journey that led to the release of Backroomsbegan in May 2019 with the now-famous 4chan photo of a dingy, bare office space with faded yellow wallpaper and creepy fluorescent lighting. Yet it could be argued that the photo’s vague sense of unspoken danger lurking just beyond our perception didn’t fully take hold in the public imagination until COVID-19. For many in the online generation, the pandemic intensified and mainstreamed the photo’s sense of emotional disconnect, as every abandoned mall, vacant office, and empty school hallway became its own liminal space. Living through the dread and loneliness of lockdown meant navigating an environment that felt recognizable yet soulless, deserted yet threatening, real yet unreal.

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