Backrooms (2026 film)
The most recommended of 3 horror films
Praised as a well-executed, unsettling horror film that works as a standalone, with strong tension and clever writing. Caveat: thin plot and an abrupt ending.
20 people recommended Backrooms (2026 film) in Hacker News comments, 5 had mixed feelings and 6 criticized it, November 2025 to October 2026.
12 of the 20 people who recommend it commented in one thread, “'Backrooms' Stuns with $81M Debut”.
Summary written by Claude from 28 comments. It was written before the November 2026 recount, and 27 of those comments still count.
31 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 20
- mixed feelings
- 5
- warn against or regret it
- 6
The record
Recommended in 6 of 12 months
In 9 different threads.
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: recommended
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 20 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 3.3 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 6 of 12 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
- Recommended in 9 threadsNeeds 5 or more, met.
- 12 of its 20 recommenders came from one threadNeeds half or less, not met.
The same rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. Mixed feelings count toward neither side. How the badge works
What people say about it
Reasons grouped from a sample of 30 of the 36 opinions about it, picked in proportion to how many people recommend it, have mixed feelings and criticize it. Each mark is one comment in the sample. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Unsettling, well-executed horror
“I'd bet that you'd really enjoy this movie. It's extremely well executed and genuinely unsettling”
Comment from 31 May 2026 in “'Backrooms' Stuns with $81M Debut” “It's amazing how scary an obvious puppet in a grocery cart can be.”
Comment from 1 Jun 2026 in “'Backrooms' Stuns with $81M Debut” Works as a standalone experience
“I felt it was a great standalone experience. The lack of explanation I think worked really well.”
Comment from 31 May 2026 in “'Backrooms' Stuns with $81M Debut” “The film is self contained (and excellent”
Comment from 1 Jun 2026 in “'Backrooms' Stuns with $81M Debut” Clever writing, thoughtful and well-done
“it's quite clever, I never cringed at terrible dialogue”
Comment from 31 May 2026 in “'Backrooms' Stuns with $81M Debut” “quite thoughtful and well-done”
Comment from 4 Jun 2026 in “'Backrooms' Stuns with $81M Debut” Close to House of Leaves
“It's probably the closest thing Hollywood has ever been to a House of Leaves style story.”
Comment from 3 Jun 2026 in “'Backrooms' Stuns with $81M Debut”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Thin, meandering plot
“Very meandering and largely devoid of any real plot…”
Comment from 31 May 2026 in “'Backrooms' Stuns with $81M Debut” “no plot. no point. complete waste of my life that i will never get back.”
Comment from 1 Jun 2026 in “'Backrooms' Stuns with $81M Debut”
Other horror films people recommend
The two most recommended other horror films, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Mixed | Criticize | Approval | Months | Had for | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Backrooms (2026 film)This page | 20 | 5 | 6 | 77% | 6 | — | — |
| Sinners (2025) | 10 | 2 | 2 | 83% | 4 | — | Approved |
| Obsession (2025 film) | 9 | 2 | 2 | 82% | 5 | — | — |
What people said
30 of the 36 opinions about it, picked in proportion to the three counts, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“Backrooms and Obsession surpassed all expectations”
“The Backrooms and Obsession were made by youtubers with shoestring budgets.”
“Both Backrooms and Obsession made strong returns on very low budgets.”
“Hearing about everyone’s passion and seeing the end result reflect that makes the experience of watching it so much more enjoyable.”
“Obsession and Backrooms are both really good.”
“one of the better attempts I've seen at integrating the ugliness, slop, and grotesque aspects of online life into a contemporary film”
“What I’m impressed by of late is that a lot of contemporary horror films”
“without the ‘lifeless’ characteristics of the Backrooms”
“quite thoughtful and well-done”
“It's probably the closest thing Hollywood has ever been to a House of Leaves style story.”
“I didn't see it told in either the movie or the YouTube shorts.”
“The first 1 hour or so was very well done and engaging, but then it just wraps up all of the sudden”
“Backrooms for me was definitely a yum!”
“The film is self contained (and excellent”
“The web series and the film also defaulted to a very SCPified generic horror formula”
“if you haven't seen it and want more context”
“Really enjoyed both of them, just as with PHM, I think Backrooms is best viewed on a big screen.”
“the entire YT series is good”
“It's amazing how scary an obvious puppet in a grocery cart can be.”
“no plot. no point. complete waste of my life that i will never get back.”
“I felt it was a great standalone experience. The lack of explanation I think worked really well.”
“The movie was great but it's not a stand-alone movie”
“A good movie, but not something totally new.”
“This is more of an indictment of Hollywood’s creative bankruptcy than anything”
“I'd bet that you'd really enjoy this movie. It's extremely well executed and genuinely unsettling”
“Very meandering and largely devoid of any real plot…”
“it's quite clever, I never cringed at terrible dialogue”
“it was exactly what I could have hoped for having enjoyed his other work”
“I took a friend to see the opening night preview and we both loved it.”
“maybe this is an existential Internet horror film which actually gets the existentialism right”
Counts come from 1,791,911 Hacker News comments labeled by Claude, November 2025 to October 2026, with data through October 31, 2026. Counts updated 2 Nov 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.