Movie Review: Backrooms

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Attempting to adapt the Backrooms concept to the big screen is a solid concept, but despite a few glimpses of the film living up to its full-potential, uneven pacing and a bizarre third act leaves the audience wondering “what the hell was that?” I’ve watched the YouTube shorts that this film is adapted from, and found that while they’re interesting, they always feel unfinished and never quite stick the landing. This film mostly follows the found footage feel of the shorts but loses much of its claustrophobic elements and the feeling of hopelessness that I expected to see. Once the story finally feels like its finding its groove, it takes a strange pivot and then takes a confusing turn into some fairly surreal territory. While the actors do a good job, the backstory of Chiwetel Ejiofor’s characters doesn’t quite work for the payoff, and Renate Reinsve’s motivations ultimately add nothing of importance to the overall plot. (Not to mention some they both make some head-scratching choices to move the story along.) The design of the backrooms looks great and combines the best of practical sets and the CG sets from the internet clips that started it all. And although the ending is stronger than what the source material usually comes up with, it still ends up leaving too many questions unanswered and vague.

** out of *****

Movie Review: Supergirl (2026)

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Despite a fairly strong start, “Supergirl” stalls out midway through and is ultimately only saved by an engaging performance by Milly Alcock in the title role. I have not read the comic that this film is based on, but it does seem to follow the basic concept. As in that series and from this film’s trailers, Supergirl reluctantly teams up with Ruthye to track down the big bad that wronged them both. While Eve Ridley is fine in the costar role, we spend too little time with her character at the start of the film, and we never really get to know her outside of her motivation for revenge. The villain, Krem, is relativity one-note and his abilities are so vaguely defined it’s hard to know how much of an actual threat he’s supposed to be. Most surprisingly, despite being a role he was born to play, Jason Momoa’s Lobo doesn’t make much of an impression. He’s supposed to be one of DC’s most iconic and badass characters, but here he talks the talk but doesn’t really back it up convincingly. Thankfully, Alcock’s as Supergirl is perfect for this version of the character and she runs through a wide range of emotions throughout the film. On the negative side, the pacing is bad and drags so much in the middle that it derails a decent third act. Also, the lead characters have no real chemistry, the effects are okay but often use heavy CG, and the needle-drops are straight from the B-side of “Guardians of the Galaxy,” except here they rarely compliment what’s happening on screen.

**1/2 out of *****

Movie Review: Obsession

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A solid horror movie that takes a fresh approach to an old concept, but a slow start and some pacing issues near the third act make the movie feel a bit too long. While the basic plot is more-or-less the “love potion gone wrong” trope, there is an often-unsettling supernatural element in this film that really makes the story disturbing. Most of this is kept intentionally vague, which works out fantastically because overly explaining what’s happening would ruin the mystery. (Although there’s a few things that could’ve used a little more clarification.) The acting is solid, with Michael Johnston pulling off a tricky role of being both a likable man in over his head and a predator taking advantage of a messed-up situation. The true standout of the film is Inde Navarette, who must come off as an unpredictable and sometimes terrifying presence while always maintaining the feeling that she’s just an innocent victim. The score is fairly simplistic but does some heavy lifting to induce dread at all the right moments.

*** out of *****