A new poster for the upcoming liminal horror movie The Backrooms has perplexed the internet with its minimalist design. While the reaction was overwhelmingly that of confusion, those familiar with its eerie origins were delighted by its mysterious aesthetic, keeping the spirit of its internet urban legend roots.
While the best movie posters are often stripped back by design, The Backrooms' barren design was perhaps a step too far for some. Many questioned whether the creator had forgotten to add any imagery, while others simply didn't understand the liminal vibe – I'm here to argue it's right on the mark.
The Backrooms originates from an online urban myth (or creepypasta, for the chronically online such as myself), which describes a vast liminal space filled with mono-yellow patterned wallpaper, the stink of moist carpet and "the endless background noise of fluorescent lights at maximum hum-buzz." Accompanied by an eerie image of this imaginary hellscape, the creepy myth soon became a world-building phenomenon, even growing its own Reddit community, r/backrooms.
Taking inspiration from the original image, the new poster is the perfect homage to this internet sensation, perfectly capturing the maddening nothingness of the space. Perfectly replicating that signature sickly greenish yellow and the strange, banal pattern of the wallpaper, the poster captures an indistinct creepiness.
While the poster is pure fan service for those in the know, to many it seemed like just a plain, dull design. "What is this? Did you forget to put the image?" a critic on X wrote. "Is it even a poster? It's more like the back wall of the backroom," another commented, while one intrigued user added, "not me waiting for it to load fully. What an interesting poster."
For more bizarre poster design, check out the new Obsession poster that had me questioning whether it was minimalist or just lazy or take a look at why horror movie poster design has a problem.
