whatever-the-opposite-of-actual-is ori

Because you cannot tell me that the kid who spent a summer meticulously crafting a 1:1 recreation of a demolished Texas mall for a psychological horror series on YouTube and who put so much time and effort into thinking about the psychology of The Oldest View….

…just so happened to skimp on dialogue and purpose for his cinematic debut film.

If you came away from the backrooms movie going “well there were plot and character moments in there that weren’t really explored and went nowhere” I am telling you that you are not paying attention.

This is one of those films where every line of dialogue, every odd thing you see in a frame, every unusual moment and shot composition, has a purpose and reason for being there.

And it’s not the film’s fault if you don’t wanna put in the effort to try and piece together what’s going on.

Now I’m not saying that makes it an inherently better film or something. You can still dislike it if you want. Taste is subjective. But it IS the type of movie that you get more out of the more you spend thinking about it than if you just brush off any weird moment or thing you didn’t understand as “weak writing.”

Like, I cannot stop thinking about the film and the more I do the more connections and moments I find that flesh out the world and the characters to me. Even the most innocuous little details are suddenly starting to make sense and offer up insight into the larger picture of this world…and it’s leading me to go down this conspiracy theory rabbit hole that makes its connection to the YouTube series even wilder and existentially creepier imo.

*goes to Tumblr for insightful perspectives*

*sees everyone is just talking about "loser white man" instead of minority main character*

Clark has got to be one of the best-written horror antagonists in recent memory, and the thing I love most about his character is how the film makes you understand his hardships, while at the same time not using them to justify, excuse, or downplay his actions.

You really get a clear idea of how his own hardships inspire the bad decisions he makes. And at the same time, it doesn't pull any punches in showing you the consequences of those decisions, which ultimately resulted in the creation of the Captain Clark entity.

Yes, I don't doubt that he was going through a very difficult time in his life, but it goes without saying that it doesn't give him the right to lash out at everyone and make their lives difficult. And it sure as hell didn't give him the right to take out his frustrations on his spouse or Mary!!!

That's why I love (to hate) him so much! He's not some run-of-the-mill mustache-twirling villain. He's understandable, relatable, and even sympathetic! And at the same time, the film is smart enough to not use those things that make him understandable, relatable, and sympathetic to excuse the harm and hurt he chose to inflict.

HOLY FUCKING PEAK.

Backrooms spoilers below

like yeah they've made some (admittedly pretty big) mistakes in the past and even some recently but i dont hate him. i dont want ghost to become an internet lolcow or be harassed for the rest of his life or anything like that.

i feel like most ghost and pal fans feel essentially the same in just wanting ghost to:

1. log off the internet