Backrooms (soundtrack)
| Backrooms (Original Soundtrack) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
_cover.jpeg) | ||||
| Film score by | ||||
| Released | May 29, 2026 | |||
| Recorded | 2026 | |||
| Genre | Film score | |||
| Length | 92:30 | |||
| Label | A24 Music | |||
| Edo Van Breemen chronology | ||||
| ||||
Backrooms (Original Soundtrack) is the film score to the 2026 science fiction psychological horror film Backrooms directed by Kane Parsons in his feature-length directorial debut. Parsons also co-scored the film with Edo Van Breemen, which was released through A24 Music on May 29, 2026.
Background
Backrooms was the feature-length directorial debut of Kane Parsons, which was an adaptation of his own web series in turn based on the "Backrooms" creepypasta. Besides directing, Parsons handled the visual effects and also co-scored the film with Canadian musician Edo Van Breemen.[1][2] Parsons' liking to music composition was him: "mostly function[ing] more as a caveman [than a musician], banging rocks together" as he never had a formal training in music or playing instrument, and his father being a hobbyist DJ playing dubstep music in the car when he was a childhood, and his liking to ambient music informed his musical career and had released his musical performances in his other YouTube channel.[3]
For the musical soundscape, Parsons tended to reach for music which lingered in a meditative place which was not structured like a traditional song, and ranged from film and video game soundtracks. As he had also composed the series, the score for the film had to be identical, and the sound design being a more windy and richer than the series, which was a found footage, hence having a mono audio.[4] Some of the cues had been inspired by the production design and the "room tones" themselves, which led to the score being ambiguous and having an unsettling atmosphere. The inspiration from Backrooms' music was derived from artists like Aphex Twin, Boards of Canada and Burial.[3] Particularly, Boards of Canada's "The Word Becomes Flesh" from their studio album Inferno was featured in the film's end credits.[5]
Release
Backrooms (Original Soundtrack) was released through A24 Music on May 29, 2026.[6] The album is also expected to be released in LP formats in the late summer of 2026.[7][8]
Reception
Harry Thorfinn-George of Pitchfork rated 7 out of 10 and said that the score "plays like a standalone album of dark ambient for a time when AI simulacrum and abandoned public spaces are part of the everyday and the liminal and uncanny are the pop-psychology du jour".[9] Elijah Pareño of Rolling Stone Philippines said that: "The Backrooms score is a masterclass in suspense and an audio love letter to internet horror".[10] Brian Tallerico of RogerEbert.com wrote:
"With characters who often remain silent as they explore these impossible spaces, sound design and score become essential to the success of Backrooms. Parsons co-scored the film with Edo Van Breemen, layering in atmospheric compositions that fit the material without drawing attention to the melodies. It’s an insidious score, one that almost sounds as if it emerged from the Backrooms itself, just underneath that recognizable hum of the soul-draining lights."[11]
Nikki Baughan of Screen Daily wrote: "The fantastic, bombastic score from Parsons and Edo Van Breemen also does a great deal to fill in the blanks, utilising propulsive, often deafening beats with skittering tones and barely-audible throbs".[12] Randy Myers of The Mercury News wrote "the eerie soundtrack from Parsons and Edo Van Breemen accentuate and stimulate the strangeness".[13] Sam Haysom of Mashable wrote "composer Edo Van Breemen and Parsons' soundtrack is oppressive".[14]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Artist(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Handprint" | 5:11 | |
| 2. | "People in San Jose" | 4:00 | |
| 3. | "Local Network" | 4:19 | |
| 4. | "Pirate Shanty" | 1:55 | |
| 5. | "Furniture Lament" | 4:18 | |
| 6. | "The Untrained Mind" | 3:33 | |
| 7. | "Quiet Wall in Dark Room" | 3:29 | |
| 8. | "Basement Land" | 5:37 | |
| 9. | "Ottoman Empire" | 2:41 | |
| 10. | "Next Room Over" | 1:49 | |
| 11. | "Feeling of a Door Imminently Remembered" | 1:33 | |
| 12. | "Capitol & McKee" | 0:45 | |
| 13. | "Cafe Bossa v1" | Jeffrey Innes | 2:00 |
| 14. | "Open the Window" | 2:38 | |
| 15. | "4-PCH" | 4:11 | |
| 16. | "Paint" | 1:17 | |
| 17. | "You Know Me" | 2:05 | |
| 18. | "Dining Room" | 8:40 | |
| 19. | "Landsick" | 2:38 | |
| 20. | "Homothet" | 1:39 | |
| 21. | "Layout Extrapolation" | 3:19 | |
| 22. | "Furnished Dead End" | 2:09 | |
| 23. | "Wired" | 1:31 | |
| 24. | "Cold Floor" | 2:25 | |
| 25. | "Humble MRI Company" | 6:58 | |
| 26. | "Old Home Not Yet Built" | 5:44 | |
| 27. | "Complex" | 6:06 | |
| Total length: | 92:30 | ||
References
- ↑ Aguilar, Carlos (May 14, 2026). "Kane Parsons is 20. Here's how he made A24's biggest summer movie, the spooky 'Backrooms'". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on July 2, 2026. Retrieved July 7, 2026.
- ↑ Tritisniotis, Zachariah (June 1, 2026). "'Backrooms' soundtrack proves that Kane Parsons & A24 did their homework". Happy Mag. Archived from the original on June 1, 2026. Retrieved June 1, 2026.
- 1 2 Hauptman, Zack (May 27, 2026). "'Backrooms' Director Kane Parsons on the Games, Shows, and YouTubers That Shaped Him". GQ. Archived from the original on May 28, 2026. Retrieved July 7, 2026.
- ↑ Sandstrom, Emily (June 2, 2026). "Kane Parsons Can't Escape the Backrooms". Interview. Archived from the original on July 4, 2026. Retrieved July 7, 2026.
- ↑ Farrell, Margaret (May 31, 2026). "'Backrooms' End Credits Song Is From Boards Of Canada's New Album". Stereogum. Archived from the original on June 1, 2026. Retrieved May 31, 2026.
- ↑ "Backrooms (Original Soundtrack)". Apple Music. May 29, 2026. Archived from the original on July 4, 2026. Retrieved July 7, 2026.
- ↑ "Backrooms Original Motion Picture Soundtrack". A24 Shop. Archived from the original on June 25, 2026. Retrieved July 7, 2026.
- ↑ Dunworth, Liberty (June 9, 2026). "The 'Backrooms' soundtrack is getting a vinyl release". NME. Archived from the original on July 1, 2026. Retrieved July 7, 2026.
- ↑ Thorfinn-George, Harry (June 11, 2026). "Kane Parsons / Edo Van Breemen: Backrooms (Original Soundtrack)". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on June 26, 2026. Retrieved July 7, 2026.
- ↑ Pareño, Elijah (June 8, 2026). "How the 'Backrooms' Score Uses Ambient Sound to Fuel Dread". Rolling Stone Philippines. Archived from the original on June 10, 2026. Retrieved July 7, 2026.
- ↑ Tallerico, Brian (May 29, 2026). "Backrooms review: It's worth getting lost in this promising horror debut". RogerEbert.com. Archived from the original on May 30, 2026. Retrieved July 7, 2026.
- ↑ Baughan, Nikki (May 27, 2026). "'Backrooms' review: Chiwetel Ejiofor and Renate Reinsve lose themselves in creepy, slow-burn horror". Screen Daily. Archived from the original on June 3, 2026. Retrieved July 7, 2026.
- ↑ Myers, Randy (May 28, 2026). "Review: 'Backrooms' delivers a unique brand of terror". The Mercury News. Archived from the original on June 30, 2026. Retrieved July 7, 2026.
- ↑ Haysom, Sam (May 29, 2026). "'Backrooms' review: Does the online creepypasta make a good full-length movie?". Mashable. Archived from the original on June 16, 2026. Retrieved July 7, 2026.
External links
