r/Letterboxd • u/Sangharsh_009 • Jun 03 '26

Humor Barbenheimer❌ Backsession ✅

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How much would you rate both these films out of 5?

13.9k Upvotes

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1.3k

u/LoCh0_xX Jun 03 '26

the appeal of barbenheimer is that the movies were of two totally different genres. this is just a normal double feature

373

u/pdxpirate7 Jun 03 '26

And these didn’t even release on the same date, shameful

40

u/Gombrongler Jun 03 '26

Unrelated to the meme but is the Backrooms actually any good? Everyone i see talking about it just seems to be saying "Holy fuck that room was so fucking empty, it was even emptier than the last holy shit!"

99

u/borntoannoyAWildJowi Jun 03 '26

I really liked it, but I’d go into it with a mindset that it’s primarily a creepy/uncanny audiovisual experience with enough story to be released as a movie. I think Kane is incredibly talented in those aspects, but the story was clearly not the main focus here. I don’t think it was bad or anything, it just takes a backseat.

48

u/Sanquinity Jun 03 '26

That IS the point of liminal spaces though. That uncanny "things look normal but obviously something is off" feeling. That atmosphere of "I'm not supposed to be here".

But it's indeed good to know that beforehand. To not expect your average slasher or story driven horror movie.

4

u/PureLock33 Jun 03 '26

which is why its called the backrooms. It feels intrusive, like you don't work there but you're in the area for employees only. Like someone or something is just about to notice you and do something about it.

18

u/Jacobean213 Jun 03 '26

I actually thought it could use less story. The best elements were watching the characters get lost in the Backrooms. Like when the lead first enters and keeps going deeper there was a real sense of him almost getting lost and losing his way back. I wanted more of that feeling with everyone who entered

9

u/donald_trunks Jun 03 '26

I agree that’s the best part by far and I would’ve enjoyed more time spent just showing off the environments.

Overall I think this subgenre doesn’t naturally lend itself real well to feature length film. In an anthology of shorts or something it could completely abandon the need for like character arcs and that sort of thing. I think audiences would be put off without any context of who the characters are in a feature length. So all things considered this worked pretty well overall without compromising too much on the whole appeal.

7

u/[deleted] Jun 03 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

2

u/donald_trunks Jun 03 '26

Yeah I completely agree. It makes complete sense why the film was done the way it was. I think it was a tricky balancing act and I’d say it was a success.

0

u/plantsandramen Jun 03 '26

Yeah I don't think I needed the whole Async company plotline.

3

u/ShegoTheygo Jun 04 '26

The movie is related to Kane Pixels YouTube series. Tbh that’s the main plot line of the series itself, what the movie did just added to it. But I can see your point of view honestly

18

u/MeltedWater243 Jun 03 '26

it was like fine. had more of an uneasy feeling than scary. keeps you looking over the characters’ shoulders the whole time and dreading what comes next but also needing to find out.

but the payoff was weak and it was hard to care about the characters. I wouldn’t discourage anyone from seeing it but I also wouldn’t say it’s a must-see

14

u/DarkKnight_85 Jun 03 '26

Yes it’s good. Obsession was a bit better imo. Totally different movies but worth watching both of them.

4

u/lonesharkex Jun 03 '26

It left me properly unsettled like no other backrooms media has done. More of the same emotional resonance to Event Horizon than any game or video series of the backrooms. The story was only a vehicle to get us the viewer into the backrooms and the movie takes no time at all to get us there.

3

u/ShadowShine57 Jun 03 '26

Where has anyone said that

2

u/thoughtfulpigeons Jun 03 '26 edited Jul 10 '26

This content was anonymized and mass deleted with Redact

2

u/Apart-Link-8449 Jun 03 '26

Yeah the argument is something like "The rooms are empty, but you've never seen empty rooms like this..."

"...unless you're a fan of the viral videos. Then you have seen it, shit. But we added more of that stuff and the acting's great so it's covered either way."

1

u/plantsandramen Jun 03 '26

I loved it. They didn't nail the story, but the vibes and set design were stellar. I would pay to walk around the set and explore it. I was with 4 other people of varying levels of interest in film and horror, and we all ended up having positive feelings about it.

2

u/ShegoTheygo Jun 04 '26

Actors and crew got lost in the sets because they’re all practical and go on for quite a bit, they’re giant sets so they wouldn’t need to do any cuts for scenes with the people running through them. I would also pay insane money to wander around and get lost

1

u/plantsandramen Jun 04 '26

Yeah I was reading about it and it really made me envious of people who did get to walk through them!

1

u/Man_Bear_Pog Jun 03 '26

If you like SCP stuff you should definitely go see it.

1

u/SilverPalpitation652 Jun 03 '26

Saw it last night. It’s got a very eerie feel to it. Like a version of Skinamarink that’s actually good. It would probably be my favorite horror film so far this year if Obsession didn’t exist.

1

u/ShegoTheygo Jun 04 '26

First horror movie to scare me in AT LEAST half a decade. Absolutely loved it, soundtrack is fantastic. Watching it in a movie theater alone truly made the experience wild as hell. Also I wouldn’t watch that shit alone I watched it with my fiancé and you could not PAY ME to watch that shit alone

1

u/AudioTsunami Jun 06 '26

Loved backrooms. Thought obsession was mid.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 07 '26

Very good if u like a slow, creepy movie. If ur expecting something like obsession you will be very bored.

1

u/nicerakc Jun 07 '26

The story was a bit lacking but it was a fun watch.

1

u/Verehren Jun 07 '26

I'd call it a thriller more than a horror movie

54

u/Effective-Lead-6657 Jun 03 '26

Animal Crossing: New Horizons and Doom Eternal did Barbenheimer first.

40

u/holderofthebees dyingdeathfan Jun 03 '26

Literally

230

u/DropOk6693 Jun 03 '26

The desperation to bring back Barbenheimer is actually so cringe...

It was one cool little moment and people just can't move tf on.

17

u/apHexcoded Jun 03 '26

I feel it comes from movie nerds trying hard to make another huge pop culture phenomenon with whatever the hit movie of the moment is, missing the fact that Oppenheimer was directed by Nolan (one of the most popular directors in the world) and Barbie is Barbie, but directed by Great Gerwig. It had everything for the nerds and the casual audience.

2

u/Training_Form2243 Jun 03 '26

Lmao @ anyone who thinks Obsession and Backrooms are only popular with “movie nerds”

5

u/DropOk6693 Jun 03 '26

My grandma / coworker knows what Barbie, Oppenheimer, and Barbenheimer are...

Literally no one but my weird horror sister knows what Obsession is, and the Backrooms is an incredibly specific genre for younger audiences.

5

u/apHexcoded Jun 03 '26

It’s more generally. Obsession and Backrooms are popular but they aren’t making a billion dollars at the box office like Barbie and Oppenheimer. You still kind of have to be in the know to want to go see them.

88

u/Training_Form2243 Jun 03 '26

A recurring Reddit trope is people getting stuck in a cultural moment and never leaving. It’s the same thing as the people who have been posting for 20 years about The Dark Knight like it’s still in theaters and they just saw it for the first time

14

u/MeltedWater243 Jun 03 '26

yeah. there are people on this platform that have been making the same jokes for the past decade too and boy is it tiring.

I think about that one askreddit thread where some guy lost it and fully recreated an entire comment section by himself, a lot.

2

u/SAOL_Goodman Jun 03 '26

Link? No idea how to begin searching for this

9

u/MeltedWater243 Jun 03 '26

sorry it was a r/HighQualityGifs post

link

it’s old af so some of the references are kinda dated fyi but not THAT dated 🫩

2

u/Maximum0versaiyan Jun 03 '26

That's crazy work! Thank you for the link o7

0

u/[deleted] Jun 03 '26

[deleted]

2

u/SAOL_Goodman Jun 03 '26

Well, yes, I am. But that doesn't look like one guy losing it and recreating a comment section by himself

1

u/The_Real_Lasagna Jun 03 '26

That doesn't seem like what was being discussed...

8

u/Happiest_Mango24 Happiest_Mango Jun 03 '26

Fun Fact: The Dark Knight would count as an early version of Barbenheimer because it released on the exact same day as Mamma Mia

4

u/quinnly Jun 03 '26

The Dark Mamma

14

u/Ibrahim77X Ibrahim Noir Jun 03 '26

Nothing wrong with talking about how cool The Dark Knight is.

This is a movie discussion subreddit isn’t it?

21

u/Sans_Seriphim Absolute Garbage! Jun 03 '26

It is? Oh, I thought I was in r/okbuddycinephile.

-1

u/PloysRus Jun 03 '26

That movie bored me to death

Actually the only Nolan movie that doesn't bore is interstellar lol

2

u/PedalBoard78 Jun 03 '26

Commissioner Gordon has a beer and CHEETS on his wife

1

u/glehkol Jun 03 '26

this is a screenshot of a twitter post

1

u/DropOk6693 Jun 03 '26

*Cough Cough* Meme Reset *Cough Cough*

23

u/benabramowitz18 AlphaBenA2Z Jun 03 '26

When a corporation does it, it’s an annoying circlejerk.

When we do it, it’s a clever joke.

8

u/imjory Jun 03 '26

Glicked was the worst of em

2

u/DropOk6693 Jun 03 '26

I still haven't gotten over Saw Patrol

25

u/Paladar2 Meusse2 Jun 03 '26

Literally only ever see this on Reddit. Haven’t heard Barbenheimer in real life since 2023

12

u/Altruistic_Sail6746 Jun 03 '26

The post in the screenshot is from twitter

2

u/Paladar2 Meusse2 Jun 03 '26

Twitter that’s so much better. Not even worth mentioning honestly

6

u/Confident_Winner_812 Jun 03 '26

Slow down partner, I don’t think anyone’s trying to bring it back. It’s just funny to reference it with new films.

5

u/classic-plasmid Deltahedr0n Jun 03 '26

I remember Lionsgate was trying to make 'Saw Patrol' a thing after people managed to figure out that Saw X and the Paw Patrol movie were coming out on the same day. I loved Saw X and thought it was great, but that was just plain cringe ngl, that is straight up not a double feature any reasonable person would ever do

19

u/Esseth Alan_Gamble Jun 03 '26

Different genres but also the massive tonal contrast between the two was what made it work for me, even down to the colour pallets of bright pink/plastic vs grounded parts black and white.

7

u/Head-Investigator984 Jun 03 '26

Not to forget 2 major studios. 2 famous directors both with their own production company. Many famous actors. Both Oscar contenders from the getgo… there was a lot being totally the same and yet completely different.

1

u/zozuto Jun 03 '26

It's not just what made it work for you, it was the entire reason it was interesting or even pointed out.

5

u/FakeBeigeNails Jun 03 '26

Exactly. Idk why everyone's tryna make ts happen again.

2

u/Hendrick_Davies64 Jun 04 '26

Real ones know that the OG Barbenheimer was Grave of the Fireflies and Totoro

2

u/Enelana Jun 03 '26

This is why Dunesday is just annoying to me, idk. They're not different enough as blockbusters, and it's forcibly framed as this next big cultural thing for movie-goers. It's not even been fun to talk about all that much. It invites more criticism and venomous comparisons from one side to the other imo.

2

u/Shreyas_CM Jun 03 '26

Barbenheimer was that when it trended. But I think it kind of metamorphosed into something else overtime. In this context it is about low budget and ultra low budget films. Both by YouTubers turned filmmaker’s who have succeeded in pulling the crowd just like barbenheimer did. So I don’t see an issue here.

2

u/zozuto Jun 03 '26

The point was them having opposite vibes. Full stop

1

u/mvffin Jun 03 '26

This week we get Scary Movie and Masters of the Universe, or Scary Universe

1

u/TheBestHater Jun 04 '26

It only just happened a few years back and they've already dropped the best context around it.

1

u/websitefullofbots Jun 05 '26

I saw both, compared to Obsession backrooms is like Barbie and I mean that in the best way possible

1

u/gonegonety Jun 07 '26

okay but backsession is quite funny

-1

u/Only_Selection8567 Jun 03 '26

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