Backrooms reviews have touched on influences from Twin Peaks to The Blair Witch Project. In fact, a lot of people are grappling to fit the new movie into a not-so-neat box, but the thing that stood out to me most when I got to preview the new A24 movie during an early screening was how much it felt like the world construed in Severance. As it turns out, I was not off my rocker thinking this. There is absolutely a reason it reminded me so much of the Apple TV+ show.
My main memories of watching Severance with my Apple TV+ subscription involve Adam Scott’s Mark entering an elevator and spending time in a long, convoluted and winding network of office spaces and rooms. Everything is stark and clean, yet eerie, and while Severance lacks the distinct yellow palette Backrooms spotlights over and over again, the seemingly never-ending yet faintly claustrophobic spaces feel alike. I don’t think anything made this more clear than that scene with Adam Scott running in the opening sequence for Season 2.
Without giving much away, there's a similar scene with Renate Reinsve that also gave me the same vibes. The look of both projects is actually similar by design, but it was the Apple series that was first emulating the creepypasta project that predated the 2026 movie release.
Severance screenwriter Dan Erickson confirmed the influence the online phenomenon had on the series to Inverse a while back, though at the time he had to kind of explain what it was:
Then there’s stuff like The Backrooms, which is a weird online urban legend. There were a lot of disparate influences.
Backrooms as a concept feels like it’s gone on forever, but its origins only came on a 4Chan creepypasta thread back in 2019. The urban legend grew, as Kane Parsons created a viral online video series. That then became a movie and attracted some major talent, including Chiwetel Ejiofor. The Backrooms trailer amped up the creep factor considerably, but seeing the movie is its own experience, and one that is ultimately different than Severance, despite their being some uncanny stylistic similarities.
Honestly, it’s nice to know I’m not just spouting random conspiracy theories, and there is a connection to the two projects, confirmed by the Severance creator himself. He also cited some additional pop culture formats like The Office and, less obviously, The Truman Show as influences on the series.
Ultimately, The Backrooms is its own beast, filled with weird doors and monstrosities seemingly copied from memories. While Severance is similarly uncanny, it's more of a thriller and less straight horror than the new movie, but hey, that could always change now the show's renewed for Season 3! (Though we may not be getting it on the 2026 TV schedule).
As for Backrooms, you can catch it in theaters now.
