This article contains important spoilers for the film "Behind the Scenes".
Kain Parsons's "Backstage" belongs primarily to a new subgenre of horror called liminal horror, in which the ordinary, everyday world is transformed into an eerie, barely perceptible new reality. Much of the horror in these films stems from an existential dread that isn't always easy to pinpoint, but once it's in your system, it's impossible not to feel it deep in your bones. "Backstage" is the quintessential example of this genre, as Parsons presents the audience and characters with familiar surroundings that gradually become increasingly unfamiliar, stretching to infinity. Thus, the horror typically resides in implied and circumstantial conclusions: the fear of getting (or becoming) lost, the fear of unfamiliar places, the fear of being forever isolated, and so on.
However, while Parsons' YouTube series relies heavily on gradually building dread through short, found-footage-style segments, his feature-length film required a more tangible threat. After all, what could be more terrifying than a mysterious, strange space that secretly harbors something deadly? Thus, Behind the Scenes centers on a terrifying monster, and in classic Jaws and Alien style, Parsons conceals its identity for much of the film. When the time finally comes to reveal the monster, the film does not disappoint.
It turns out to be a giant, creepy replica of Clarke (Chiwetel Ejiofor), dressed in the pirate costume of his furniture store's mascot, "Ottoman Empire." Clarke's distorted pirate features and his strange, half-tormented, half-angry expression are sure to give horror fans nightmares on their own. The reason he's the film's titular monster, and the implications of that, will also keep fans up at night.
Read also: The 50 Scariest Horror Movie Monsters
Pirate Clark is a reflection of Clark's darkest character traits.
Captain Clark discusses his lucrative deals on utility room furniture - A24
Clark, while well-intentioned, may not be perfect, but he is troubled, to say the least. He visits therapist Dr. Mary Kline (Renate Reinsve), where he expresses his frustration at not becoming a successful architect. He blames this on his responsibilities at the store, as well as his recent divorce from his ex-wife, whom he apparently abused. When Clark appears in a commercial for the store in full costume, he complains that the outfit (and all the effort) is humiliating and beneath him.
After discovering Backstage, his obsession with it becomes increasingly selfish. He disregards the safety of his young employees, resulting in the deaths of Bobby (Finn Bennett) and Kat (Lukita Maxwell). When Mary finds Clark living in Backstage after his disappearance, he reveals that the organisms living there are copies of real people (or people who were). He also reveals that he is able to sustain himself by consuming their bodies, which are composed not of human entrails, but of some other amorphous substance.
The Backstage, or Complex, is a realm that somehow manifests objects and people from the real world in a surreal, half-remembered form, distorting details almost like a bad mirror image. However, it also seems to reflect and amplify the details that things (especially people) hide in reality. Thus, Clark's penchant for violence, his aggression, anger, and selfishness—these are what compose and drive Pirate Clark. As a result, the real Clark dies when Pirate Clark takes a large bite out of him; retribution is just. But as creepy as Pirate Clark is, the suggestion that dark mirror versions of us all might exist in the Backstage is even more disturbing.
The film "Behind the Scenes" is now showing in cinemas around the world.
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Read the original article on SlashFilm. .