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| Backrooms Explained: What Are the Still Life Entities and Can They Really Be Eaten? (Photo: A24) |
A24's Backrooms doesn't waste time introducing terrifying corridors and impossible architecture, but one of the film's most unsettling mysteries isn't the endless yellow rooms at all. It's the appearance of the Still Lifes, strange human-like beings that seem familiar enough to make viewers uncomfortable before they even move. As the story follows Clark, a failed architect whose curiosity pushes him further into the impossible maze, these eerie figures gradually become one of the film's biggest talking points.
Their existence raises uncomfortable questions about identity, memory and survival, while also delivering one of the strangest food debates horror fans have had in quite some time. Apparently, this isn't the sort of meal anyone should be adding to a recipe book.
Fans have been split over the Still Lifes ever since Backrooms reached audiences. Some viewers believe they're simply distorted copies created from the mysterious world's imperfect understanding of humanity, while others argue they're far more intelligent than Clark ever realises.
Online discussions have also focused heavily on whether the creatures possess genuine emotions, with many pointing to their reactions during key scenes as proof they are much more than lifeless copies.
Others have joked that the film somehow managed to make fluorescent office corridors and questionable dining choices equally terrifying, which is an achievement nobody was really asking for.
The film establishes that Still Lifes are humanoid entities born from the Backrooms itself. Rather than creating exact replicas, the strange dimension reconstructs people from fragmented memories, almost like someone attempting to sketch a face after hearing a vague description several weeks earlier.
The overall shape may look convincing, but something is always slightly wrong. Their expressions linger too long, their movements feel unnatural and their presence constantly sits inside the uncanny valley. It is exactly this imperfection that makes every encounter increasingly unsettling.
Although Backrooms introduces the creatures to cinema audiences, longtime followers of Kane Parsons' original online series will recognise them immediately. Earlier entries, particularly Found Footage #3, hinted that these distorted beings had existed within the Backrooms for some time.
The film expands on the concept by suggesting that the Backrooms are not merely copying appearances but also absorbing fragments of personality, emotion and subconscious memory. In other words, the place appears to remember people about as accurately as someone recalling a dream after three cups of coffee.
One of the film's more intriguing examples comes through the mysterious red-haired Still Life that may reflect Clark's former wife, Barbara. The resemblance is minimal beyond their hair colour, yet the creature's fearful behaviour suggests the Backrooms have recreated emotional scars instead of physical accuracy.
If that interpretation is correct, the Still Lifes are less like photocopies and more like distorted emotional portraits. They capture the feeling of someone rather than their exact appearance, which is arguably even more unsettling.
Then comes Captain Clark, perhaps the strangest Still Life in the entire film. Unlike the others, his body combines wooden materials, fabric and imagery connected to the pirate mascot from Clark's furniture business.
The bizarre design suggests the Backrooms struggle to separate memories, objects, advertising mascots and real people. Alternatively, it may understand Clark's mind rather well and intentionally blend together the symbols that dominate his subconscious.
Either explanation is disturbing enough to leave viewers wishing they'd chosen a nice romantic comedy instead. Another fascinating detail is the apparent ability of the Still Lifes to endlessly regenerate.
Despite strong suggestions that Clark has repeatedly harmed and consumed them over an extended period, the creatures continue appearing fully restored. This fits neatly with the Backrooms' seemingly limitless power to recreate rooms, objects and even entire locations from memory.
The mysterious realm appears capable of rebuilding almost anything without exhausting its supply, making destruction feel almost meaningless inside its endless corridors.
The film strengthens this theory through its recreation of Mary's childhood home and the apartment building that replaced it. Neither location appears to exist physically within the Backrooms beforehand, implying the dimension extracts information directly from people's memories rather than needing a real-world reference.
The disturbing red room, filled with incomplete figures seemingly fused into the floor, also hints that not every attempt at recreation succeeds. Those failed Still Lifes remain one of the film's creepiest unanswered mysteries and could easily become a major focus if the story continues.
Perhaps the most debated question surrounding the Still Lifes concerns whether they can actually be eaten. Clark insists they are perfectly edible and claims they feel no pain, allowing him to justify his increasingly disturbing behaviour.
However, the film quietly dismantles his argument. When Mary injures Captain Clark, the creature visibly reacts, showing clear signs of pain and distress. That single moment changes everything.
If one Still Life can suffer, there is little reason to believe the others cannot. Clark's confidence suddenly looks less like knowledge and more like convenient self-delusion. Their physical makeup also complicates matters.
Some Still Lifes appear to contain soft white foam-like material beneath their skin, while others, particularly Captain Clark, resemble wooden mannequins mixed with realistic anatomy.
The film deliberately avoids giving a straightforward biological explanation, reinforcing the idea that every recreation follows different rules depending on whatever impossible logic governs the Backrooms. Safe to eat? Technically uncertain. Recommended? Absolutely not, unless your dinner guests have already left.
One particularly dark theory gaining traction among viewers suggests Clark may never have survived on the Still Lifes at all. Instead, some believe he unknowingly relied on Kat's remains while convincing himself he was consuming the creatures created by the Backrooms.
Supporters of this interpretation point to the abandoned clothing found inside Captain Clark's hideout, including items belonging to people who disappeared long before Clark arrived. If true, it transforms Clark from a desperate survivor into someone completely detached from reality, making the psychological horror even more devastating.
Whether viewers accept that interpretation or not, Backrooms uses the Still Lifes to explore memory, identity and the uncomfortable gap between appearance and reality. They are neither simple monsters nor harmless copies. Instead, they exist somewhere in between, forcing audiences to question whether imperfect recreations deserve empathy simply because they are not fully human.
Next: Backrooms 2 (Sequel).
The film offers no easy answers, which is exactly why the debate continues long after the credits roll. Did you believe Clark's explanation, or do you think the Still Lifes were far more aware than he ever admitted?