Along with Mike Flanagan’sThe Haunting of Hill HouseandMidnight Mass, Ryan Murphy’sAmerican Horror Storyis a must-watch for manyhorrorfans searching for creepy TV shows.American Horror Storiesseason 4 (which is really just the back half of season 3) became available on Hulu on October 15th, 2024 as part of Huluweenandfeatures five eerie episodesabout bad dreams, monsters, and the strange spaces between nightmares and reality. While each episode has a stand-out cast and a strong storyline,the fifth episode, “Backrooms,” has an especially compelling premise.
The episode stars Michael Imperioli as Daniel, a divorced screenwriter obsessed with fame and fortune and devastated by the disappearance of his young son Roman (Matthew Eby).American Horror Stories"Backrooms" tells a well-crafted and shocking story with an unpredictable ending that will please fans of the spinoff series.
What Happens At The End Of The American Horror Stories Season 4 Episode “Backrooms”?
After wondering why he keeps ending up in several strange spaces, from an empty supermarket to a series of rooms with green walls,Daniel meets Eli (Matthew Maher), a man who posts online about liminal spaces. In a video, Eli asks anyone who has experienced the same thing as him to contact him. Daniel and Eli chat in prison, where Eli is serving a sentence after running over and killing an innocent woman. Eli explains that he lied about what happened, which forced him into “backrooms,” terrifying spaces that are between reality and dreams.
Back in his mansion,the police arrest Daniel for the murder of his son, and it becomes clear that Daniel was the evil villain all along. Daniel shoots a police officer, who then shoots and kills him.Daniel ends up in his own version of the afterlife: a waiting room where it’s going to take, well, forever for his number to be called. This is a fitting ending for someone who killed their own child, there’s no doubt about it. The ending ofAmerican Horror Storiesseason 4 episode five, “Backrooms,” is just asterrifying as every moment of the episode “Bestie.”
This is a strong ending since justice is served and Daniel gets what he deserved. It also has thesymbolism of heaven and hell as one long waiting roomand suggests that this final resting place is another backroom or liminal space. Imperioli, who starred inThe White Lotusseason 2as another conceited and unlikable character, delivers a riveting performance. For much of the episode, he makes viewers believe that he has no idea what’s going on. In fact, he’s suppressing his memories.
Like allthe other episodes ofAmerican Horror Stories, “Backrooms” has several twists and turns, along with one character who is in a morally gray area for much of the story.While many viewers likely guessed what really happened to Daniel’s son, the reveal is still fairly surprising. Although not much of an explanation is given as to why Daniel committed such a horrible act, this twist still works. Viewers can accept that he’s the villain of the story and feel satisfied when he doesn’t get a happy ending.
What Are The Backrooms Referenced In American Horror Stories?
“The Backrooms” are a real concept, and it’s interesting to see howAmerican Horror Storiesbuilt an entire episode about them. As reported byABC News,people first began reading about the idea on the forum 4Chan in 2019. A backroom isa “liminal space” between life and death. Kane Parsons, who made a short film calledThe Backroomsalong with a web series calledBackrooms,is working on a movie that will be released by A24, as reported byDeadline. In these depicting, The Backrooms are a series of rooms with green walls, which was also shown inAmerican Horror Stories"Backrooms."
In an interview withDazed Digital, Parsons said of his work:
“The story at large is not pulled through a footage medium, and it goes to places with characters that we haven’t seen before and explores things that I haven’t really touched on yet.The Backroomsis not – and never has been – something that I think about as an internet trend or a meme. It’s just a story I genuinely care about, with characters I genuinely care about.”
Creepypasta has been popular for a long time, and there are several examples of this in pop culture, including theTV seriesChannel Seriesbased on some of the stories. The Backrooms are particularly unique since while people have an idea of what they look like, there is an air of mystery surrounding them. Since this is an idea and not a specific story, creators are free to let their minds run wild.
