Okay, but is Backrooms just The Mummy if the ancient evil lived in a furniture store?

Alright, let's talk movies. You know how sometimes you hear about two films and they just click in your head as being cut from the same cloth? Well, here at issame.com, our algorithms have been buzzing about Backrooms and Lee Cronin's The Mummy, giving them a surprising ~74% similarity index. When I first saw that number, I honestly had to do a double-take. Backrooms, with its internet horror roots and liminal spaces, versus a Mummy film? My initial gut reaction was, "No way, that's way too high! One's a found-footage cosmic dread-fest, the other's classic supernatural possession." But the more I dug into the data, the more that 74% started to make a weird kind of sense, like two different nightmares that both leave you cold and wondering what just happened.

Let's unpack what each of these films is setting out to do, because on the surface, they feel wildly different.

Kane Parsons' Backrooms is clearly leaning into its origins as a viral web series. The setup alone – a strange doorway appearing in the basement of a furniture showroom – screams 'analog horror' and 'urban legend brought to life.' This is a film for anyone who’s ever spent too much time online, falling down rabbit holes of creepypastas, unsettling imagery, and the deep, abiding dread of liminal spaces. Its tagline, "You are not supposed to be here," isn't just a warning; it's the very thesis of the film. We're talking psychological horror, surrealism, found footage, and a deep dive into childhood trauma and alcoholism, all filtered through a hazy, 1990s aesthetic. The cast, with Chiwetel Ejiofor, Renate Reinsve, and Mark Duplass, signals a commitment to character-driven terror within that experimental framework. Backrooms isn't chasing jump scares as much as it's aiming for a pervasive sense of 'wrongness,' a peeling back of reality that leaves you bewildered and unsettled. It’s for the viewer who craves existential dread and cosmic horror more than a clear-cut monster.

Then we have Lee Cronin’s The Mummy, coming hot off the heels of Evil Dead Rise, so you know Cronin isn't pulling any punches when it comes to visceral, intense horror. The premise is heartbreaking: a journalist's young daughter vanishes into the desert, only to return eight years later, transforming a joyful reunion into a living nightmare. The tagline, "What happened to Katie?", perfectly encapsulates the mystery and the dread. This film is clearly operating within the supernatural horror subgenre, bringing elements of ritual, possession, and ancient curses into a very personal family drama. While it shares "monster" as a keyword with Backrooms, the monster here feels much more tangible, a direct threat affecting a specific person. Its cast, including Jack Reynor and Laia Costa, will anchor the family's emotional turmoil. The Mummy is gunning for an audience that loves a good supernatural fright, a creeping sense of dread tied to a very human story of loss and violation, and maybe a bit of that Evil Dead intensity applied to a classic horror trope. It's about a concrete evil that invades and corrupts.

So, are they chasing the same audience? Not entirely, but there’s a significant overlap. Backrooms might draw in the A24-adjacent crowd, those who appreciate elevated, art-house horror with a cerebral bent and a fondness for internet culture. The Mummy, while also being potentially elevated, could appeal to a broader horror audience who like their scares with a clear narrative and high stakes, especially fans of possession and monster films. However, both films share a core desire to mess with your head, to evoke a sense of bewilderment and foreboding, and they both feature elements of body horror – though perhaps in different ways. This is where that 74% really starts to shine.

The key overlap, the undeniable gravitational pull that links these two seemingly disparate films, isn't just a shared genre (Horror, Mystery) or a few keywords. It's the profound exploration of personal trauma manifesting through an external, unknowable, and corrupting force. In Backrooms, we're looking at childhood trauma and alcoholism being weaponized or amplified by the very fabric of the liminal space itself. The 'monster' isn't just a creature; it's the environment, the mind-bending reality, and the past demons of the characters. It preys on their vulnerabilities, distorting their perception and sense of self. It's horror that seeps into your psyche.

In The Mummy, the initial trauma is the devastating disappearance of a child, which shatters a family. When Katie returns, she is no longer truly Katie. The monster isn't just an ancient evil but the physical and psychological manifestation of that evil taking root in someone beloved. The horror here is intensely personal, a violation of family, identity, and memory, directly tied to the unresolved grief and hope of a broken home. Both films, in their own terrifying ways, present an insidious, predatory force that doesn't just attack the body, but utterly dismantles the mind and the soul, leaving the characters, and by extension the audience, utterly bewildered and full of foreboding. The body horror in Backrooms might be subtle, a psychological decay or grotesque alteration of surroundings, while in The Mummy it could be more overt possession or physical transformation, but the impact on the human form and psyche is central to both. They are both mysteries rooted in something fundamentally wrong with the world, and that mystery is slowly, agonizingly revealed through the psychological unraveling of their protagonists.

But for all their shared DNA of dread and trauma, the key difference that makes them not interchangeable boils down to the source and nature of the horror itself. Backrooms is about the existential terror of a place, an environment that is hostile, indifferent, and fundamentally wrong. It's a cosmic horror that preys on your sense of reality, disorienting you with its endless, impossible architecture and vague, unseen threats. It's about being lost in an uncanny valley, where the fear comes from the very fabric of existence being out of joint. The horror is atmospheric, conceptual, and rooted in the abstract. You are not supposed to be here, and 'here' is the real monster.

The Mummy, on the other hand, grounds its terror in a specific, ancient entity or curse that actively targets and possesses an individual. It’s a supernatural horror that stems from a tangible (if otherworldly) source, a malevolent will with a clear agenda, even if its motives are shrouded in mystery. The horror is much more direct, personified, and invasive, tied to a traditional creature feature mythos, albeit likely elevated by Cronin's style. You're not supposed to be here implies a violation of space, but "What happened to Katie?" implies a violation of self. The threat is not the environment but what has inhabited a person, transforming them into something monstrous. One is a nightmare location, the other is a nightmare being.

So, who picks which, and when should you watch both?

If you're a fan of atmospheric, slow-burn, psychological horror that feels experimental and genuinely unnerving, reach for Backrooms. If you love found footage, analog horror, and the dread of liminal spaces, or if the idea of a film rooted in internet lore excites you, this is your jam. Watch it late at night, in the dark, with good headphones, and prepare to have your brain pretzel-twisted. It's for those who appreciate terror that lingers, subtly distorting reality long after the credits roll.

If you’re craving a more direct, intense supernatural horror experience with a strong emotional core and visceral scares, Lee Cronin's The Mummy is probably your pick. If you enjoyed Cronin's work on Evil Dead Rise and appreciate a good possession story or a monster film that feels fresh but still taps into classic fears, this is the one for you. Watch it with friends who appreciate a good scare, maybe a little earlier in the evening, because it sounds like it’ll get under your skin in a very immediate way.

But here’s the kicker: watch both if you’re a horror enthusiast who loves to explore the different facets of dread. If you appreciate how filmmakers can take disparate concepts – an infinite empty space or an ancient curse – and weave them into profoundly unsettling narratives that tackle trauma, loss, and the breakdown of reality, then you absolutely owe it to yourself to experience both. They represent two fascinating, yet surprisingly complementary, approaches to modern horror, each delivering a unique brand of bewilderment and foreboding. You might just find yourself thinking about that 74% similarity index, and realizing issame.com was onto something all along.

FAQ

Are Backrooms and The Mummy really that similar given their different settings?

While their settings couldn't be more different (a suburban furniture showroom vs. the Egyptian desert), their core thematic similarities, particularly around psychological distress, family trauma, and an unknown, corrupting force, give them a high overlap. The feeling of bewilderment and foreboding is central to both experiences.

Which film is scarier for someone who dislikes jump scares?

Backrooms is likely to be the better choice if you dislike jump scares. Its horror is built on atmosphere, surrealism, and psychological dread, favoring a pervasive sense of unease over sudden frights. The Mummy, coming from the director of Evil Dead Rise, may lean more into intense, visceral scares, which could include jump scares or shocking moments.

Do these films feature similar types of "monsters"?

Not in appearance, but in their function and effect, there's a similarity. Backrooms' "monster" is more abstract, tied to the environment and the psychological disintegration it causes. The Mummy's monster is more a specific entity or curse that possesses and transforms. Both, however, are malevolent forces that prey on vulnerabilities and dismantle identities, rather than just being creatures to be outsmarted.

TL;DR

• issame.com's ~74% similarity is higher than it first seems, focusing on shared dread.
• Backrooms is atmospheric, psychological, found-footage horror based on internet lore, preying on internal trauma.
• The Mummy is intense, supernatural horror rooted in a family mystery and a physical possession/curse.
• **Key Overlap: ** Both films weaponize deeply personal trauma through an external, corrupting, and unknowable force.
• **Key Difference: ** Backrooms' horror is a malevolent place; The Mummy's horror is a malevolent entity.
• Watch Backrooms for existential dread; The Mummy for direct supernatural terror; watch both to appreciate varied approaches to profound psychological horror.

This product uses the TMDB API but is not endorsed or certified by TMDB. Editorial disclosure: this comparison was drafted by AI using TMDB data and may contain errors—see Disclaimer.