CineCrossroads: “Backrooms,” “The Maltese Falcon,” and “Minions & Monsters”

Movie of the Week — Backrooms (2026)

A strange passage appears in the basement of a furniture store. Beyond it lies an endless maze of empty rooms, yellow walls, stained carpets, and flickering fluorescent lights.

Clark enters this space and finds himself trapped. His therapist, Mary, is also drawn into the mystery as she tries to understand what happened to him and whether there is a way back.

The horror of Backrooms comes not only from what may be hiding around the next corner. The rooms themselves pose the greatest threat. They resemble offices, hotels, warehouses, and shopping centers, but there are no people, windows, or clear purpose.

Director Kane Parsons shaped the modern image of Backrooms through his popular analog horror series on YouTube. The concept began as an internet legend based on the idea that a person could accidentally slip out of reality and enter a vast complex of empty transitional spaces. Parsons expanded on the idea by adding disappearances, mysterious creatures, and attempts to explore another world.

Classic Pick — The Maltese Falcon (1941)

Private detective Sam Spade takes on what initially appears to be a routine case. He is approached by a mysterious woman named Brigid O’Shaughnessy. Soon, Spade’s partner is murdered, and several dangerous strangers become involved in the search for a valuable statuette known as the Maltese Falcon.

Everyone tells a different version of events. Each person offers Spade money, threatens him, or makes promises. No one can be trusted, not even the client who first brought the case to his office. The Falcon itself proves less important than what people are willing to do to obtain it, especially since most of them have never even seen it.

The Maltese Falcon marked John Huston’s feature directorial debut and was based on Dashiell Hammett’s 1930 novel of the same name. Through sharp dialogue, confined interiors, smoke-filled rooms, and characters frequently hidden in shadow, Huston created a dark and morally ambiguous world. The film became one of the defining early works of film noir.

The film received three Academy Award nominations: Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor for Sydney Greenstreet, and Best Screenplay for Huston.

Family Choice — Minions & Monsters (2026)

The Minions return, and this time they find themselves in 1920s Hollywood.

James, the most creative of the Minions, becomes fascinated by the new world of cinema and decides to make his own monster movie. His best friends, Henry and Ed, join him in the adventure. However, artificial creatures and studio effects do not seem convincing enough. Their search for real monsters quickly gets out of control, and the Minions must save the world from the chaos they created themselves.

Younger viewers will be entertained by the absurd scenes, strange twists, and jokes that need no translation. Adults will notice references to the silent film era, classic horror movies, and the history of cinema.

At its heart, Minions & Monsters is a story about finding one’s true calling. The characters no longer want to simply serve another villain. They want to create something of their own.

You can read last week’s edition of CineCrossroads here.