Fred Asquith On Film

Unpacking BACKROOMS (Spoiler-Free), Ranting about BOND Casting + Mini Darling gets Letterboxd!

Fred Asquith On Film

Show Notes

Today on FoF we enter the BACKROOMS, a new horror(?) movie directed by Kane Parsons off the back of a very successful YouTube mini-series of the same name. I review it's visual and tonal strengths, whilst discussing why I think it is lacking in the scares department. This review is SPOILER FREE, but in this case that means providing context on what you may already know from the general YouTube mini-series premise, as well as what is shown in the trailer (which isn't much). I also find time to have a quick rant about how long the Bond casting is taking, before letting you in on a little secret about my new baby's Letterboxd account!!!!

SUBSCRIBE and join the FoF Family! RATE & REVIEW! ("FoF IS ON THE UP") EXPLORE the FoF socials via my creepy website ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://fredasquith.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

TIMESTAMPS (00:00) Intro (00:59) Origin / Context about Backrooms (Important) (03:33) Synopsis & Set Up (04:21) The Therapisation of Horror (05:28) Strong foundational premise (06:24) Strong visuals & initial tone (07:50) Not scary enough (09:35) Found footage sequences (10:30) Over explanation diluting the horror (12:25) The evil presence was not revealed effectively (14:11) Something’s been lost from the original image/series (18:10) Visual strengths (18:52) The performances are strong (19:43) Which audience will this work for? (20:23) Summary & Letterboxd Rating https://boxd.it/ewY8Qz (21:07) The FoF Disclaimer - (21:21) Bond Casting RANT (23:31) Mini Darling’s Letterboxd!!? (26:28) Next week…

More from Fred Asquith On Film

Oct 19, 2026

This week on FoF we mourn (and celebrate) the passing of LFF by doing a nice little debrief of my most overrated, underrated, surprising and disappointing movies at the festival. I also tell the story of the most annoying audience member of the whole 10 days. We then move on to review 2 movies released this week that Premiered at the festival. First there’s Wildwood, which rallies against the ever looming slop. Then there’s Fatherland, a heartfelt vignette about a time and place not often depicted. As always, send in your voice note hot takes which I will hope to get back to next week! Any annoying LFF screenings, thoughts on the Oscar race now we’ve seen some of the contenders? Or any other business…go wild! https://memo.fm/fredasquithonfilm/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Timestamps below.

Oct 14, 2026

This week on FoF we dive DEEP into the review of Whalefall, watch out for my spoiler-free section of the review in the timestamps before touching on some minor spoilers later on. I then give a run down of some of my favourite Ocean-based movies and NO, Castaway doesn't count. We finish off with a very thought-provoking voice note hot take about Cruise's Oscar chances, and the nature of "Oscar Bait" performances. Timestamps below.

Oct 7, 2026

This week on FoF we reckon with The Social Reckoning, Aaron Sorkin's spiritual follow-up to The Social Network, discussing why I think Aaron Sorkin may not be the best director for his own writing. We also touch on Verity which came out last week (minor spoilers for Verity) where I fiercely defend the erotic-thriller's right to be actually good. We then have a cracking voice note about the best nightclub scenes in movies where I get over excited about Black Swan, before finishing off with a PSA about the upcoming London Film Festival and what common viral condition to be aware of that I'm coining as "Film Festival-itis"! Timestamps below.

Sep 29, 2026

This week on FoF I'M NOT HERE!* And yet we STILL dig up Tom Cruise’s new outing DIGGER, one of the toughest movies to review in FoF history... I also give my personal take on Tom Cruise’s filmography and what I see to be 3 clear phases. We then do a Tom Cruise fOfSCARS awarding all your favourite Oscar categories to the Tom Cruise filmography, before finishing off with some really interesting listener voice notes about AI and Objectivity vs Subjectivity. Timestamps below.

Sep 21, 2026

This week on FoF we sense a sensible review incoming of the new Jane Austen adaptation Sense & Sensibility. I dive into the performances, cinematography, and whether I felt it landed the emotional plane at the end. I also give a quick nod to Babystar which is a movie I think is worth your acknowledgement. We finally return to the Voice Note Hot Take well and give our favourite listener Thomas some new recommendations - including my favourite film of all time There Will Be Blood. Timestamps below.

See all episodes →