Beyond the Backrooms: Best 10 Liminal Space Movies to Watch

You know that feeling. That quiet hum of an empty hallway, the fluorescent glow of a deserted office building at 3 AM, or the unsettling vastness of a forgotten mall. It's the uncanny valley of architecture, a space designed for transition but frozen in time. A24's Backrooms (2026) nailed it, but the concept of liminal space in film isn't new – it's a timeless cinematic tool for evoking dread, nostalgia, and existential unease.

What is a liminal space movie and why do we love them?

A liminal space movie is a film that prominently features environments that are transitional, in-between, or abandoned, evoking a sense of unease, disorientation, or nostalgia. These spaces often feel familiar yet alien, devoid of people, and exist on the threshold of something else, tapping into a deep psychological resonance within viewers.

The term "liminal" comes from the Latin word limen, meaning "a threshold." Anthropologically, it describes a transitional stage in a ritual or life event – think of a teenager who is no longer a child but not yet an adult. In architectural terms, it's a place of passage: hallways, stairwells, empty waiting rooms, abandoned shopping centers. When a film leans into this aesthetic, it taps into a primal human discomfort with the undefined, the in-between. It’s a space where the rules of reality feel slightly bent, where time seems to stretch or stand still. The success of Backrooms (2026) proved just how potent this concept is, drawing millions into its unsettling yellow-tinged labyrinth.

The Psychology of the Uncanny

There's a reason these spaces give you chills. Our brains are wired to find meaning and purpose in environments. When we encounter a space that seems to defy that – a playground without children, a hotel lobby without guests – it creates cognitive dissonance. This visual paradox is often amplified by subtle sound design, disorienting camera angles, and ambiguous narratives, pushing us to question what's real and what's just beyond the frame.

10 Liminal Space Movies That Go Beyond the Backrooms (2026)

Many films explore the unsettling nature of liminality, extending far beyond the viral phenomenon of The Backrooms. These ten movies, spanning various genres, masterfully craft environments that feel like thresholds to somewhere else, or nowhere at all, often leaving you with a lingering sense of disquiet.

1. The Shining (1980)

Stanley Kubrick's The Shining is a masterclass in using an isolated, sprawling hotel as a liminal character. The Overlook Hotel, with its endless, empty corridors, cavernous ballrooms, and labyrinthine hedge maze, is a perfect example of a liminal space that slowly drives its inhabitants to madness. The off-season emptiness, the snow-bound isolation, and the hotel's own unsettling history create a perpetual state of in-betweenness, where the past bleeds into the present.

• Why it feels liminal: The sprawling, deserted halls of the Overlook, the eerie quiet, and the sense of being trapped between seasons and realities make it a quintessential liminal space. The hotel is a character itself, existing in a state of suspended animation, waiting for its next victims.

2. Vivarium (2019)

Vivarium strands a couple in a suburban housing development where every house looks identical, and escape seems impossible. This film epitomizes the suburban purgatory aspect of liminal spaces, where the familiar becomes terrifyingly monotonous and inescapable. The perfectly manicured, yet utterly lifeless, streets and homes create a chilling sense of being stuck in a perpetual, artificial transition.

• Why it feels liminal: The endless, identical houses, the artificial sky, and the inability to leave create a powerful feeling of being trapped in a manufactured, transitional space with no clear beginning or end. It's a nightmare version of a housing development, a place where life is simulated but never truly lived.

3. Lost in Translation (2003)

Sofia Coppola's Lost in Translation uses the bustling yet isolating backdrop of Tokyo to explore emotional liminality. The characters Bob and Charlotte find themselves in a foreign land, feeling adrift and disconnected, in a temporary state between their old lives and whatever comes next. The hotel rooms, karaoke bars, and city streets are transient spaces that mirror their internal states of longing and uncertainty.

• Why it feels liminal: The film perfectly captures the feeling of being in a foreign city, jet-lagged and disoriented, where every space feels temporary and detached. The hotel, in particular, serves as a waiting room for lives on pause.

4. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

Stanley Kubrick’s epic features numerous liminal environments, from the sterile, silent interiors of the Discovery One spaceship to the iconic Star Gate sequence. These spaces are not just functional; they are thresholds to new levels of consciousness and existence, stripped of human comfort and filled with an unsettling, almost sacred, emptiness. The spaceship is a vessel between worlds, a technological cathedral in the void.

• Why it feels liminal: The vast, silent emptiness of space, the geometrically perfect but sterile ship interiors, and the abstract, transitional journey through the Star Gate all evoke profound liminality, pushing humanity to its next stage.

5. Exit 8 (2025)

Adapted from the viral Japanese game, Exit 8 plunges you into a repeating underground passageway from which escape is only possible by noticing subtle, terrifying anomalies. This film is a pure distillation of liminal horror, turning a mundane underpass into an endless loop of dread. The fluorescent lights and concrete walls become a cage, and the subtle shifts hint at a reality far more sinister.

• Why it feels liminal: The endlessly looping corridor, the subtle shifts in environment, and the sense of being trapped in a mundane yet terrifying purgatory make Exit 8 a modern classic of the genre. It's a true Backrooms successor.

6. Session 9 (2001)

Set in an abandoned mental asylum, Session 9 uses its decaying, vast, and silent environment to create an atmosphere of profound psychological unease. The asylum itself is a relic of a forgotten past, a place where suffering lingered, and its empty halls become a character, slowly unraveling the sanity of the asbestos removal crew working within. It's a place where time and trauma are palpable.

• Why it feels liminal: The derelict asylum, a place of past suffering and present decay, is the ultimate transitional space – caught between its horrifying history and an uncertain future, haunting those who enter.

7. Under the Skin (2013)

Jonathan Glazer's Under the Skin features an alien predator navigating the mundane, often empty, landscapes of Scotland. The film uses desolate roads, isolated interiors, and a chilling, black void to create a sense of profound otherworldliness and detachment. The human world is observed through a liminal lens, familiar yet utterly alien, as the protagonist moves through it like a ghost.

• Why it feels liminal: The alien protagonist moves through ordinary human spaces with a detached, observational gaze, transforming them into uncanny, transitional zones where she hunts her prey. The black void is the ultimate liminal trap.

8. Synecdoche, New York (2008)

Charlie Kaufman's masterpiece is a meta-narrative about a theater director building an increasingly elaborate, life-sized replica of New York City inside a warehouse. The entire film becomes a sprawling, ever-changing liminal space, a labyrinthine stage for life itself. It's a world within a world, a space of creation and decay, where the boundaries between reality and artifice blur completely. You'll definitely need a Smart Watchlist for this one.

• Why it feels liminal: The ever-expanding, decaying theater set that mirrors life itself is the ultimate conceptual liminal space, where identities and realities are constantly in flux, caught between creation and destruction.

9. Carnival of Souls (1962)

This low-budget horror gem follows a woman haunted by a ghostly organist after a car accident. She finds herself drawn to an abandoned carnival on the outskirts of a town, a place frozen in time. The deserted amusement park, the empty streets, and the unsettling feeling of being an unseen observer create a pervasive sense of liminality and existential dread. It's a classic example of empty aesthetic movies.

• Why it feels liminal: The abandoned carnival, the deserted town, and the protagonist's detached experience of the world create a haunting, dreamlike liminality where she feels like a ghost moving through life.

10. Strawberry Mansion (2021)

This surreal sci-fi romance follows a dream auditor who falls for a woman whose dreams he is auditing. The film's aesthetic is a vibrant, retro-futuristic fever dream, featuring bizarre, unsettlingly empty dreamscapes and a sense of being perpetually on the edge of consciousness. It's a world of surreal environments, where reality is constantly shifting and subjective.

• Why it feels liminal: The film exists almost entirely within dreams and the spaces between them, creating a whimsical yet unsettling liminality where the subconscious and conscious worlds constantly merge and diverge.

The Lingering Echoes of Liminality

These films understand that the most unsettling spaces aren't always dark and monstrous; sometimes, they're just empty. They're the places where you expect life, but find only stillness. They're the thresholds where one thing ends and another hasn't quite begun. They’re the places that make you feel like your soul has been left somewhere in the past, evoking painful nostalgia and an amazing array of colors in their liminal spaces.

If you find yourself drawn to these disorienting movies and the existential dread they inspire, you're not alone. The power of liminal space movies lies in their ability to tap into our shared human experience of transition, uncertainty, and the uncanny. [Cineswipe] (https://cineswipe.app) helps you discover more films like these, understanding your unique preferences.

Finding your next liminal fix is easier than you think. Just tell Cinebot you're in the mood for something intense but subtly unsettling, maybe a film with a surreal environment or uncanny spaces, and it'll surface your perfect match. Cineswipe's AI-powered movie recommendations learn your taste, ensuring you spend less time scrolling and more time watching the films that truly resonate.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What movie is based on liminal spaces?

A24's The Backrooms (2026), directed by Kane Parsons, is the most prominent recent film directly based on the viral creepypasta and web series about liminal spaces. It depicts an endless maze of yellow-tinted office-like rooms, capturing the eerie essence of the concept for a mainstream audience. Another anticipated film, The Pools (2026), is also inspired by The Backrooms' "Poolrooms" concept.

What is the best liminal space movie?

The "best" liminal space movie is subjective, as different films explore liminality in unique ways. The Shining (1980) is often cited for its masterful use of the isolated Overlook Hotel as a psychologically unsettling, transitional space. For modern takes, Vivarium (2019) and Exit 8 (2025) offer pure, inescapable liminal horror. Your personal preference will likely depend on whether you prefer psychological dread, surrealism, or straight-up horror.

What is the movie with the yellow rooms?

The movie with the yellow rooms that gained significant attention recently is The Backrooms (2026). This A24 production brings the internet phenomenon of an endless, yellow-carpeted office maze to the big screen, embodying the classic visual of a liminal space. It's the film that truly popularized the visual aesthetic of the creepypasta for a broader audience.

What is the psychology behind liminal spaces?

The psychology behind liminal spaces stems from our innate desire for order and purpose in environments. When we encounter spaces designed for transition (like hallways or waiting rooms) that are eerily empty or abandoned, our brains struggle to find meaning, leading to feelings of unease, disorientation, and sometimes nostalgia. These spaces tap into our anxieties about the unknown and the in-between, evoking a subtle sense of existential dread.

What are some examples of liminal spaces in film?

Film is rich with liminal spaces. Iconic examples include the deserted Overlook Hotel in The Shining, the repeating suburban streets in Vivarium, the sterile spaceship interiors in 2001: A Space Odyssey, and the endless looping corridor in Exit 8. Even the dreamscapes of Strawberry Mansion and the alien-observed mundane settings of Under the Skin contribute to a feeling of being in an unsettling, transitional environment.

Is The Shining a liminal space movie?

Absolutely. The Shining is a prime example of a liminal space movie. The Overlook Hotel, with its vast, empty corridors, off-season isolation, and sense of being a place where past events linger, perfectly embodies the concept. It's a space that feels suspended between time and reality, acting as a powerful psychological force on its characters and deeply contributing to the film's pervasive sense of dread and unsettling atmosphere.

If these films resonate with you, tell Cinebot you're looking for something with unsettling empty space horror, or films that feel like a journey through a disorienting, surreal environment. It'll understand exactly what you mean.