Backrooms

BACKROOMS editor Greg Ng joins The Rough Cut to discuss cutting a film built around liminal spaces, analog horror, slow-burn tension and the challenge of turning an internet-born phenomenon into a feature-length cinematic experience. Directed by Kane Parsons, BACKROOMS expands on the world Parsons first created through his viral YouTube videos, where endless yellow corridors, fluorescent hums, distorted VHS textures and uncanny architecture became the foundation for a very specific kind of dread. The feature stars Chiwetel Ejiofor as Clark, a furniture store owner whose discovery of a strange passageway pulls him into the Backrooms. Co-starring with Ejiofor is Renate Reinsve as Mary, his therapist, whose role in the story grows increasingly central as the film moves deeper into questions of memory, perception and psychological uncertainty. One of the biggest challenges was finding the right editorial language for a film where the space itself often functions as a main character. Greg discusses how the film's pacing intentionally allows characters to move through the Backrooms in near real time, preserving the hypnotic quality of Kane's original work. Rather than cutting quickly from one dramatic beat to the next, the edit often lets the audience remain inside the space long enough for the atmosphere, sound and uncertainty to take hold.

Based out of Vancouver, British Columbia. Greg tries to maintain a balanced diet of both narrative and documentary editing, and periodically writes about himself in the third person. He is an alumnus of the Canadian Film Centre and a member of the Canadian Cinema Editors, ACFC, IATSE, the VPA, and other organizations with acronyms. When his nephew asked him what editing movies was like, he said it's just like playing with Legos, but with videos and emotions instead. In addition to these biographical details, Greg has won several awards for editing, which have validated his professional insecurities and made him feel warm and fuzzy inside. Some recent credits include LONGLEGS, THE MONKEY, and KEEPER. Visit ExtremeMusic for all your production audio needs. Subscribe to The Rough Cut podcast and never miss an episode. Visit The Rough Cut on YouTube.