[Edaily Starin YUN GI BACK Reporter] As August draws to a close at the box office, there are many ways to beat the heat. One option is to head into a cool theater and watch two horror movies that will send chills down your spine. “The Back Room: Extended Cut,” which opened on the 19th, and “Insidious: They’ve Come,” which opened on the 20th, are waiting for late-summer moviegoers.
Although both are horror films, they scare audiences in different ways. While “The Backroom: Extended Cut” delves into the eerie unease that arises from familiar spaces, “Insidious: They’ve Come Over” focuses on the terror of supernatural entities invading the real world.

◇Familiar Spaces Turn into Horror… “The Back Room: Extended Cut”
The starting point for *The Backroom: Extended Cut* is the famous urban legend “The Backroom,” which originated on the internet. Endless yellow walls, fluorescent lights, and a hallway leading to an unknown destination. The unsettling strangeness of a space where people should be but are not is at the heart of the horror. “The Back Room: Extended Cut” is a version that includes 16 minutes of previously unreleased footage added after the end credits.
Rather than constantly startling the audience with ghosts or jump scares, it treats the “space” itself as the source of horror. Though it looks like an ordinary interior, the inability to find an exit and the repetition of the same location cause the rules of reality to gradually crumble. Even in moments when nothing appears, an anxiety lingers—the feeling that “something must be out there somewhere.”
It’s particularly interesting that an internet urban legend—one that grew as online users shared images and added to its lore—has now made its way to the big screen. “The Backroom” brings to the screen a sense of horror created by a new generation familiar with YouTube and online culture.

◇This Time, They’re Coming Over… “Insidious”
While “The Back Room” showcases the fears of a new generation, “Insidious: Beyond” marks the return of a familiar horror franchise. The “Insidious” series has long captivated horror fans with its portrayal of a world beyond reality and the malevolent spirits that inhabit it.
In this film as well, the horror begins when the boundary between reality—which was believed to be safe—and the world beyond collapses. It contrasts with “The Back Room,” where the audience enters an unknown space, in that here, an unknown entity crosses over into the human world.
Another highlight is the thrill of classic horror, which builds tension through the film’s signature sound design and jump scares. By constantly making viewers suspect a corner of the screen only to unleash terror at an unexpected moment, it captures the essence of a theater experience—where you share the surprise and tension with fellow audience members.
If you prefer a style where you’re gradually consumed by eerie spaces and an indescribable sense of unease, I recommend *The Back Room: Extended Cut*; if you’re looking for intense moments of terror and the thrill of classic horror, I recommend *Insidious: They’ve Come Over*.