Movies
[Slamdance Review] ‘Dave Made a Maze’ Is What Cult Classics Are Made Of
There are a few sequences of words that no writer ever imagines that he or she will have to type one day. For instance, “Donald Trump succeeds Barrack Obama as the next President of the United States” and “Bill Waterson’s first feature film, Dave Made a Maze, can only be described as a comedic retelling of Mark Danielewski’s terrifying House of Leaves,” are two equally absurd statements. Nevertheless, we somehow live in a world where both of these assertions are entirely true.
Dave Made a Maze stars Nick Thune as the titular Dave, a struggling artist that never seems to complete his projects. However, when his girlfriend Annie, played by Meera Rohit Kumbhani, leaves him to his own devices for the weekend, Dave constructs a physics-defying cardboard labyrinth in their living room. When Annie returns to find her boyfriend lost within his own booby-trapped maze, she, alongside a peculiar band of friends and acquaintances, embarks on a quest to rescue Dave before it’s too late.
From the nonchalant introduction to the deadly maze to the collection of quirky characters that show up to save Dave, it’s quite clear from the very beginning that this isn’t your average comedy experience. The clever writing, off-beat soundtrack and meticulously crafted cardboard sets and “creatures” make this one of the most original and entertaining films in recent memory, in spite of (or perhaps even due to) its shoestring budget.
The story itself isn’t all that deep, despite the obvious House of Leaves influences, especially considering how the reasoning behind the maze’s supernatural properties isn’t properly delved into. That being said, the characters are what make this journey worth the price of admission. Bumbling documentary crews, displaced homeless people and slacker friends make for an extremely interesting rescue party. Dave and Annie are also surprisingly compelling, as Nick and Meera have great chemistry together, and the script gives everyone a moment to shine.
Even with the obvious adventure movie vibe, Dave Made a Maze has some solid roots in the horror genre, with creepy cardboard puppet people and a monstrous minotaur creature stalking the characters as they delve deeper into the labyrinth. The film is also exceptionally gory in parts, but the use of red yarn and other household materials as substitutes for blood help make the deaths seem a lot more fun, rather than off-putting. The brief stop-motion and hand-puppet segments can also be quite eerie, though the film still retains that charming, adventurous atmosphere.
In the end, your enjoyment of Dave Made a Maze will depend on your compatibility with Waterson’s odd brand of humor. There aren’t that many laugh-out-loud gags present throughout the film, but there’s a perpetual sense of ridiculousness behind everything that happens to these characters. If you can appreciate that, like I most certainly did, then this movie has the potential to become a cult classic among horror and adventure movie fans alike. At the very least, you’ll think twice before messing around with cardboard in the near future.
Dave Made a Maze premiered at the Slamdance Film Festival on January 21st.
Judging from the unprecedented box office success of Kane Parsons’ Backrooms adaptation, you’ve likely already seen the liminal horror hit that managed to make audiences afraid of empty hallways and bad wallpaper. And now that so many of us have already entered the yellow labyrinth (some of us more than once), the time has come to discuss the spoiler-filled details that make the movie so fascinating in the first place.
And if there’s one element here that makes the Backrooms movie stand out from any previous lore/mythology, it has to be the genius addition of the Still Life entities. Warped recreations of real people that somehow wandered into the Complex, these misremembered creatures are responsible for some of the most disturbing imagery of 2026 – as well as laugh-out-loud memes created by one of the film’s very own concept artists.
However, true to Parsons’ word that the movie would rely heavily on practical effects, each of these distorted monsters was brought to life by real actors under heavy layers of makeup and prosthetics (with the occasional splash of CGI enhancements). While Anora and If I Had Legs I’d Kick You actress Ivy Wolk wasn’t among these performers, despite what Letterboxd might have you believe, the creature cast did benefit from veteran players with plenty of genre experience.
For starters, Alien: Romulus alumni Robert Bobroczkyi (who previously brought that film’s horrific Offspring to life during its most memorable sequence) plays the flick’s main antagonist, the Still Life version of Captain Clark. And though there was some obvious CGI involved in making the character’s peg-leg and nightmarish face more believable, Bobroczkyi’s monstrous performance and his natural 7’7″ frame helped to make that final chase sequence a clear highlight among this year’s genre offerings.
The film’s Texas-Chain-Saw-inspired “dinner” scene also features a freaky collection of less-aggressive Still Life creatures in the form of the Bearded Man, the Red-Headed Woman and, strangest of them all, the cheekily named “Archibald Leland Sutter Still Life” (who earned this title among fans and crewmembers as a reference to his apparent affinity for lamps).
While this was the first major horror outing for both Patrick Baynham (The Bearded Man) and Dana Mahmood (Archibald), Rhiannon Roberts has worked as a stunt performer in everything from Yellowjackets to HBO’s The Last of Us adaptation – which is probably why The Red-Headed Woman is the most active out of Clark’s impromptu “family.” That being said, the Archibald Leland Sutter Still Life is my personal favorite of the bunch simply because his anachronistic outfit suggests that the Backrooms phenomenon might be a lot older than the Async Foundation. I also love how hard he tries to be helpful with that little light of his!
That might be it for the Still Life entities, but I think horror fans will also be pleased to hear that the film’s Found Footage prologue stars none other than Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City star Avan Jogia as Naren Warne – and American Mary herself Katharine Isabelle also shows up in a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo at Mary’s house party towards the middle of the story (though I have a feeling that she originally had a bigger part that was likely cut for time).
At the end of the day, Parsons’ Backrooms may have been an auteur-driven project motivated by the young director’s unique take on the classic creepypasta, but film has always been a collective artform, so it’s fun to see just how many talented performers it takes to bring this kind of supernatural nightmare to life in a way that connects with so many people.
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