# [The peeling wallpaper of a decaying world](https://theunderline.substack.com/p/the-peeling-wallpaper-of-a-decaying)
[Danny Sullivan](https://substack.com/@theunderline)  
Jun 15  
44  
4  
15

Backrooms, Covid, video games, slop, and the future of film

[Read →](https://theunderline.substack.com/p/the-peeling-wallpaper-of-a-decaying)

### Comments

#### [J. Mulepati](https://substack.com/profile/23951888-j-mulepati?utm_source=substack-feed-item)
[15h](https://theunderline.substack.com/p/the-peeling-wallpaper-of-a-decaying/comment/281629026 "Jun 23, 2026, 8:20 PM")

I had to take this one in chunks, because so many ideas were crammed in. That's not a criticism. I'm just noting how I had to parse it, and I love that the film called so many interesting comparisons to mind. The video game thread stands out to me, because while the whole idea of noclipping is immediately recognizable, I never thought about how a game context would compel Clark to explore. I also loved the asset dump idea.

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#### [Ken Baumann](https://substack.com/profile/73137823-ken-baumann?utm_source=substack-feed-item)
[3d](https://theunderline.substack.com/p/the-peeling-wallpaper-of-a-decaying/comment/280489094 "Jun 21, 2026, 10:30 PM")

This is thoughtful and articulate and cool as hell. A good trio of works to read together. I do not envy those newly 20!

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#### [Danny Sullivan](https://substack.com/profile/5266134-danny-sullivan?utm_source=substack-feed-item)
[2d](https://theunderline.substack.com/p/the-peeling-wallpaper-of-a-decaying/comment/280712325 "Jun 22, 2026, 10:16 AM")

Thanks man, appreciate it! All those hours of Half Life 2 and Left 4 Dead finally pay off.

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#### [S. MacPavel](https://substack.com/profile/13659914-s-macpavel?utm_source=substack-feed-item)
[7d](https://theunderline.substack.com/p/the-peeling-wallpaper-of-a-decaying/comment/278014352 "Jun 17, 2026, 1:02 PM") Edited

Haven't seen the movie, but from the description, especially the end where the room slowly dissolves to nothing, I'm reminded of "The Langoliers" and the same sense of emptiness and dissolution. Seems like there are too many similarities to be pure coincidence. We could probably stretch this back even further to the underworld of Hades and forgetting that comes with drinking from the river Lethe and the slow dissolution of what was once a life. I think one key rule would be to not eat anything you find.