Film Theory: Is This the NEXT Backrooms? (The Oldest View) 

I wonder if the closet that MatPat sometimes records videos in is somehow connected to The Backrooms?

Finding out the mall being a real thing was the most unreal thing ever.

I think it's important to note that while Wyatt was studying Botany, he mentions that he actually switched over to studying Business, which could be significant in explaining why the Rolling Giant targeted Wyatt. For instance, since Wyatt changed his major from Botany to Business, he made himself part of the world--the business word-- that would play a role in the desertion and destruction of the mall; Wyatt's fate may be a direct consequence of straying from studying Botany and switching interests to Business.

I didn't get goosebumps until you said the entire mall is CGI... that is so incredibly impressive.

Gotta admit, seeing Kane Pixels explore the genre that he’s made so popular, it is so rad, and so cool.

It's insane that Kane Pixels' version of a break is to just make another impressive series.

The scariest part of the giant is that it constantly feed you false information about itself so that it can create a false sense of security. It then breaks this sense of security violently, creating even more dread than it normally would. For example, it convinced our dude that it won't move at first, but then it did. Then, it convinced him it won't move on sight, then it did again. Then, it convinced him that there's no way it can go up an escalator, which it did yet again. At last, it convinced him that he's dealing with some kind of statues on wheels, but then it reveals that it can literally come off its base. Truly terrifying.

So the mall is buried at the base of a tree. It's a grave. Wow. Cemeteries are places of great sadness, but they're also places where you honor the dead. Gives me chills. Hold on to what you can, but you have to let go of what you can't in a way that honors its memory.

I seriously could’t tell if the place was actually real or not until all the trees appeared everywhere. It looks so unbelievable real. First he mastered the old camcorder look in the backrooms and now he’s mastered the modern phone camera look. This kid is ridiculously talented, I’m glad he’s getting his movie career started this early on, he’s going to be very successful no matter what he decides to do with his life

What I love about The Oldest View is that this mall has been demolished and exists no where but in Kanes renders. In a Wendigoon video, he says a friend got him all the blueprints for it so this man literally REBUILT the mall in a digital space.

Wow, I was surprised to see my comment at 7:13. I just wanted to say that since leaving that comment, I have been increasingly invested in this series and watch any video I'm recommended that has anything to do with it. It's so weird to say that a story being told with horror themes has become a comfort series to me but it has. I don't have crystal clear memories of what stores my grandmother and I went to as I mostly visited this mall under the age of 10, but I do remember how much joy going shopping with her gave me. I spent some of the best days of my life there. I am grateful for Kane and his friend who helped him create the mall by hand. I have some of my own theories on the giant, I do not think that being was out to harm Wyatt at all. In my opinion, it seemed to be trying to herd Wyatt towards the emergency exit. In the part where Wyatt comes out of the back halls and starts running through the overgrown mall, you can even see a very brief and blurred glimpse at silhouettes of some other puppets blocking off another wing of the mall so Wyatt has to go up the escalators. There's also what sounds like funeral music playing during this part, as if Wyatt's time was up. And if your deduction that the document numbers relate directly to the dates, Julian's lifetime was the number for an escape. Any time he showed up, it was in a place where Wyatt wandered off from the AMC elevator access or in a place that forced Wyatt to move in the direction towards the exit. As the mall got worse, the giant got more aggressive about pushing Wyatt out. I do have questions as to why the giant is also "dead" in the ending scene. Perhaps with Wyatt dying, no one would ever view the giant again. So every memory of him is now dead. I do truly hope Kane revisits this series in the future so we get more hints as to the story hidden here. I hope he's so proud of this work.

Speaking of impermanence. I think we can all agree that, with Matthew soon retiring, this analogy horror's true story & purpose hits more at home than it did before.

It's honestly pretty crazy that my childhood mall is now apart of this big 'analog horror lore'. Glad I decided to document the mall 6 years ago on my channel before it was demolished, It really was a strange feeling walking through Valley View pretty much all to myself, very eerie yet nostalgic, I remember the day vividly.

Id just like to point out that Wyatt actually escaped twice, but decided to go a third time and gets trapped, this man had 3 separate chances to leave the spooky hole alone and he couldn't.

I could totally envision these analog horror series being used to teach the future generations "Old Content" similar to the way we study "old literature" and Matpat's videos being used as we use the guide books and breakdowns of various famous historical pieces lol

Another interesting detail is that Wyatt *used* to be a botany major, but changed his major to business, adding to the idea that the botanist is a part of the past, but it still informs the present and has a lingering effect

I think one element that really lends credence to the idea of "accepting the impermanence" as a central theme for the oldest view is the fact that Wyatt is allowed to enter and then leave the mall once before it traps him inside. It's like whatever power created it allows visitors to enter once and experience something lost to us, but if they try to keep coming back, it will devour them. It works as a good metaphor for people being stuck in the past and in the way things were, and the consequences of being like them.

I’m from Dallas, and I have to say- the way Kane depicted the Valley View Mall is *perfect*. I literally felt like I was there

16:05 foreshadowing for his own retirement is crazy

No way!! I recognized right away that this was filmed at a mall in my home town! I did a film camp there a month or so before it shut down, and it was so surreal seeing it again all decrepit like that. The movie theater stayed open longer than the mall itself, so you could come in and look out onto the abandoned food court, which gave such a strange feeling since I had eaten lunch there every day for two weeks. So cool that it's being memorialized in a big series like this! RIP Valley View, sorry you could never compete with the Galleria.

Honestly this series is amazing it’s impressive how Kane found so many photos of the rolling giant despite how poorly documented it was

If Matt fell into Backrooms, he would peacefully try to ask entities about the _LORE_

I was lucky to be inside Valley View Center a few years ago. Everything was abandoned while the AMC remained open for a while. The atmosphere stood out a lot to me so I immediately recognized it in the Oldest View. I’m sad to hear it got taken down

14:54 AYO ITS ME LETS GOOOO

As a games designer, getting a theory on one of my projects is a massive thing on my bucket list. It really is a coveted honour to get a theory created about your work.

To anyone interested in this series and the backstory behind it. Wendigoon recently reacted to this series with Kane Pixel and Alex Kister, the creator of Mandela Catalogue, being in a discord call. When they weren't tormenting Wendigoon, Kane would talk about the behind the scenes and making of the video while giving lore about the giant statue itself. Also apparently people on tiktok saw the second video and thought this was real child trafficking hidden mall underground.

Imagine dying and becoming a giant art project monster in an arg, honesty if that's not my legacy then I don't want one 😤🔥💯

Truly appreciate you making these videos. Everything I watch a creepy pasta video I'm like "can't wait for matpat to make this make sense" lol

I have legitimately had dreams about concrete staircases descending underneath trees, as well as a nightmare about being chased by a witch through the aisles of am underground mall, when I was younger. The oldest view touched a fear buried way too deep in my subconscious.

I’m super impressed with Kane Pixels. Each series he makes he’s never disappointed. His editing, voice acting, suspension, emotion, he all somehow perfects in. Massive respect for him.

I used to live in an apartment complex a five minutes walk from valley view! I would go there often, and by the time I reached high school, it was depressingly empty, with only a few small shops left open. The galleria had opened up just a few blocks away. I even spent my fifteenth birthday there, wandering the all too quiet place with a school friend. It’s so surreal to see it again

I really like the backrooms, But “the oldest view” is honestly amazing and I love it.

I've been to this mall before it was torn down! It was so surreal watching The Oldest View and seeing Kane perfectly recreate the broken down AMC that I used to explore.

Hard to believe Kane Pixels went all the way from making 3d aot animations to being so big of a channel

I actually love the fact of how the oldest view is leaned toward nostalgia whilst the name "the oldest view" could be like a saying of nostalgia because like its old and alot of old things that some don't remember its nostalgic and it just makes you feel warm and cozy from viewing it. cause thats what nostalgia is about.

You know this message is really good to keep in mind especially with Matt stepping down from the channels I don’t know if you did it on purpose Matt but I applaud you nonetheless. Thank you.

I'm honestly hoping that, at some point, that Kane will give us the same type of series but with a protagonist who's competent, aggressive, and unafraid. Someone who wouldn't run scared and disoriented and would instead ball up and come out swinging.

For anyone else who was wandering what the twig was at 10:28. It’s called Yellow Pimpernel. A pollinator in the Parsley family. And it’s native to Texas.

I like what the philosopher Stefan Molyneux said a while back about excessive nostalgia: (Paraphrasing) "If you find yourself overly attached and nostalgic about something from your childhood, constantly looking back at it with great fondness, it means that you left something behind that you've got to go back and get. You left some positivity, some optimism, maybe some sorrow… you’ve left something behind. Nostalgia is a chain that tethers you to an unprocessed history, it's your subconscious mind telling you 'turn back, turn back!' To free yourself, you have to find a way to go back and recover whatever emotional energy is stuck in the past." Of course, normal nostalgia, looking back at good memories with fondness, is healthy, but it becomes a problem when you feel a longing to return to the past, like you can't be happy in the present.

Very fitting too that malls are prevalent in liminal space images like the Backrooms. I believe it was one of your previous videos that mentioned how a lot of the uncanny feeling to liminal spaces is that they're ones we're used to seeing full of people. An empty mall just feels wrong because we remember how much life is supposed to be there.

The first couple parts of the Oldest View actually reminded me of “The Cave”, what is considered by many as possibly the first creepypasta. Mostly because all the scares come much later in the story and the segment building up to it is a very slow and sometimes tedious but realistically long and detailed documentation of an everyday person exploring a completely unknown subterranean area.

If anyone wants to hear what Kane has to say about the oldest view, he watched the oldest view together with Wendigoon, while also explaining how he did things and how he got inspired. I believe Wendigoon posted a video on his second channel.

Your so on point,I saw a clip of this series a few weeks back with no context, also not hearing about the connection to Dallas. My first thought was valley view mall and the art district. And it made me sad and Nostalgic, they use to have a lovely mural on the side of fowleys

Kane is a crazy good storyteller, this stuff is so interesting.

Wyatt was studying botany, but he ultimately changed to business. I'm not sure if that went unnoticed or it was irrelevant. Either way I wanted to put it out there for other people theorizing.

Matpat is easily the best person for lore

This was a mall I went to all through high school. It was so surreal and kind of exciting to see it like this.

For a while, the AMC was still open at Valley View - it was only a few safety cones and fences and such that kept moviegoers from going further into the mall. This looks exactly how I imagined it would be like to slip past those cones. It was creepy to me, as someone who’d grown up going to other malls in the area. But the Dallas history here is so fascinating. Thanks for breaking it down - this born-and-raised Dallasite learned a lot!

I actually wonder if the Julian Giant was trying to save Wyatt in the end. When Wyatt turns to the Giant, a part of the wall falls down, and looks like a doorway. And when all the lights turn off, only one light stays on and it's lighting up that part of the wall. And at 12:50, you can take "The way out is to look at Reverchon himself" literally. Wyatt looks at him, the wall breaks revealing a doorway of some sort, but Wyatt instead runs away and it costed him his life.

When Wendigoon was made aware that the mall AND the Giant were real, god that was comedy gold. I'm glad that this is getting even more attention, it really is Kane's best work so far. I wonder if there's a GTLive reaction on the series...

Absolutely wild to learn about the fact that the Valley View Mall I've been to before and watched slowly die has become an internet horror location!

A mall that I have seen slowly disappear for years is the Emerald Square mall in Massachusetts. It’s bern around for so long, but when COVID started, it lost so many stores, even SEARS, which was a big sponsor of the mall disappeared. It used to be so crowded and now you can run full laps inside the building without running into more then 10 people It just shows how much has changed

Gosh it’s insane that he chose this mall in particular, because like 5 or so years back when my family was on vacation in Dallas, we stopped at the mall, not realizing it was closed. There was no one in the parking lot, and it was one of the most liminal places I’ve ever experienced. Even though I never stepped foot in there, I always wondered what it looked like and wish I could have. It’s also been a major reoccurring location in my dreams, so it really stuck with me and impacted me deeply. It’s amazing to see one of the greats of liminal horror use this location as well to tell a story.

Tbh, I think the biggest thing about this project by lane pixels, is by how well he remade the mall. I didn’t even realize that was 100% CGI. He really is a league of his own.

What if the giant is actually trying to help? When the giant goes up the lift, one door opens, probably that was the exit all along! As said in the video, when all exits are inacessible, one should refer to Reverchon, the giant! If all exits are gone, refer to the giant! Wyatt asks "what do you want", but the giant can't speak, can't do hand gesture or whatever, the only thing he could do was to show those image more like a warning as "this is death, don't go this way or you will die", Wyatt doesn't understand and run, the giant gets frustrated and tries to stop Wyatt hitting the wall, but it only scares Wyatt even more and he ends up dead... at the end we see his body outside and the Giant is also monochromatic, looking at him, to me it feels like he is sad and disappointed for not being able to save Wyatt, maybe because he knows that place is evil, or maybe because he is nostalgic of people being there with him

My wife and I went to a mall a couple days ago and I felt this nostalgia so hard and it was so weird. There were maybe 100 people in the mall and back when I was a kid there were at least 500-1000 at all times. So I was definitely getting some weird backrooms vibes. Cool to see Kane encapsulate this!

I hate found footage movies, but I love Kane Pixel's work! He really knows how to do horror properly in this style. I can't wait to see the movie he's working on and what else he has in store for the future. Maybe a part 2 for this one? That would be awesome.

I love how deep MatPat goes into the lore of simple short series, and I'm very happy that this is an episode that actually ends with a statement instead of leaving it on a cliffhanger. Love it!

I LOVE watching your vids their so satisfying. Have you ever watched everything, everywhere all at once? If you did I think you should make a theory about it. It is a really great movie

This IMO is Kane Pixels best work yet im so glad you finally made a video about it

So Kane Pixels guest starred on a stream by Wendigoon a while back and after Wendigoon completed the series, he gave him links to two hidden videos. One was basically a history of the Giant and it cut halfway through to the mall. MatPat pulled from the video made of the mall being torn down, but what he didn’t show was a section with a foreman walking through the dilapidated mall. There’s a section of the floor behind the man as he’s talking to the camera. And what do we see in a murky puddle on the ground there? A hand made of leaves. That statue stayed in the mall and ultimately died with it. I was hoping MatPat would make that connection, but his analysis of the series was still excellent

Valley View was my favorite mall, growing up. Straight up cried a little watching this series. So many wonderful memories with my parents and my brother.

Tnx for your explanation, really, didnt even notice the dead horses, the poster, the documents and the numbers.. really cool! And the whole botany choice, so interesting to have it back in spotlight, last time I heard about so much was in the Martian. So cool he chose this specific story, this specific mall, so much detail and so much effort this guy invested, I wonder what is his next project, how do you even top that, because TOV deserves an award. I think today we think about old malls and tomorrow we gonna be thinking about old yt and brilliant content from this decade

That transition to the film theory logo was so good

That giant thing seriously scares me! The normal version is nice but in the abandoned mall it’s terrifying. Props to Kane.

Jeez these intros are amazing!! They look amazing!! I would be surprised if matpat made his own analogue horror series! It’s always a good day when he upload a vid!!

Nothing has truly and intrinsically scared me like these anologue horror videos. This video intro made me jump harder than I have in years. The Backrooms, Old View, and FNAF VHS tapes all scare me in a way nothing else has... I wonder why? 🤔

There is a video called “exploring Texas dead mall, it is the same mall and I think it has something to do with it, even Kane pixels commented on the vid.

Funny enough I have actually been to the Valley View Mall. I visited not extremely long before its demolition, it was all dead except for the AMC. (I was there to see a movie with my dad at said AMC) I remember being somewhat creeped out by the mall but my dad just felt sad at how it all just slowly died out. But he did say that he felt that sense of nostalgia when I showed him The Oldest View. Even though he’s not really a big fan of horror, he said it made him appreciate the memories more.

Everyone honestly needs to watch this series for themselves. The dread I felt during the 3rd episode is up their even with the actual big horror greats.

A poignant, beautiful and yet hauntingly morose narrative paired with one of the best CGI VFX recreations of a place and time. Awesome atmosphere, Kane outdid himself.

MatPat never fails to impress us with his accent pronunciations, and he sounds so good in French. Reminds me of how he correctly pronounces "Elytra" in a Minecraft Game Theory video. That closet he records in has somehow made his voice so iconic. EDIT: Try saying "Julien Revenchon" 5 times correctly. It ain't easy !!!

Make a film theory video about the mystery gift that Clark Griswold gives his boss in Christmas Vacation

I definitely vividly remember this specific giant pop up around the internet a long time ago, crazy.

I remember that mall so vividly, when I saw that statue I had nightmares of that hing for weeks. It was very similar to The Oldest View series too.

Can we all agree MatPat losing his sanity is keeping ours intact, or is that just me?

Kinda cool to see how detailed he managed to get the mall. But also kinda sad to see it, like others, get torn down as well. In some ways, wish I could visit a abandon mall.

seeing this have a mall i use to go to and currently live near is so surreal. driving by it now its literally just an empty lot.

I found out about this analog horror like yesterday and I was telling myself “aww what if Mat pat made a theory on this” . Mind you he retired as host by now so I am so so happy that there is content with mat I haven’t seen yet. Still watching though the theories

The sheer flood of nostalgia that hit me when Mat put up a picture of the mall that I grew up near was crazy. Also GATHER MY FELLOW TEXANS! LET YOURSELVES BE KNOWN!!! YEE HAW!!!🤠

I came here for theories, I leave missing the atmosphere of that mall. It mall was just a bit out of range for us to go to shop. But we did frequently go to see movies in the theater and it was so weird. Only about 4 stores were open, and it seemed liked everytime we went, another was closed. Everytime we'd go up into the theater I'd stare down to taped off section into the dark halls, only illuminated by the skylight

This is great! The mall I grew up close to is also about to close. I never feel like I understand analog horror or ARGs until I watch an analysis, so I always love watching your videos. And I also felt nostalgic with the knowledge that Lakeside Mall is also about to close.

I think heard someone say the giant model actually gave Kane night terrors which just goes to how good he is

0:31 Ok that one was slick I will admit

You should do a video series on the monument mythos, there is plenty to unfold, the newest videos are taking a far more cinematic turn just like the oldest view, with real actors and less cgi. Mister Manticore is a great creator and deserves some recognition. I would also recomend watching the nixonverse part as well, it is important to the story.

You know, as soon as matpat covers it, the content farms are gonna milk it dry.

The funny thing is both the Backrooms series and this series have both given me pet peeves. The Backrooms: people thinking A-sync created the Backrooms. The Oldest View: people think this is related to the Backrooms.

The best thing for me in this project is that the backrooms wasnt Kanes. But this is his original project, and it looks absolutely amazing. And the fact that he modelled an entire demolished mall AND the big bad is an actual real thing that was featured at the mall kind of roots this in reality. And I can guarantee this woke some peoples deep and forgotten fear of that thing lol.

hiraeth, noun nostalgia or a deep longing for a place or time that may never have existed, or that may have existed only in one's memories or imagination. i feel like this is the perfect word to describe this series. a homesickness for something one can never return to.

such a good film! although, even though i watched it about a month ago, is still had a nightmare about being trapped in some abandoned underground structure. crazy.

Watched wendigoon react to this when I first saw it and he had Kane pixels on his livestream. Seeing the mall was real after watching that horrifying video was like having the monster in the closet be real but also so incredibly cool at the same time.

watching the oldest view made me actually scared for the first time watching a youtube series, it is just an amazing series and kane pixels did aa fantastic job making it creepy

It's quite a small part of this video but, as a frenchman, I really appreciate the effort Matpat puts in his accent with french words like with the boisvert video. Some people don't care at all about that but he does for sure and that's nice. Also, great video

4:27 MatPat, I think Kane is doing the same thing he did with Backrooms Informational Video, because as Wyatt explored the ValleyView Mall, to me, it looked like was sent back sometime between June 2012 (the date the recreational giants were showcased in a parade) to December 2016 (the date the mall's demolition began), and the when he exits its back office, he was sent foward in time to May 2023 (the exact date the mall's demolition was finished)

I think what really sells TOV for me is the atmosphere, and the visuals. Obviously there are a lot of interesting thematic elements to be unpacked but the scale of a project like this is so beyond me - it's astounding. Kane talked a little bit about the process during his impromptu interview with Wendigoon and Alex Kister (which I managed to catch live; it was phenomenal) and it only gave me more appreciation for the time and effort that goes into these videos.

Game recommendation: Killer Frequency. You’re working for an overnight radio station when you’re told that there’s a killer on the loose and they’ve offed all of the town’s law enforcement. For the next five hours, you have to juggle being a radio show host and a 911 operator, all the while piecing together what the murderer’s plan is. And the thing is, this isn’t their first time killing… (But honestly, the amount of interactable lore in this game is insane! Really recommend!)

seriously love the intro. keep up the good work!

Love the duck season reference at the end

Honestly, when I saw The Oldest View it made me intrigued in a way very few analog series, or any horror content in general has in a long time. It's all so vague but in a way that it doesn't feel hollow, more like a truly crafted mistery that leaves you thinking for a while after witnessing the whole thing. So yeah, so glad the trustworthy Matpat has done it again and made a theory about it. Keep up, man! (Also Kane did this and the backrooms at only 18 years old? Jesus christ, now that's talented!)

Wendigang made a reaction video to The Rolling Giant and Kane himself reacted with him in the call. Towards the end Kane went into more details about his project and he shows a lot more pictures of the real giant and mall