Dir: Kane Parsons
Cast: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Renate Reinsve, Mark Duplass
Though I longed for more time wandering the eerie halls of the titular “Backrooms”, Kane Parsons’ impressively mature debut feature masterfully channels the haunting atmosphere and dread of his viral webseries onto the big screen
A new era in cinema is dawning. After awarding four stars to the brilliantly crafted, low-budget horror “Obsession”, I found myself convinced that YouTubers are poised to reshape the movie industry, especially in horror. As more online creators leap from laptop screens to the silver screen, it felt inevitable that the world would take notice. Now, just two weeks after “Obsession”—already on track to become one of the most profitable films ever—we may be witnessing the arrival of the most significant YouTuber-directed movie yet.
“Backrooms” marks the feature-length debut of 20-year-old Kane Parsons—yes, just 20! This makes him not only the youngest director ever hired by A24, but, after a staggering $81 million opening weekend, also the youngest filmmaker in US history to top the box office. With “Backrooms” now holding the record for A24’s biggest opening and arriving so soon after “Obsession”, it feels like we are witnessing a genuine shift: Hollywood may finally be ready to trade in its safe, seasoned directors for bold, young visionaries.
These young filmmakers, having honed their craft and built their followings on YouTube, have an uncanny sense of what their audiences crave. After years spent scrolling through endless comment sections, directors like Parsons and Curry Barker know exactly how to tap into the desires of younger viewers. It is little wonder, then, that both have managed to outshine industry giants like “The Mandalorian and Grogu” at the box office this week. Audiences aged 15 to 30, in particular, seem weary of the tired formulas of Hollywood’s blockbuster franchises—be it “Star Wars”, “Marvel”, or any other long-running saga. The industry has been desperate for fresh energy, and perhaps these YouTubers will breathe new life into cinemas worldwide.
Parsons’ film is an adaptation of his own viral webseries, which he began in 2022 as a sixteen-year-old uploading videos while the world was still emerging from the shadow of the pandemic. Though he expanded the universe with a series of anthology shorts, the concept of the “backrooms” is not his alone. The idea of these unsettling liminal spaces traces back to a haunting photo posted in 2019, showing an abandoned furniture store in the wonderfully named Oshkosh, Wisconsin. That single image ignited a sprawling online horror phenomenon, with countless creators weaving their own tales into the “creepypasta.” Yet it was Parsons who truly electrified the concept, turning his found footage shorts into a sensation and catching the eye of indie film powerhouse A24.
Set in the same universe as his original online creation, this big-screen adaptation of “Backrooms” draws us into the world of Clark (Chiwetel Ejiofor), a furniture store owner battling alcoholism and the loneliness of a recent divorce that has exiled him to his workplace. When a string of eerie disturbances and flickering lights unsettle the store, Clark discovers a mysterious glowing slit in the basement wall. Driven by curiosity, he peers closer and is suddenly pulled through, tumbling into the surreal expanse of the backrooms.
After days wandering and mapping out the endless maze, Clark confides in his therapist, Mary (Renate Reinsve), only to be met with disbelief. Determined to prove what he has seen, Clark enlists assistant manager Kat (Lukita Maxwell) and her boyfriend, Bobby (Finn Bennett), to join him, and they are armed with a video camera to capture the discovery. Driven by concern for Clark and haunted by her own unresolved past, Mary is eventually drawn into the backrooms herself while searching for her troubled patient.
Before this feature-length chapter in the backrooms saga was announced, my only exposure was Parsons’ very first short film from four years ago. While I thought the original found footage lacked novelty, the atmosphere of dread he conjured was impossible to ignore. Parsons once built his backrooms with digital tools like Blender, but seeing these spaces brought to life on the big screen, mostly with practical sets, is a spectacle in itself. Though CGI adds some finishing touches, most of the film’s endless, uncanny corridors are real, with an astonishing 30,000 square feet of sets constructed for the project. This remarkable set design pulls viewers deep into the backrooms, tapping into primal fears of loneliness and isolation—emotions powerfully embodied by Ejiofor and Reinsve’s characters. Working in these tangible spaces, the actors can fully immerse themselves in Parsons’ vision, appreciating the vast, unsettling world he has crafted over the years.
Parsons is fortunate to have two leads who always deliver. By placing Ejiofor and Reinsve in real, physical sets, he draws out authentic reactions of awe, shock, and terror—emotions they channel brilliantly as their characters first encounter the backrooms. Their journey into this viral, liminal world also provides the perfect entry point for newcomers to both Parsons’ work and the backrooms mythos. Introducing fresh characters who are themselves discovering these eerie corridors allows audiences to share in the bewilderment and uncanny atmosphere together.
At just 20, Parsons could have easily fallen back on genre clichés, relying on found footage and cheap jump scares. Instead, he shows remarkable restraint and maturity, carefully building tension by keeping us outside the backrooms for much of the film. While I would have loved to spend more time wandering those endless, yellow-tinted halls, I respect Parsons’ choice to hold back. The film’s deliberate pacing and enigmatic finale may challenge viewers hungry for constant scares, but they preserve the backrooms’ mystique and leave you wanting more.
It is rare to find a film that lets audiences draw their own conclusions. If you crave a good scare, the backrooms will keep you on edge. If you seek meaning, the film invites endless interpretation: are the backrooms echoes of buried trauma, or, with the presence of an enigmatic MRI company, do they symbolize dementia and the fading of memory? Personally, I see them as a dreamscape, tapping into our deepest, most instinctive fears—the kind that surface in sleep, when our minds try to reconstruct memories, places, and people, but everything feels just a little off and uncanny.
Whatever your take, a film that sparks debate is a triumph in my book. With its success and Parsons’ clear drive to expand this universe, perhaps we will soon unlock even deeper secrets within these backrooms.
Backrooms is now showing in UK Cinemas
Dan Loves Film 
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