The internet’s most famous “liminal space” nightmare is officially coming to the big screen, and the production just leveled up. A24 has confirmed that production on Backrooms is officially underway in Canada. Get ready for the latest on the viral sensation-turned-high-budget horror.
Indie Icons Meet Rising Stars
They’ve rounded out a cast that is, frankly, stacked with talent. We already knew that Academy Award nominee Chiwetel Ejiofor and The Worst Person in the World breakout Renate Reinsve were attached. Now, the ensemble has added some heavy hitters. Mark Duplass, the king of “unsettling” (Creep), joins Finn Bennett (True Detective: Night Country), Lukita Maxwell, best known for her work in “Shrinking,” also stars, along with Avan Jogia, known for “Orphan Black: Echoes.”
From a Teenager’s Bedroom to A24
The most incredible part of this story is the director. Kane Parsons—the visionary who created the original viral YouTube series—is making his feature directorial debut. At just 20 years old, Parsons is the youngest filmmaker ever to lead an A24 project. His original anthological series, which debuted in 2022, has racked up over 190 million views. It turned the “Backrooms” creepypasta—a concept about “noclipping” out of reality into a never-ending maze of yellow-carpeted hallways—into a global phenomenon.
What to Expect: Reality is Glitching
While A24 is keeping the specific script under wraps, the core concept remains as chilling as ever. The film follows a camera operator who slips through a crack in the physical world and wakes up in a distorted, abandoned plane of existence. You can expect the deafening, screeching sound of dial-up internet. There are infinite corridors with fluorescent lights that hum too loudly. And there is a constant, sinking feeling that something is watching from the shadows.
A Horror Super-Group
This isn’t just a small indie flick; it’s a massive collaboration between some of the biggest names in genre filmmaking, including Atomic Monster’s James Wan (The Conjuring, Insidious), 21 Laps’ Shawn Levy (Stranger Things), and Chernin Entertainment (Fear Street).
Will Soodik penned the screenplay. The first teaser trailer and poster have just been unveiled and are already sending chills down fans’ spines with its mysterious, “something is off” vibe. Luckily, you don’t have to wait long to watch it in theaters; it arrives on May 29, 2026.
