Kane Parsons’ runaway box-office sensation Backrooms is officially making the jump to home screens. The horror hit will debut exclusively on HBO next month.
Yellow Wallpaper, Green Cash
To say Backrooms cleaned up at the box office would be a massive understatement. When A24 unleashed the film theatrically, it completely routed the competition. It pulled in a staggering $81 million domestically in its opening weekend alone against a modest $10 million budget. The triumph also made cinema history. A24 confirmed that the 19-year-old Parsons is now the youngest director ever to helm a number-one film at the global box office, which is impressive for a creator who started out experimenting with Blender animations in his bedroom.
Welcome to Cap’n Clark’s Ottoman Empire
Scripted by Will Soodik, it is based on Parsons’ viral internet series, which has racked up over 190 million views. The nightmare follows Clark (Chiwetel Ejiofor). He’s a struggling furniture store owner whose personal life is in shambles thanks to a messy divorce, alcoholism, and abandoned dreams. However, while inspecting faulty wiring in the basement of his showroom, Clark discovers a glowing, anomalous tear in the drywall. Stepping through drops him headfirst into a subterranean hellscape: an endless, physics-defying maze of damp yellow wallpaper, buzzing fluorescent lights, and crushing isolation.
A Stacked Cast and Extra Footage
Ejiofor leads a stacked, prestige ensemble that includes Renate Reinsve (A Different Man), Mark Duplass, Finn Bennett, and Lukita Maxwell. Together, they transform a viral internet urban legend into a deeply disturbing exploration of modern anxieties and the human psyche.
To give you a taste of the terror, 16 minutes of bonus footage titled Backrooms – Everything Must Go is available to watch below.
Get ready to explore Backrooms. The horror hit will debut exclusively on HBO Max in the U.S. on September 25, followed by its linear television premiere on HBO on September 26 at 8:00 p.m. ET.
However, for those who want more of the terror, a game has already been announced, and a sequel to the movie is in development.
