Summary (tl;dr)

A24 has released the full-length trailer for "Backrooms," an upcoming horror film adaptation of the viral internet creepypasta and YouTube series, directed by 20-year-old internet sensation Kane Parsons and starring Chiwetel Ejiofor and Renate Reinsve.

Essential Background

"The Backrooms" originated in a 2019 4chan thread as an internet creepypasta, a type of spooky online urban legend. It describes an infinite, extradimensional labyrinth of eerily mundane, empty, yellow-hued rooms, often characterized by the "stink of old moist carpet" and the unsettling hum of fluorescent lights, which individuals "noclip" into, or glitch out of reality, to discover. In 2022, then-16-year-old YouTuber Kane Parsons, known as Kane Pixels, created a found-footage web series based on the concept, with his first short film "The Backrooms (Found Footage)" accumulating over 70 million views and significantly popularizing the lore.

The Full Story

Independent film studio A24 is producing a feature-length film adaptation of Kane Parsons' "Backrooms" series, with Parsons, now 20, making his directorial debut. The film, set to be released by A24 in the United States on May 29, 2026, recently debuted its full-length trailer on March 31, 2026, generating significant buzz. The movie stars Chiwetel Ejiofor as Clark and Renate Reinsve as Dr. Mary Kilne, a therapist who ventures into the otherworldly dimension of the Backrooms in search of her missing patient. Filming for the project took place in Vancouver, Canada, during the summer of 2025.

Why It Matters

This trend highlights the increasing influence of internet-born horror narratives, or creepypastas, as they transition into mainstream entertainment. The "Backrooms" film represents a notable career milestone for Kane Parsons, who, at a young age, is directing a major studio production after his independent viral success. The adaptation by A24, known for its distinctive and often critically acclaimed independent films, underscores the potential for online-generated content to captivate wider audiences and reshape the horror genre with its unique blend of psychological dread and liminal aesthetics.

Geographic Location

• New York, New York, United States (A24 headquarters, overseeing film production and distribution)
• Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada (filming of "Backrooms" movie)