Across recent years, we’ve seen plenty of YouTubers turn horror directors – perhaps most successfully the Philippou brothers, with Talk To Me and Bring Her Back, soon joined by Chris Stuckmann with Shelby Oaks, and Markiplier with indie hit Iron Lung. Now, it’s the turn of Kane Parsons, aka Kane Pixels – and he’s adapting an internet ‘creepypasta’ meme that he previously explored in YouTube form; the digital-era myth of the ‘Backrooms’, an endless liminal hellscape whose apparent mundanity (never-ending rooms of murky yellow walls) hides a creeping evil. A24 tapped up Parsons for a Backrooms movie, and the first trailer has just arrived:
Parsons, just 20 years old, has assembled a mightily impressive cast for this one; at the heart of it is Chiwetel Ejiofor, who stumbles upon the cavernous expanse of the Backrooms and takes to exploring its hallways. And then there’s The Worst Person In The World and Sentimental Value star Renate Reinsve, playing his therapist who ventures in after him – with spooky-looking results. As well as A24, the film comes with the backing of Shawn Levy, via his 21 Laps banner, and James Wan’s production company Atomic Monster. The script comes from Will Soodik.
Will the notion of an online ‘creepypasta’ prove as compelling on the screen as in Jane Schoenbrun’s We’re All Going To The World’s Fair? Are we in for another Slender Man disappointment? And can anyone console us that, even though we’re not hotshot 20-year-old directors working with A24 and top-tier acting talent, we’re still doing ok? Anyone? Please? Backrooms will open up on May 29. Don’t get lost!