Backrooms
2026 · Film · 111 min
Directed by Kane Parsons
A strange doorway appears in the basement of a furniture showroom.
9 positive2 negative1 mixed18 neutralfrom 30 commenters
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Hacker Cinema Hacker Cinema2026 · Film · 111 min
Directed by Kane Parsons
A strange doorway appears in the basement of a furniture showroom.
9 positive2 negative1 mixed18 neutralfrom 30 commenters
No streaming data for this title.
31 comments on Hacker News
Backrooms is more of a creepy movie than a scary movie, I think.
I stopped caring for a couple of years during the Marvel slop era. Lately me and my girlfriend have gone to watch movies like the Backrooms, Obsession, and that has reignited my interest in movie theaters. Even though the food is really overpriced, it's fun to watch a good film, eat some popcorn.
You might try watching Backrooms.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt26657236/
It was Netflix. Only the most milquetoast pablum gets made over there and it’s all shot with the same cameras and settings and it all looks the same and every idea is ripped from either an HBO show if it’s a series, or an older film if it’s a film. They sprayed Marvel content everywhere to my dismay, I can’t think of a less interesting universe or setting than “gritty version of reality except with superheroes”. Netflix hasn’t made a single TV show or film worth watching.
It really killed filmmaking, I’ve only seen ~5 movies released since 2016: Parasite, Backrooms, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Get Out, Don’t Look Up. I watch plenty of movies, there are more great movies from the 1940s to 2010s than I’ll ever have time to watch. I hope interesting movies start being made again.
Hollywood also went into sequel overdrive and released very few original properties and milked X-men, Harry Potter, Star Wars, etc. That didn’t help.
I should probably clarify that something like a television show, movie or game where it’s likely a group of people is still included in my “someone’s heart” even if it’s many hearts.
Let’s take Backrooms for an example. In the interviews with the cast, Kane, and others they usually all hit on “so and so was so passionate and added X”. Hearing about everyone’s passion and seeing the end result reflect that makes the experience of watching it so much more enjoyable.
If someone generated a Backrooms film, there would be none of that.
I’m not saying you’re wrong for liking machine books or anyone should be wrong for thinking that, but I just can’t imagine them being equal in the view of the arts.
For those who did not bother to open the article:
> UPDATE: 2026/07/18 10:51 EST
> A24 Responds
> In an official response posted to the Backrooms movie Instagram account, A24 explained, "As Kane Parsons has made clear, Backrooms is one part of an infinitely bigger ecosystem, rife with creatives who have every right to tell their own version of the story. Yesterday we were made aware of an automated claim submitted to Redbubble on behalf of A24 and Backrooms movie. We immediately began the process to reverse it and reinstate the listing. A24 makes no claim of ownership over the yellow wallpaper, the original post referencing it, or any of the community works that have since been built around it. We will continue to support the artists who, like Kane, were inspired by it."
There are lots of famous artists that are older than copyright.
> And worse than them being recognized, they might even get accused of copying their own art if someone else became famous due to a copy.
You mean like right now? Here is A24 claiming copyright for Backrooms related media that came out before their Backrooms related film: https://kotaku.com/backrooms-a24-copyright-strikes-kane-parsons-2000716667
Being "accused" of copying literally does not matter if copyright didn't exist. This framing is only an issue under copyright.
> Society would miss out a lot.
Society actively misses out a lot. We could have had tons of derivative art that has been buried for the sake of propping up companies. We could have had Aaron Swartz. Abolish copyright.
"Yesterday we were made aware of an automated claim submitted to Redbubble on behalf of A24 and Backrooms movie. We immediately began the process to reverse it and reinstate the listing."
It was a bug and has been resolved.
I really wasn't a fan of the movie. The actual Backrooms were neat to see, but the plot was very meh.
Then again, I very much prefer the Backrooms stuff without all the, for lack of a better word, "plot" around it - monsters, human organizations, etc, etc. What's far more unsettling to me is the idea that the entirety of the Backrooms is devoid of life, and there's no "reason" for it to be there.
What I’m impressed by of late is that a lot of contemporary horror films (thinking of Weapons, Backrooms, Obsession) rely much more on a creepy mood than on gore to do their thing (which is not to say that they lack gore, but they don’t rely on it to the extent that horror films of the ’80s through '10s did (the Saw films probably being the apex of the splattercore aesthetic).
Somewhat fitting that we just got the Backrooms movie which is about making Uncanny Valley copies of locations (and people) and here we have Uncanny Valley copies of software...
I am very glad you enjoyed it. I am definitely a fan of uncanny valley vibes too, maybe that Backrooms movie subconsciously influenced me when I made the demo. With all of my open source projects I try to have as much fun with it as possible and I definitely had fun making that video.
Clearly a long antecedent and possible spiritual predecessor to SCP-3008 and the Backrooms genre which recently spawned a liminal horror movie called Backrooms. It it feels derivative, that's probably the Seinfeld Isn't Funny effect. If it feels uninteresting, you're probably not into this genre.
I thought similarly, but the article actually was published prior to Backrooms movie release and popularity, though there is a nod they were aware the concept was being optioned to A24. Though I agree, “defining” might be a bit strong.
Also why do they just keep doxing people left and right?
Scott Alexander as the most memorable, and then the backlash after they post the backrooms movie creator's house on twitter recently
Just very shortsighted behavior
The original videos have tens of millions of views, became extremely popular memes online, and the movie is now the biggest-ever opening for an independent film. It's not niche, just a bottom-up internet-driven thing.
If it helps, there's some stratification that makes understanding it a bit confusing at first. There's basically four layers:
- The original 4chan post, a vaguely unsettling photo of an odd yellow room with an evocative caption about it being a vast realm outside reality that you can accidentally fall into to be stalked by unseen monsters.
- This post went viral and kicked off the "creepy liminal spaces" trend, where people found or created unnerving images of dark or abandoned places that are normally busy, like malls, schools, hotels, airports, etc.
- This evolved into the idea that the original yellow Backrooms is just one of infinitely-many connected environments/levels, each reflecting a different surreal aesthetic: tiled pools, children's playspaces, empty suburbs, etc. People also invented their own weird creatures that inhabited them (think the SCP Foundation stuff crossed with Five Nights at Freddy's). This resulted in an explosion of videos, wikis, and indie games exploring and expanding the concept.
- Kane Parsons created a more restrained and focused version of the above in his YouTube series, dispensing with the profusion of levels and monsters and drilling down on various first-person, found-footage explorations of the original Backrooms and glimpses of the mysterious company researching it. His take became by far the most popular, and landed him the director role for the film, which has turned out to be quite thoughtful and well-done.
I definitely recommend checking it out if you like surreal psychological horror. It's good even if you're not familiar with his web series.
House of Leaves form of hypertextual academic satire is so firmly bound to the written word that it would be un-filmable, but you could make a film from the Navidson Record (and it would potentially be much more interesting than Backrooms).
Agreed, I've already been to the movies twice this year (PHM and Backrooms), usually it's maybe once every other year for some one-day anime movie airing. Really enjoyed both of them, just as with PHM, I think Backrooms is best viewed on a big screen.
I haven't seen the movie yet. While the entire YT series is good, the part I liked best (and am most interested in going forward) was the later episodes where some mysterious organization starts exploring the Backrooms for unknown reasons. I really dug the more sci-fi X-Files / Stranger Things vibe than straight horror but the web series stopped before that direction was ever developed. It sure felt like it could be going somewhere really interesting.
To fair, the original WTF appeal of the web series' creepy Backroom vibe was great but it did start to get a little tired for me right before Kane expanded things beyond the initial "I'm trapped all alone in this endless place." But I've never been a big fan of horror plots that revolve too much around "two minutes of suspenseful creeping" building to an inevitable jump scare. Now that the movie is doing great, I'm hoping we'll get a follow-up that further develops the later parts of web series and keeps going.
This story at Deadline really does a good job of outlining the strategy for the film. https://deadline.com/2026/05/backrooms-kane-parsons-box-office-record-behind-the-scenes-1236931315/
I practically never watch any movies because they are almost always trash, but decided to go watch Obsession after seeing a youtuber (penguinZ) talking positively about it
Yeah it's pretty good. I am in my late 30. Excited for Backrooms which isnt yet available
This year seems to be turning a bit of a corner. Of the top box office movies so far this year there's Michael, Project Hail Mary, Hoppers, Wuthering Heights, GOAT.. with Obsession and Backrooms rapidly rising.
Last year it was basically F1 and Minecraft (and while not sequels, both are arguably well known "franchises" outside of movies - but I guess MJ and Wuthering Heights are too ;-)).
I really enjoyed it. I had no idea what a “backrooms movie” would end up being, but it was exactly what I could have hoped for having enjoyed his other work. Honestly creators from youtube putting out movies recently has probably been the most interested in going out to see something in years.
I'm a long-term "OG" Kane Pixels fan. I took a friend to see the opening night preview and we both loved it.
Anyone not familiar with Kane - who was 16 when he started making his "found footage" films in Blender - the guy is a truly brilliant mind. Listening to him talk... you can close your eyes and he speaks like someone middle aged. It's almost uncanny.
Anyhow, in addition to his genuinely excellent Backrooms videos, I highly recommend you turn off the lights and take in his The Oldest View series as well.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjY897CCu4g&list=PLVAh-MgDVqvAwoFF5hJmtRrx86Yw-pdN1&index=2
He painstakingly recreated a random demolished suburban Texas mall from archival footage. It's wild how good he is at this.
I've found it hard to keep up with movie and TV news (particularly when the new Backrooms film is coming out).
So, I built an agent to help remind me -- it's a subscription based service that sends you updates every morning, and stores your preferences so it can learn what you like.
https://holly.garelick.net
The movies, sure, but the Backrooms as a concept (and by extension liminal spaces in general) are not necessarily horror.
I don't find them "scary" but I do find them disconcerting.
Maybe relevant -- Kane Parsons' movie "The Backrooms" just released a trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wek9dIw2uVM
This has sorta happened with the backrooms? The creator started via viral YouTube and meme growth, now he’s making a movie with A24.
Kane Pixels[0] is the most popular Backrooms creator by a wide margin[1], and the recipient of that A24 movie deal.
His Backrooms canon is completely separate from The Backrooms Wiki canon. It has none of the prescribed "levels", or any other of the Wiki's infinite proliferation of boring bullshit. It's purely descended from the original 4chan post[2]
[0] https://www.youtube.com/@kanepixels
[1] https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=backrooms
[2] https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/001/495/035/a5a.jpg
The concept at least is well known by younger generations. There is an entire movie based on the Backrooms YouTube series coming out that is centered around the idea of "noclip."
Ha - how about "Bloody Mary"? I was 8 and that story scared the shit out of me. I love reading creepypastas, and when I was younger, I never knew if they were real or not. It was part of learning how to trust information. They always had enough of a disturbance in the story that made me feel odd.
I JUST saw The Backrooms (the one where she puts the tape measure down the portal) and... holy shit. This is the same level of odd feeling. I can only imagine what sort of VR stuff is out there... That Black Mirror episode has me wondering if I'll actually do something like that.
I think it's also the same sort of thing as the innocuous conspiracy theories I've seen like "Did you know that Spongebob characters are based on the seven deadly sins?" Could be true, you'll never be able to fully verify it unless you know the person who made the content, and ... sounds good and seems to hold up. Why would you want to dispel the theory even if it is untrue? It's kinda fun.