Backrooms (film)
The internet urban legend of The Backrooms—a chilling, endless maze of unsettling liminal spaces—has captivated millions, evolving from a viral web series to a groundbreaking cinematic event. This film adaptation not only brings digital dread to the big screen but also achieves remarkable critical and commercial success, proving the power of a uniquely unsettling premise. Prepare to delve into a world where reality frays, and the familiar becomes profoundly unnerving. The film faithfully expands upon the internet's viral 'Backrooms' creepypasta and web series, translating its unique blend of dread and liminal horror to a feature-length narrative with strict continuity. It marks the directorial debut of young creator Kane Parsons, who, at just 20, achieved a historic box office milestone as the youngest director to hit number one globally and for A24's highest-grossing film. The intricate plot follows a furniture store owner and his therapist into the labyrinthine Backrooms, blending psychological depth with surreal, architectural horror while exploring themes of trauma and memory.
AI Summary
The internet urban legend of The Backrooms—a chilling, endless maze of unsettling liminal spaces—has captivated millions, evolving from a viral web series to a groundbreaking cinematic event. This film adaptation not only brings digital dread to the big screen but also achieves remarkable critical and commercial success, proving the power of a uniquely unsettling premise. Prepare to delve into a world where reality frays, and the familiar becomes profoundly unnerving.
- The film faithfully expands upon the internet's viral 'Backrooms' creepypasta and web series, translating its unique blend of dread and liminal horror to a feature-length narrative with strict continuity.
- It marks the directorial debut of young creator Kane Parsons, who, at just 20, achieved a historic box office milestone as the youngest director to hit number one globally and for A24's highest-grossing film.
- The intricate plot follows a furniture store owner and his therapist into the labyrinthine Backrooms, blending psychological depth with surreal, architectural horror while exploring themes of trauma and memory.
Beyond the Threshold: From Internet Lore to Silver Screen
Our journey into The Backrooms begins not in a film studio, but in the sprawling, enigmatic landscape of the internet. The concept itself originated as a 'creepypasta' describing vast, empty, yellow-wallpapered rooms — unsettling liminal spaces that feel both familiar and profoundly wrong.
This eerie idea truly exploded in popularity when a young filmmaker named Kane Parsons, under his YouTube channel Kane Pixels, began uploading a series of short films. Starting in January 2022, Parsons brought the terrifying, infinite hallways of The Backrooms to vivid, unsettling life, quickly garnering millions of views and solidifying its place in internet culture.
A Feature Film Emerges
The leap from viral web series to a major motion picture is a testament to Parsons' vision and the enduring appeal of The Backrooms. In February 2023, the film adaptation was officially announced, creating a buzz among horror fans and internet culture enthusiasts alike.
This ambitious project was spearheaded by a consortium of powerful production companies. A24, known for its groundbreaking and often unsettling horror films, joined forces with Chernin Entertainment, Atomic Monster, and 21 Laps Entertainment, co-financing the film for under $10 million.
Remarkably, Kane Parsons himself took the director's chair for this feature-length adaptation, marking his directorial debut. While Roberto Patino was initially set to write the screenplay, Will Soodik ultimately penned the final script, ensuring the unique, atmospheric terror translated faithfully to the big screen.
Parsons drew inspiration from diverse sources, including the Portal video game series, the television show Mr. Robot, and films like Punishment Park and One Hour Photo. He also cited the anime series Paranoia Agent. Notably, the film maintains a 'strict continuity' with his original YouTube web series.
The Premise: A Desperate Journey into the Unknown
The film's unsettling lore begins in 1990, when Naren Warne, a researcher with the Async Research Institute, becomes lost within the labyrinthine Backrooms. This extradimensional space—a chaotic expanse of dull yellow rooms, flickering lights, and malformed furniture—becomes his tomb after he's chased and killed by an unseen entity, with Async scientists watching recovered footage of his demise.
Years later, we meet Clark, a failed architect grappling with alcoholism and a dissolved marriage, who now owns a struggling furniture store in San Jose. He attends therapy sessions with Dr. Mary Kline, who carries her own deep-seated trauma from the demolition of her childhood home and her agoraphobic mother's institutionalization. Clark's world begins to fray when he notices strange occurrences in his store.
Clark recruits his assistant manager Kat and her boyfriend Bobby to film a commercial featuring him as the store's pirate mascot. Living in the store, Clark observes mysterious light flickers and erratic television signals. While checking the breaker box, he discovers a glowing slit in the wall, falls through it, and enters the Backrooms, finding Naren's belongings and barely escaping an unseen pursuer—all watched by Async scientist Phil via surveillance.
After days of exploration, Clark attempts to convince a skeptical Mary about his experiences. Desperate for proof, he brings Kat and Bobby into the Backrooms to film. Their venture takes a tragic turn when Bobby is ambushed and fatally dragged away by an entity in a steeply sloped corridor. Clark and Kat are separated during their frantic chase.
Carrying the camera, Clark encounters humanoid entities that pursue him to a dead end. Kat seemingly sees him through a wall but cannot be seen in return. Clark sets down the camera, an unseen entity picks it up, and Kat screams for him to look behind him, implying his capture or demise.
Some time later, Mary receives a cryptic answering machine message from Clark, who declares he's staying in the Backrooms and won't return. Concerned, Mary visits the store and enters the dimension herself. There, she encounters a now-psychotic Clark, who tries to calm her before choking her unconscious as an entity approaches.
Mary awakens tied to a chair in a dining room-like space, confronted by Clark and inert human simulacra. Clark, demonstrating they're made of an edible white substance, chillingly reveals Kat's severed head. As Mary confronts him about his failures, a towering, distorted simulacrum of Clark, dressed as his pirate mascot, appears, killing Clark before pursuing Mary through increasingly surreal landscapes.
Cornered by the pirate monster in a flawed replica of Clark's store, Mary subdues the creature using a piece of concrete from her childhood home. An Async gas trap is triggered, leading to her rescue by hazmat-suited researchers and subsequent interrogation by Phil at their research facility.
Mary describes the Backrooms as a 'faulty, misremembered copy of reality.' Her fate within Async's facility remains uncertain. The film concludes with the Backrooms itself morphing, reflecting the characters' experiences and leaving a deformed simulacrum of Mary in a distorted interrogation room.
Assembling the Cast
Bringing such a chilling premise to life required a talented ensemble. In May 2025, negotiations began with acclaimed actors Chiwetel Ejiofor and Cristin Milioti. Ejiofor was confirmed as Clark the following month, while Renate Reinsve replaced Milioti as Dr. Mary Kline after her deal fell through.
The cast further expanded in July 2025. Mark Duplass joined as Async scientist Phil, alongside Finn Bennett as Bobby, Lukita Maxwell as Kat, and Avan Jogia as Naren Warne, the earlier Backrooms explorer. Robert Bobroczkyi portrayed the monstrous Pirate Clark, and Krista Kosonen played Mary's mother, Nora Kline. Jogia was already a fan of Parsons' web series prior to casting, and spent extensive time discussing the film's lore during production.
Chiwetel Ejiofor Clark Renate Reinsve Dr. Mary Kline Mark Duplass Phil Finn Bennett Robert "Bobby" Franklin Lukita Maxwell Kathrine "Kat" Taylor Avan Jogia Naren Warne Robert Bobroczkyi Pirate Clark Krista Kosonen Nora Kline Ember Ambrose Young Mary Patrick Baynham Bearded Man (Simulacra) Dana Mahmood Archibald Leland Sutter (Simulacra) Rhiannon Roberts Red-Headed Woman (Simulacra) Philip Granger Meterman Katharine Isabelle Cameo Appearance (House Party Guest)
Behind the Scenes: Crafting the "Architectural Hell"
Principal photography officially kicked off in Vancouver, Canada, on July 7, 2025, operating under the working title 'Effigy.' The demanding shoot progressed swiftly, wrapping just over a month later, on August 14, 2025, suggesting a focused and well-managed production.
To create the film's distinct liminal environments, Parsons utilized 3D software like Blender, with production designer Danny Vermette adapting these digital designs for physical construction. Over 30,000 square feet of Backrooms sets were built across four sound stages, using 37,000 square feet of wallpaper and 29,000 square feet of carpeting, much of it sourced locally in Canada to avoid tariff impacts. Vermette likened fitting the sets to Tetris, and the design emphasized verticality to make actor interactions more challenging, with reports of crew members getting lost on set.
The film's spaces were meticulously designed to resemble an "architectural hell" — a flawed digital sandbox where rendering errors like misaligned floors, intersecting arches, and objects clipping through walls create a constant sense of unreality. The Backrooms were seen as a 'prism that refracts its visitors,' with entities appearing as distorted 'memories' rather than demons, drawing comparisons to the anomalous zone in Annihilation.
Adding to the film's immersive atmosphere, the score was composed by Edo Van Breemen and, notably, Kane Parsons himself. The soundtrack also features memorable tracks such as Boards of Canada's 'The Word Becomes Flesh,' the lostwave song 'Ulterior Motives,' 'Eyes of a Stranger' by Payolas, and 'B1 – All that follows is true' by The Caretaker, enhancing its dreamlike horror.
Critical Acclaim and Box Office Triumph
Backrooms premiered at the Aero Theatre in Santa Monica on May 7, 2026, before its wide theatrical release in the United States by A24 on May 29, 2026. It also premiered in South Korea and Italy on May 27. An extended 'Everything Must Go Edition' with an additional 15 minutes of footage was later released on July 3, with bonus content made available on Parsons' YouTube channel on August 19. The film was released on digital platforms on July 14.
The film quickly became a massive commercial success, grossing $394.1 million worldwide. Initial projections of $20 million for its opening weekend soared to $40-50 million, ultimately debuting to $81.5 million domestically and $118 million worldwide—A24's biggest opening weekend. In its second weekend, despite a 70% decline, it became A24's highest-grossing film to date, surpassing Marty Supreme (2025), after reaching $213 million worldwide. Kane Parsons, at just 20 years old, made history as the youngest filmmaker to reach number one at both the United States and Global box offices, topping Josh Trank's 2012 film 'Chronicle'. It also became the second-highest-grossing horror film of 2026 and the fifth-highest-grossing independent film of all time.
Critics largely showered Backrooms with praise, with an 87% 'Fresh' rating on Rotten Tomatoes (based on 307 reviews) and a score of 76 out of 100 on Metacritic (based on 47 critics), indicating 'generally favorable reviews.' Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave it a 'B−', while PostTrak audiences gave it a 68% positive score, with 53% definitely recommending it. The film was lauded as a 'startlingly assured feature debut' that masterfully translated internet lore into compelling cinema.
Reviewers highlighted Parsons' exceptional control over imagery, pacing, and dread, skillfully crafting suspense through mood, sound design, and eerie visuals rather than relying on conventional jump scares. Many drew comparisons to surreal horror classics like Eraserhead and The Shining, as well as modern psychological thrillers such as Skinamarink, Annihilation, and TV series like Severance and The Rehearsal. Amy Nicholson for the LA Times noted its surreal, dreamlike quality reminiscent of a Salvador Dalí painting.
The performances of Chiwetel Ejiofor and Renate Reinsve were particularly praised for their ability to convey complex emotions within a sparse script and unsettling environment. Critics noted the film's psychological depth, visual creativity, its astute exploration of trauma, memory, and the uncanny nature of digital and liminal spaces. Beatrice Loayza of The New York Times noted the script 'cobbles together ideas about trauma and the mysterious workings of the unconscious, and sprinkles on some metaphors about gentrification as a repression of the past.'
The film's success was also seen as a significant moment for YouTube-native filmmakers, demonstrating the growing influence of digital platforms in identifying new talent and intellectual property for major studios. Mia Galuppo and Aaron Couch cited it as proof of this trend, and Alex Werpin reported Reddit emerging as a destination for new IP. Joseph Bernstein of The New York Times connected the film to Generation Z's 'deep unease with life lived online,' drawing parallels between the labyrinthine Backrooms and experiences like COVID-19 lockdowns, recommendation algorithms, and generative AI.
Accolades
Award Category Recipient(s) Result Astra Midseason Movie Awards Best Picture Backrooms Nominated Astra Midseason Movie Awards Best Director Kane Parsons Nominated Astra Midseason Movie Awards Best Actor Chiwetel Ejiofor Nominated Astra Midseason Movie Awards Best Supporting Actress Renate Reinsve Nominated Astra Midseason Movie Awards Best Horror Backrooms Runner-up Critics' Choice Super Awards Best Horror Movie Backrooms Nominated Critics' Choice Super Awards Best Actor in a Horror Movie Chiwetel Ejiofor Nominated Critics' Choice Super Awards Best Actress in a Horror Movie Renate Reinsve Nominated Fangoria Chainsaw Awards Best Wide Release Backrooms Pending Fangoria Chainsaw Awards Best First Feature Backrooms Pending Fangoria Chainsaw Awards Best Lead Performance Chiwetel Ejiofor Pending Fangoria Chainsaw Awards Best Cinematography Jeremy Cox Pending Fangoria Chainsaw Awards Best Score Kane Parsons and Edo Van Breemen Pending Fangoria Chainsaw Awards Best Creature FX Amazing Ape Productions and Werner Pretorius Pending
The Future of the Backrooms
Following the film's immense success, Kane Parsons confirmed in May 2026 that he was far from finished with the Backrooms universe, with new projects already 'in the works.' He also stated that his original YouTube web series would continue. While Deadline Hollywood initially reported Parsons was seeking a screenwriter for a sequel in early June, Parsons denied these reports shortly after, stating he was 'not sure where that got out.' He has, however, expressed considerable interest in developing a Backrooms television series, promising more terrifying journeys into its endless, unsettling corridors.
Article
Backrooms (film)
Backrooms is a 2026 American science fiction psychological horror film directed and co-scored by Kane Parsons (in his feature directorial debut), and written by Will Soodik. It is based on Parsons's web series which was inspired by the "Backrooms" creepypasta. In the film, Clark (Chiwetel Ejiofor), a furniture store owner, and his therapist Mary (Renate Reinsve), discover a dimension of seemingly endless liminal spaces accessed through the store's basement. Mark Duplass, Finn Bennett, and Lukita Maxwell also star.
After uploading the web series in January 2022, Parsons was approached by several studios, including A24, about potentially adapting his series into a feature film. In February 2023, it was officially announced that work had begun on a film adaptation of the Backrooms based on Parsons's videos, with him also directing. Roberto Patino was initially set to write the screenplay, but was replaced by Will Soodik. Principal photography took place in Vancouver from July to August 2025.
Backrooms premiered at the Aero Theatre in Santa Monica on May 7, 2026, and was theatrically released in the United States by A24 on May 29. It received positive reviews from critics and has grossed $396.5 million worldwide, becoming A24's highest-grossing film to date and making Parsons the youngest filmmaker to reach number one at both the United States and Global box offices. Backrooms is the second-highest-grossing horror film of 2026, and the fifth-highest-grossing independent film of all time.
Plot
Backrooms (film)
On June 18, 1990, a researcher with the Async Research Institute, Naren Warne, is separated from his group and becomes lost in "the Backrooms", a labyrinthine extradimensional space containing a chaotic expanse of dull yellow rooms, fluorescent lights, long corridors, and malformed furniture. While attempting to call for rescue, Naren is chased and killed by an unseen entity. Async scientists watch the recovered footage of the incident.
Some time later, Clark, a failed architect who owns a struggling furniture store in San Jose, California, attempts to cope with his alcoholism and dissolved marriage. He sees therapist Mary Kline, who is working through her own trauma from the demolition of her childhood home and her agoraphobic mother's institutionalization. Clark recruits his assistant manager Kat and her boyfriend Bobby to film a television commercial featuring himself dressed as the store's pirate mascot, Cap'n Clark. Having taken up residence in the store, he notices the lights flickering mysteriously at night and his television functioning erratically. While checking the breaker box, Clark notices a glowing slit in a wall. Approaching it, he falls through and enters the Backrooms. Clark finds Naren's belongings and narrowly escapes back to the store when an unseen figure chases him. An Async scientist, Phil, watches these events on a surveillance camera.
After days of exploring, Clark tells Mary about the Backrooms but is met with skepticism. In need of proof, Clark brings Kat and Bobby into the Backrooms to film their discoveries. While exploring a steeply sloped corridor, Bobby is ambushed and fatally dragged away by the unseen entity; Clark and Kat frantically give chase through an unexplored area where they are separated. Carrying the camera, Clark eventually encounters two other humanoid entities that chase him to a dead end; Kat is apparently able to see him through a wall but not vice versa. Clark sets down the camera; an unseen entity picks it up as Kat screams for Clark to look behind him.
Some time later, Mary receives a cryptic answering machine message from Clark, who tells her that he is staying in the Backrooms and will not return. Phil watches television with his family and recognizes Clark in a commercial for the furniture store. Concerned about Clark, Mary visits the store and enters the Backrooms herself. An apparently psychotic Clark arrives; hearing an entity approaching, he tries to calm Mary before choking her unconscious.
Mary awakens tied to a chair in a space resembling a dining room, occupied by Clark and three largely static simulacra of humans. Clark demonstrates they are made of an edible white substance and reveals Kat's severed head in a refrigerator. Clark demands that Mary continue their therapy sessions, but she instead scolds Clark, telling him that his wife left him due to his inability to take responsibility for his failures. He begins to release Mary, but is interrupted by the arrival of a towering, distorted simulacrum of himself dressed as the pirate mascot. Clark tries to calm the pirate monster, which suddenly kills him and then chases Mary through various chaotic and surreal spaces until they reach a flawed replica of the furniture store. Cornered by the monster, she bashes it in the face using a chunk of concrete from her childhood home. Their struggle triggers an Async gas trap, alerting a group of researchers in hazmat suits; the monster is subdued, and Mary is taken to their research facility.
After recovering, Mary is taken to an interrogation room where she meets Phil. He explains that Async made magnetic resonance imaging machines until they discovered the Backrooms, which have since become their primary research focus. When asked how she came across the Backrooms and what she found there, she repeats Clark's description of it as a faulty, misremembered copy of reality. Mary asks if Async will let her go, but Phil states that the decision is not up to him. Inside the Backrooms, a series of spaces are distorted by Clark's and Mary's experiences and their consequences, ending in a loosely copied interrogation room in which her own deformed simulacrum sits still and silent.
Cast
Backrooms (film)
• Chiwetel Ejiofor as Clark, a furniture store owner and failed architect • Renate Reinsve as Dr. Mary Kline, Clark's therapist • Ember Ambrose as young Mary • Mark Duplass as Phil, an Async scientist and Backrooms researcher • Finn Bennett as Robert "Bobby" Franklin, Kat's boyfriend • Lukita Maxwell as Kathrine "Kat" Taylor, Clark's employee and Bobby's girlfriend • Avan Jogia as Naren Warne, an Async explorer of the Backrooms • Robert Bobroczkyi as Pirate Clark, a monstrous entity that resembles Clark in a pirate costume and inhabits the Backrooms • Krista Kosonen as Nora Kline, Mary's mother
Additionally, Patrick Baynham, Dana Mahmood, and Rhiannon Roberts appear as the simulacra "Still Life" entities credited as the Bearded Man, Archibald Leland Sutter, and Red-Headed Woman, respectively; while Philip Granger plays a meterman. Katharine Isabelle makes a cameo appearance during a scene at Mary's house party.
Production
Development
At the age of 20, Kane Parsons became the youngest director to have a film reach number one at the box office to date with Backrooms.
On January 7, 2022, Kane Parsons began uploading an anthological video series titled Backrooms onto his YouTube channel Kane Pixels, the concept being based on the internet creepypasta of the same name. When the series became viral, several studios began to show interest in adapting it into a film. In February 2023, a film adaptation was announced as a joint production between A24, Chernin Entertainment, Atomic Monster, and 21 Laps Entertainment, with Parsons directing, making it his feature-length directorial debut, and Roberto Patino writing. The film is produced by James Wan, Shawn Levy, and Osgood Perkins. Chernin Entertainment and A24 co-financed the film for under $10 million.
Parsons drew inspiration from the Portal video game franchise, the television series Mr. Robot (2015–2019), the films Punishment Park (1971) and One Hour Photo (2002), and the anime series Paranoia Agent (2004) for the film, as well as for his web series. Backrooms maintains a "strict continuity" with the director's YouTube web series.
Casting
In May 2025, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Cristin Milioti entered negotiations to star in the film. Ejiofor was confirmed the following month, with Will Soodik writing the latest draft. Milioti's deal ultimately fell through, and Renate Reinsve was cast in her place in June. Mark Duplass, Finn Bennett, Lukita Maxwell and Avan Jogia were added to the cast in July. Jogia was a fan of Parsons's original web series before he was cast. Despite his character's relatively small part, Jogia recalled he and Parsons spent extensive time discussing the lore of the film during production.
Design
The film took inspiration from the Backrooms creepypasta.
To create the liminal space environments of the Backrooms, Parsons used the 3D software Blender, with production designer Danny Vermette adapting his digital designs for physical construction. More than 30,000 square feet (2,800 m2) of Backrooms sets were built across four sound stages for the film, with Vermette comparing the fitting of the sets with Tetris; 37,000 square feet (3,400 m2) of wallpaper and 29,000 square feet (2,700 m2) of carpeting were used, much of it sourced locally in Canada to avoid the impact of tariffs. The production design also emphasized verticality within the sets to make actors' interactions with the environment more physically challenging. People reportedly got lost on set.
The film's spaces were designed to resemble an "architectural hell" resembling a flawed digital 3D modeling sandbox, where rendering errors—such as misaligned floors, intersecting arches, and objects clipping through walls—create an unsettling sense of unreality. The Backrooms have been described as a prism that refracts its visitors, while its entities appear less like demons than distorted "memories" of the real world, drawing comparisons to the anomalous zone in Annihilation (2018).
Filming
Principal photography took place in Vancouver, Canada, under the working title Effigy. An ACFC West production listing gave the shooting period as July 7 to August 14, 2025.
Music
Edo Van Breemen and Parsons composed the score for the film. The Boards of Canada track "The Word Becomes Flesh" from their album Inferno plays during the film's end credits. The tracks "Ulterior Motives", a well-known former lostwave song, "Eyes of a Stranger" by Payolas and "B1 – All that follows is true" by the Caretaker, also feature in the film.
Release
Theatrical
Backrooms premiered at the Aero Theatre in Santa Monica on May 7, 2026, and was released in the United States by A24 on May 29, 2026. It was released in South Korea and Italy on May 27. An extended version of the film, titled Backrooms: Everything Must Go Edition, was released on July 3, featuring an additional 15 minutes of footage.
Home media
Backrooms was released on digital platforms on July 14. It was originally scheduled to be released on July 7. The bonus footage was released on Parsons's YouTube channel on August 19.
Reception
Box office
As of August 28, 2026, Backrooms has grossed $197.5 million in the United States and Canada, and $196.6 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $394.1 million.
In early May 2026, initial projections had Backrooms grossing around $20 million in its opening weekend. By the week of its release, projections had increased to $40–50 million. The film grossed $38.4 million on its first day and went on to debut to $81.5 million domestically and a total of $118 million worldwide, becoming A24's biggest opening weekend. In its second weekend, despite a 70% decline to $26.3 million, Backrooms became A24's highest-grossing film to date, surpassing Marty Supreme (2025), after reaching $213 million worldwide. In its fourth weekend, the film made $7.3 million domestically and $8.5 million internationally, pushing its worldwide box office to $301 million.
Parsons became the youngest filmmaker at the time to reach number one at the box office with the film, topping Josh Trank's Chronicle (2012) with its previous record. Chronicle earned $22 million on its opening weekend, and its director Trank, 27 years old at the time of its release, surpassed Steven Spielberg's Jaws (1975), with Spielberg being 28 at the time, as the best opening weekend debut for a young filmmaker.
Critical response
Backrooms received generally positive reviews from critics. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 87% of 307 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.4/10. The website's consensus reads: "A startlingly assured feature debut from director Kane Parsons, Backrooms bends the liminal spaces that have haunted the internet for years into a horror film that's as mesmerizing as it is terrifying." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 76 out of 100, based on 47 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B−" on an A+ to F scale, while those surveyed by PostTrak gave it a 68% positive score, with 53% saying they would definitely recommend it.
Amy Nicholson for Los Angeles Times described the film as a feature expansion of Parsons's web series, praising its unsettling visual concept but thought it less a conventional horror film and more a surreal, dreamlike experience of a moving Salvador Dalí painting. She also highlighted the performances of the cast, including Chiwetel Ejiofor and Renate Reinsve. Dan Bayer of Next Best Picture praised Reinsve and Ejiofor for conveying emotion through subtle acting even when the script is sparse. He also said Parsons arrived "as a fully formed filmmaker", with exceptional control over imagery, pacing, and dread. Sonny Bunch of The Bulwark argued that while the movie can be overly explicit in its themes, its emotional honesty, visual creativity, and psychological depth make it "tremendously effective", "astute", and memorable.
Owen Gleiberman of Variety highlighted Parsons's skill at creating dread through mood, sound design, and eerie visuals rather than conventional jump scares. Gleiberman drew comparisons to Eraserhead (1977), The Shining (1980), and Skinamarink (2022), based on the film's dreamlike horror and use of empty spaces. Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian highlighted the film's oppressive atmosphere, striking production design, and unsettling yellow-lit visuals, comparing its themes and style to Japanese horror, Severance (2022–present), and The Rehearsal (2022–present). Angie Han from The Hollywood Reporter praised Backrooms as an unsettling and immersive expansion of the universe, highlighting Parsons's use of labyrinthine spaces, sterile fluorescent lighting, and a constant sense of disorientation to build tension.
Beatrice Loayza of The New York Times wrote that Will Soodik's script "cobbles together ideas about trauma and the mysterious workings of the unconscious, and sprinkles on some metaphors about gentrification as a repression of the past for good measure." Lex Briscuso of IGN wrote that the film was "a truly terrifying cinematic rabbit hole that takes its audience down a twisted and dread-filled path as cerebral in its horror as it is aesthetically pleasing in its design." Ryan Lattanzio of IndieWire says Parsons and production designer Danny Vermette "have a hell of a time conjuring spatial uncanniness with images we've never before seen on the big screen."
The Hollywood Reporter's Mia Galuppo and Aaron Couch described the box-office success of Parsons's Backrooms and Curry Barker's Obsession as evidence of the growing influence of YouTube-native filmmakers in the horror genre. They suggested that the films' strong appeal among Generation Z audiences could encourage studios to increasingly seek talent from digital platforms, favoring low-budget, creator-driven productions. Alex Werpin from The Hollywood Reporter reported that, following the success of Backrooms, Reddit is emerging as a destination for agents, executives and studios seeking new intellectual property, talent and story ideas from online communities. Studios believe that engaging with these communities can help build awareness, generate curiosity and create stronger connections with fans. Joseph Bernstein of The New York Times connected the film to Generation Z's "deep unease with life lived online", drawing parallels between the labyrinthine Backrooms and the COVID-19 lockdowns, recommendation algorithms, and generative AI.
Accolades
<table><thead><tr><th>Award</th><th>Date of ceremony</th><th>Category</th><th>Recipient(s)</th><th>Result</th><th>Ref.</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><th rowspan="5">Astra Midseason Movie Awards</th><td rowspan="5">June 30, 2026</td><td>Best Picture</td><td>Backrooms</td><td>Nominated</td><td rowspan="5"></td></tr><tr><td>Best Director</td><td>Kane Parsons</td><td>Nominated</td></tr><tr><td>Best Actor</td><td>Chiwetel Ejiofor</td><td>Nominated</td></tr><tr><td>Best Supporting Actress</td><td>Renate Reinsve</td><td>Nominated</td></tr><tr><td>Best Horror</td><td>Backrooms</td><td>Runner-up</td></tr><tr><th rowspan="3">Critics' Choice Super Awards</th><td rowspan="3">August 6, 2026</td><td>Best Horror Movie</td><td>Backrooms</td><td>Nominated</td><td rowspan="3"></td></tr><tr><td>Best Actor in a Horror Movie</td><td>Chiwetel Ejiofor</td><td>Nominated</td></tr><tr><td>Best Actress in a Horror Movie</td><td>Renate Reinsve</td><td>Nominated</td></tr><tr><th rowspan="6">Fangoria Chainsaw Awards</th><td rowspan="6">October 25, 2026</td><td>Best Wide Release</td><td rowspan="2">Backrooms</td><td>Pending</td><td rowspan="6"></td></tr><tr><td>Best First Feature</td><td>Pending</td></tr><tr><td>Best Lead Performance</td><td>Chiwetel Ejiofor</td><td>Pending</td></tr><tr><td>Best Cinematography</td><td>Jeremy Cox</td><td>Pending</td></tr><tr><td>Best Score</td><td>Kane Parsons and Edo Van Breemen</td><td>Pending</td></tr><tr><td>Best Creature FX</td><td>Amazing Ape Productions and Werner Pretorius</td><td>Pending</td></tr></tbody></table>
Future
Backrooms (film)
In May 2026, Parsons confirmed that he was not finished with Backrooms and that there were already things "in the works right now". He also mentioned that the YouTube web series would continue. In early June, Deadline Hollywood reported that Parsons was already searching for a screenwriting collaborator to work with on the sequel. Parsons denied shortly after that a screenwriter was already being sought, saying he was "not sure where that got out". He also expressed interest in developing a Backrooms television series.