The latest trailer for A24’s upcoming horror film Backrooms has unveiled its chilling narrative, directly inspired by the internet’s most infamous creepypasta. The film, which adapts Kane Parsons’ original YouTube series, promises to deliver a visceral experience rooted in the real-world mystery that has captivated millions online. As the trailer reveals a mysterious door in the basement of a furniture showroom, it hints at a labyrinthine horror that defies conventional storytelling.
Directed by Kane Parsons himself, the film follows two individuals who discover an impossibly vast, ever-expanding network of rooms and corridors, echoing the core concept of the viral Backrooms creepypasta. The trailer’s ominous voiceover, ‘I found something... I found a place. It’s...’, immediately sets the tone for a film that blurs the line between reality and the uncanny. This isn’t just a movie—it’s a translation of an online phenomenon into a tangible, cinematic experience.
The cast includes A-listers like Chiwetel Ejiofor, Renate Reinsve, Mark Duplass, Finn Bennett, Lukita Maxwell, and Avan Jogia. Their involvement signals A24’s commitment to bringing the Backrooms concept to life with a level of intensity and authenticity that matches the original’s eerie undertones. The film’s premise, which revolves around a mysterious door in a mundane setting like a furniture showroom, creates a stark contrast between the ordinary and the inexplicable, a juxtaposition that amplifies the horror’s psychological impact.
The Backrooms phenomenon began as a simple YouTube video by Kane Parsons in 2017, which described the infinite, unsettling rooms of the Backrooms. Over time, it evolved into a global internet culture, with countless variations and interpretations. A24’s adaptation aims to explore this concept through a lens of physical and psychological tension, rather than relying on jump scares or gore. Instead, the film focuses on the existential dread of being trapped in an endless, unknown space with no clear origin or exit.
Screen Rant highlights the film as A24’s most hyped new horror movie, noting that it’s based on a creepypasta that inspired Apple TV’s sci-fi masterpiece Severance. This connection is crucial, as Severance itself is a series that explores the psychological fragmentation of individuals within a corporate environment, a theme that resonates deeply with the Backrooms concept of isolation and disorientation.
The trailer’s emphasis on a ‘mysterious door in the basement of a furniture showroom’ reflects the original’s core tension: the sudden, inexplicable shift from the known to the unknown. Unlike typical horror films that rely on explicit threats, Backrooms thrives on the ambiguity of what happens beyond the door, creating a sense of inevitability and dread that lingers long after the film ends.
Industry analysts suggest that A24’s decision to adapt this internet-born phenomenon is a strategic move to bridge the gap between online culture and mainstream cinema. The film’s success could redefine how horror films engage with digital-native storytelling, moving beyond the traditional narrative structures that dominate the genre.
The Backrooms concept, now a part of internet folklore, has evolved into a cultural touchstone for discussions about digital anxiety, the limits of reality, and the
