Released in 2026, Backrooms is a science fiction horror film directed by Kane Parsons and written by Will Soodik. Inspired by the internet phenomenon and Parsons’ earlier web series, the film expands the familiar maze of yellow rooms and fluorescent lights into a feature-length story about grief, fear, and the dangerous places hidden behind ordinary reality.
The story follows a therapist whose patient disappears after entering a strange doorway connected to an unexplained dimension. Determined to find him, she ventures into the Backrooms, an immense and unstable environment where familiar spaces repeat, architecture behaves in impossible ways, and finding an exit may be far more difficult than entering.
The film stars Renate Reinsve and Chiwetel Ejiofor, alongside Mark Duplass, Finn Bennett, Lukita Maxwell, and Avan Jogia. Parsons brings the visual language of his original videos to the screen, using empty corridors, institutional interiors, false suburban spaces, and vast constructed environments to create a constant feeling of unease. The production reportedly included approximately 30,000 square feet of physical sets, helping give the Backrooms a tangible presence rather than treating them solely as a digital effect.
Much of the horror comes from architecture itself. Rooms appear familiar enough to feel safe, but their proportions, repetition, and lack of purpose gradually make them feel hostile. The Backrooms offer very little certainty about where the characters are, what may be watching them, or whether the environments around them are real. That ambiguity allows the film to build tension through isolation and disorientation rather than relying entirely on visible monsters.
The film also represents an unusual path from collaborative internet folklore to major theatrical release. The original Backrooms concept began as an unsettling image and short piece of online fiction before inspiring games, artwork, videos, and competing interpretations. Parsons’ own found-footage series became one of its most prominent adaptations and eventually formed the basis for this A24 production.
Why It’s on Love of Gothic
Gothic stories have always loved buildings that refuse to behave themselves. Backrooms replaces the ancestral mansion with empty offices, furniture showrooms, and endless corridors, but the unease is remarkably similar. The architecture conceals secrets, traps anyone foolish enough to explore it, and seems to possess intentions of its own.
It also proves that dreadful wallpaper and fluorescent lighting can be every bit as menacing as a moonlit castle. Anyone who has felt uneasy in an empty mall, deserted office, or hallway that seemed slightly too long will understand why the Backrooms have become such an effective modern nightmare.