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YouTube Horror Series The Backrooms Is Getting Turned Into a Feature Film

Get your hazmat suits ready; the Backrooms are coming to the big screen.


A24 is teaming up with Kane Parsons to create a feature film adaptation of his viral YouTube horror universe, with Atomic Monster, Chernin Entertainment and 21 Laps Entertainment also producing. The film will be directed by Parsons, who is 17 years old, and written by Roberto Patino.

Parsons' original short followed a young filmmaker in the 1990's that finds himself transported to another dimension. Here, in the harshly yellow and labyrinthine walls of this new dimension, otherworldly creatures threaten the safety of all who enter. The short drew heavy inspiration from a creepypasta published to 4chan in 2019. It's found-footage style, eerie mood, creepy imagery and unsettling scares spawned a viral hit, pulling in over 44 million views.


Parsons' universe has grown substantially since his first video. Thus far, he has helmed 16 shorts in the Backrooms series on YouTube. Other channels, too, have tapped into Parsons' world to create their own stories set in the terrifying other dimension. There are also a few video games set in the Backrooms, including 2022's Escape the Backrooms, a co-op horror exploration game.


While plot details for the science fiction horror film are being kept under wraps for now, the project has loads of nightmarish potential.


Horror icon James Wan and Michael Clear are producing the feature for Atomic Monster, with Judson Scott and Chis White executive producing and Alayna Glasthal overseeing the project. Shawn Levy, Dan Cohen and Dan Levine are also producing the flick for 21 Laps Entertainment. Chernin Entertainment will co-finance the film alongside A24.

The film will begin production soon; Parsons will direct it over his Summer vacation. Screenwriter Patino has previously been a writer and producer on several projects, including Sons of Anarchy and the first two seasons of Westworld. He is also the creator and showrunner of HBO Max's limited series DMZ.

Deadline was the first to break the news.


Carson Burton is a freelance news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter at @carsonsburton.

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