Backrooms is here, and we went on opening night. Kane Parsons, the 20-year-old who built the Backrooms universe on YouTube as Kane Pixels and became A24's youngest feature director in the process, delivers something that genuinely holds up. This is slow-burning psychological horror with real atmosphere, a committed lead performance from Chiwetel Ejiofor, and a level of visual dread that stays with you well after you leave the theater. In this episode, Arthur and Meaghan break down the film in full, including the creepypasta and Kane Pixels YouTube lore that started it all, what it means for the story (and why catching up on the shorts adds a whole other layer), and why the 30,000-square-foot practical set makes such a difference. We get into the cast — Chiwetel Ejiofor and Renate Reinsve carry this thing on their backs — plus some fun horror Easter eggs scattered through the supporting cast, including a Ginger Snaps scream queen sighting and a Tucker & Dale vs. Evil deep cut. We also talk about the "ghost directing" controversy, why Kane Parsons absolutely directed this film, and why the YouTube-to-Hollywood pipeline is producing some of the most interesting horror of the decade. Backrooms scored an 8.5 from both of us — and that number might go up on a rewatch. The Origin: Creepypasta, 4chan, and Kane Pixels The Backrooms began as a single liminal space image posted to 4chan, which spawned creepypasta lore and a wave of community-built content. Kane Parsons — now known as Kane Pixels — launched his YouTube series The Backrooms (Found Footage) in January 2022 at age 16, built entirely in Blender and Adobe After Effects. The YouTube series has amassed over 190 million views across roughly 15–20 episodes and developed a massive cult following, with dedicated lore breakdown videos clocking in at 90+ minutes. The core lore: a company called Async accidentally created a pocket universe through particle acceleration experiments; that universe began collapsing into our own, trapping people inside — timeline distortions, entities, and all. The Film: Psychological Horror & Liminal Dread Directed by Kane Parsons (his feature directorial debut), written by Will Soodik, and produced by A24 with executive producers James Wan, Shawn Levy, and Osgood Perkins. Set in 1990 California; Clark (Chiwetel Ejiofor), a furniture store owner and failed architect, discovers an entry point into the Backrooms in his store's basement through unexplained electrical failures. The film leans into slow burn psychological horror over conventional scares — eerie atmosphere sustained throughout, with brief moments of levity that land because of how well they're placed. A 30,000-square-foot practical set was built for production; crew members reportedly got lost in it during filming, which tells you everything about the level of commitment to the physical environment. The period setting is fully realized — costume design, furniture, the aesthetic of late-eighties elements bleeding into 1990, Clark's pirate-themed furniture commercials — all of it feels deliberate. The Cast: Who's in It and Why It Works Chiwetel Ejiofor as Clark delivers one of the year's best horror performances — a fully formed, deeply flawed human being whose descent across two very different timelines is completely believable. Renate Reinsve as Dr. Mary Kline (fresh off her Oscar-nominated turn in The Worst Person in the World and her role in Sentimental Value) brings emotional grounding to the film's second half. Mark Duplass, Finn Bennett (Targaryen fans will clock him immediately), Lukita Maxwell, and Avan Jogia round out the supporting cast. Duplass went on record defending Parsons' directing publicly when the ghost-directing rumors started. Horror Easter eggs buried in the supporting cast: Katharine Isabelle (Ginger Snaps, Freddy vs. Jason) appears briefly as a character named Robin; Philip Granger (the sheriff in Tucker & Dale vs. Evil) plays an electrician; Sawyer Fraser, recently seen as Jude in Netflix's Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen, appears in a scene at Phil's house. Originally, Cristin Milioti was in negotiations for the role of Mary before Renate Reinsve was cast. What We Actually Thought (Mild Spoilers) Both Arthur and Meaghan landed at 8.5/10 — with both acknowledging the score might move higher on a rewatch once you can catch the Easter eggs and lore callbacks you missed the first time. The atmosphere is relentlessly maintained; the practical sets mean the actors are physically inside the space, and it shows. You can basically smell the carpet. Kane Parsons co-scored the film alongside Edo van Breemen. The sound design does more heavy lifting than any traditional score, pulling from what Arthur mentions is a genre called "647" — liminal ambient music that already existed within the Backrooms community. The scares are quiet and effective, particularly a bulldozer sequence in a childhood flashback and a moment when Mary first finds Clark inside the Backrooms. Minor note: the music during Clark's very first exploration inside is a touch too forward — but it corrects itself quickly and the sound design takes over from there. The Ghost-Directing Controversy & What It Means Because Parsons is 20 and the executive producer list includes names like James Wan, Shawn Levy, and Osgood Perkins, a portion of the internet decided he must have been ghost-directed. He was not. Cast members including Mark Duplass publicly confirmed Parsons directed the film — because they were there. Megan draws a parallel to similar discourse around Coralie Fargeat and other young directors. The YouTube origin story is relevant here: Parsons had already built this universe, established its aesthetic, and demonstrated a real vision before any studio got involved. That's not a gap that required ghost direction to fill. This is A24's biggest opening weekend ever in projection — up to $55–65 million domestically — on a $10 million budget. Whatever people assumed about a 20-year-old getting handed a feature, the results speak for themselves. What Comes Next: The YouTuber-to-Horror Pipeline Backrooms arrives at a remarkable moment: Curry Barker's Obsession (another YouTube-born horror director) is currently posting massive holds in its third weekend; Iron Lung from Markiplier crossed $50M on a $3M budget earlier this year. Arthur and Megan speculate about a Backrooms sequel or expanded universe — there's enough lore to sustain multiple films — and whether Parsons might branch into entirely different projects now that the door is open. Curry Barker has a Texas Chainsaw Massacre reimagining already in production. The class of 2026 horror is genuinely exciting. Next week: the Ry Barrett interview, discussing In a Violent Nature 2 and the horror scene in and around Canada. Follow us & Subscribe: SpotifyApple PodcastTikTokInstagramThreadsGrave Tone Horror Podcast Website Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
