A24 to Release Film Adaptation of Internet Horror Series Backrooms

A24 acquired the film rights to an internet horror series known as Backrooms from its creator, a 20-year-old YouTuber and visual-effects artist who previously produced a series of short videos on the subject. The studio, which has released films including Moonlight and Everything Everywhere All At Once, signed the director to make his feature debut.

The project marks the first time the studio has hired a director of that age. The film centers on a therapist portrayed by Renate Reinsve who enters a dimension called the Backrooms to locate a missing patient played by Chiwetel Ejiofor. A teaser trailer shows Ejiofor describing the space as a vast collection of repeating rooms.

The Backrooms began with a single image posted anonymously on the 4chan message board in 2019. The accompanying text described an endless maze of yellow-walled rooms filled with the sound of fluorescent lights and the smell of damp carpet. Additional images and stories followed, and the YouTuber expanded the premise into a series of short videos that accumulated hundreds of millions of views.

The term liminal space refers to transitional areas such as empty hallways or deserted malls that can appear both familiar and unsettling. The concept appears in architecture, psychology, and anthropology. Photographs of such spaces have contributed to an online sub-genre of horror that emphasizes atmosphere over sudden scares.

Audiences in France, Spain, and Germany will see the film the following month.