Backrooms: From YouTube Project to A24 Film — How Kane Parsons Built a 30K-Square-Foot Horror Set for “Lonely”

The 20-year-old filmmaker Kane Parsons is set to make history as A24’s youngest feature director with the theatrical release of his horror film “Backrooms” on May 29, 2026. The movie adapts the YouTube series he began uploading as a teenager in early 2022, transforming an urban legend-inspired concept into a psychological horror experience starring Chiwetel Ejiofor, Renate Reinsve, Mark Duplass, Finn Bennett and Lukita Maxwell.

Parsons spoke about the project at CCXP Mexico on Saturday, where he described the film as a “lonely” exploration of isolation, emphasizing that scenes rarely feature more than one or two characters on screen at a time. He explained that the movie uses the existing YouTube series and its lore as a foundation to delve into the inner lives of individuals living “atomized, lonely lives.”

The film centers on Renate Reinsve’s character, a therapist who ventures into a bizarre dimension to track down a missing patient. This narrative shift from the original web series — which focused on an infinite maze of rooms with humming fluorescent lights and yellow wallpaper — allows the story to examine psychological depth while retaining the unsettling atmosphere of the source material.

To maintain continuity with his YouTube origins, Parsons continued to use Blender, the free, open-source 3D graphics software he taught himself as a teen, to construct the film’s visual world. He collaborated with cinematographer Jeremy Cox to ensure the digital environments matched the aesthetic and tone of the original series, which had garnered attention for its lo-fi, immersive quality.

The production features notable industry figures behind the scenes: James Wan, Shawn Levy, and Osgood Perkins serve as producers, while the script was written by Will Soodik. Their involvement marks a significant step in bringing a creator-driven internet phenomenon to a wide theatrical release under the A24 banner.

Parsons’ achievement highlights a growing trend of digital-native filmmakers transitioning from online platforms to studio-backed features. At 20 years old, he becomes the youngest director to helm a feature film for A24, a distinction that underscores the evolving pathways into filmmaking through self-taught technical skills and audience-building on platforms like YouTube.

As the release date approaches, “Backrooms” stands as a testament to how grassroots online projects can evolve into culturally resonant cinematic works when nurtured with creative vision and technical dedication. The film’s success could influence how studios identify and develop talent from non-traditional backgrounds in the years ahead.