Backrooms (web series) explained

Genre:Found footage
Analog horror
Science fiction
Creator:Kane Parsons
Inspired By:The Backrooms
Director:Kane Parsons
Country:United States
Language:English
Num Episodes:19
Animator:Kane Parsons
Network:YouTube
Last Aired:present

Backrooms is a semi-anthological web series created by American YouTuber Kane Parsons. It is loosely based on the Backrooms. The series debuted in 2022 with the short film "The Backrooms (Found Footage)" which has over 61 million views as of August 2024. Parsons would expand his series to include eighteen more short films. The series is slated for a film adaptation with Parsons set to direct, alongside A24 producing, and as such has been on hiatus since January 2023.

The series revolves around Async, a fictional research institute that discovers the Backrooms (in-universe referred to as “the Complex”) and attempts to document and research it.

Development and themes

After making several Attack on Titan themed videos, Parsons was looking for "new things to do". He was in between projects and was inspired to create a found-footage style animation of the Backrooms after rediscovering a render he had saved some time prior. Parsons was vaguely aware of the Backrooms in terms of the original image and caption he saw on Instagram two years prior.[1] However, he was not aware of the community behind it. In an interview, he stated: "I came across the original image on my computer … and I just thought, huh, it would be interesting to see if I could go to my 3D software, Blender, and try to recreate a scene in this environment,".[2] He would use Blender to create a test animation of a chair in the Backrooms being thrown and hitting a wall. The shot would later be used in the first video of the series.[1] Parsons would use Blender alongside Adobe After Effects to create the first video. It would take Parsons a month to complete the short.[3]

He would expand the concept into a series shortly after posting the first video. There, he would establish plot points such as Async, a fictional research facility that discovers the Backrooms in the late 1980s and actively researches in it. Various character animations included in these later installments would require the utilization of motion capture suits.[4]

Michael Dobuski of ABC News would describe the themes of the series as "It's a slow burn story focusing on both the politics of Async and the United States government, as well as the otherworldly, confusing functions of the Complex, or The Backrooms."[2]

Reception

Reception for the series has been mostly positive. The first video of the series received positive reviews from critics. WPST called it "the scariest video on the Internet".[5] Otaku USA categorized it as analog horror,[6] while Dread Central and Nerdist compared it favorably to the 2019 video game Control.[7] [8] Kotaku praised the series for exercising restraint in its horror and mystery.[9] Boing Boings Rob Beschizza predicted that the Backrooms, like the creepypasta Slender Man and its panned 2018 film adaptation, would eventually be adapted into a "slick but dismal 2-hour Hollywood movie."[10]

Parsons said he had "no idea" there had been an existing fan community behind the original Backrooms legend, and recalled being surprised to see comments on his first video from people saying "You're doing the Backrooms wrong. What is this?" or "There's supposed to be smilers on level one." He said that this continued until eventually "people almost forgot about the old one" and his version had "sort of been adopted" by fans. For his work on the series, Parsons would receive a Creator Honor award from The Game Theorists during the 12th Streamy Awards.[11] [12] The series' installments have garnered a collective total of over 100 million views.[13]

Film adaptation

After publishing The Backrooms (Found Footage), Parsons was approached by several studios for a feature-length adaptation. He initially pitched the idea as a comic serialization as opposed to a feature length film. In February 2023, A24, who successfully bid on the film, announced that work had begun on a film adaptation of the Backrooms based on Parsons' videos, with Parsons directing. Roberto Patino is set to write the screenplay,[14] while James Wan, Michael Clear from Atomic Monster, Shawn Levy, Dan Cohen, and Dan Levine from 21 Laps Entertainment, Peter Chernin from Chernin Entertainment are set to produce.[15] [16]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Padilla . Anthony . I spent a day with BACKROOMS CREATOR KANE PIXELS . 2023. Youtube. 1.
  2. Web site: Dobuski . Michael . The Backrooms: Horror storytelling goes online . ABC News.com . 17 June 2023 . 2 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221108110834/https://abcnews.go.com/US/backrooms-horror-storytelling-online/story?id=92623707 . November 8, 2022 . November 6, 2022.
  3. Web site: Lloyd . Andrew . March 29, 2022 . The Backrooms: How a Creepy Office Photo Became an Internet Bogeyman . November 30, 2022 . . November 30, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221130030756/https://www.vice.com/en/article/5dga98/is-the-backrooms-real . live .
  4. Rogers . Reece . May 11, 2022 . How to 'No-Clip' Reality and Arrive in the Backrooms . limited . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20220710155216/https://www.wired.com/story/what-are-the-backrooms/ . July 10, 2022 . November 30, 2022 . Wired.
  5. Web site: Russell . Erica . 17 January 2022 . 'The Backrooms' Viral Horror Short Explained . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20220131223735/https://wpst.com/is-this-viral-found-footage-horror-short-the-scariest-video-on-the-internet/ . 31 January 2022 . WPST.
  6. News: Dennison . Kara . 7 February 2022 . See Attack on Titan Through the Eyes of Backrooms Director Kane Pixels . . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20220207193634/https://otakuusamagazine.com/attack-on-titan-backrooms/ . 7 February 2022.
  7. Web site: McAndrews . Mary Beth . 14 January 2022 . 'The Backrooms' Is A Found Footage Nightmare Freaking Out The Internet . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20220131223734/https://www.dreadcentral.com/news/421920/the-backrooms-is-a-found-footage-nightmare-freaking-out-the-internet/ . 31 January 2022 . Dread Central.
  8. Web site: Anderson . Kyle . March 22, 2022 . TERRIFYING BACKROOMS SHORT FILM IS ALSO SUPER IMPRESSIVE . February 11, 2023 . . December 31, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221231070822/https://nerdist.com/article/backrooms-horror-found-footage-short-film-kane-pixels/ . live .
  9. Web site: Walker . John . April 4, 2023 . The 4Chan Creepypasta That's Taking Over The World (And You May Not Even Realize It) . April 10, 2023 . Kotaku.
  10. Web site: Beschizza . Rob . Rob Beschizza . 1 February 2022 . Explore The Backrooms in this short found-footage horror flick . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20220201134907/https://boingboing.net/2022/02/01/explore-the-backrooms-in-this-short-found-footage-horror-flick.html . 1 February 2022 . Boing Boing.
  11. Web site: Tinoco . Armando . December 4, 2022 . YouTube Streamy Awards 2022 Winners List: Charli D'Amelio, MissDarcei, MrBeast & Cooking With Lynja Among Victors . January 12, 2023 . Deadline Hollywood . December 6, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221206005333/https://deadline.com/2022/12/youtube-streamy-awards-2022-winners-list-charli-damelio-missdarcei-mrbeast-cooking-with-lynja-1235189133/ . live .
  12. Web site: Teenage creator Kane Parsons will direct a Backrooms horror movie . 9 February 2023 .
  13. Web site: Goslin . Austen . February 8, 2023 . Viral horror video The Backrooms will be a movie from A24 and its 17-year-old director . February 11, 2023 . . February 11, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230211073801/https://www.polygon.com/23591121/backrooms-youtube-video-a24-movie-kane-parsons . live .
  14. Web site: Fuster . Jeremy . February 6, 2023 . YouTube Horror Hit 'The Backrooms' to Be Made Into A24 Feature Film by Its Teenage Creator . March 13, 2023 . TheWrap.
  15. Web site: Grobar . Matt . February 6, 2023 . 'The Backrooms' Horror Film Based On Viral Shorts By 17-Year-Old Kane Parsons In Works At A24, Atomic Monster, Chernin & 21 Laps . February 6, 2023 . . en-US . February 6, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230206160550/https://deadline.com/2023/02/the-backrooms-a24-developing-feature-based-on-viral-horror-shorts-1235249413/ . live .
  16. Web site: Burton . Carson . February 7, 2023 . YouTube Horror Series The Backrooms Is Getting Turned Into a Feature Film . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20230211002051/https://www.ign.com/articles/youtube-horror-series-the-backrooms-is-getting-turned-into-a-feature-film . February 11, 2023 . February 11, 2023 . . en.