• The production company behind Midsommar, The Lighthouse and Hereditary are making a film based on internet creepypasta The Backrooms.
• Originating on 4chan, The Backrooms shot to mainstream popularity after a 17-year-old filmmaker created a series of horror short films based on the media.
• A24 is apparently getting the same high schooler to direct the feature film during his summer vacation.

A creepypasta that originated on 4chan’s /x/ board is getting a feature film. No, not Slenderman. We already had that and it wasn’t too great.

Instead, indie film studio A24, creators of pant-ruining films Hereditary and Midsommar are set to produce a movie based on creepypasta and internet horror media sensation The Backrooms.

In a twist, the A24 film will be directed by the 17-year-old amateur filmmaker that made the YouTube short film that propelled the creepypasta into the mainstream – Kane Parsons.

IndieWire reports that the high schooler will be directing the film during his summer vacation, with Roberto Patino, creator of DMZ, set to write the screenplay. Patino will also be executive producing.

Under the pseudonym Kane Pixels, Parsons began his series of found footage, Blair Witch-esque short films based on The Backrooms in 2022. Since then they have garnered around 100 million views with the original video currently sitting at 44 million.

In terms of what precisely The Backrooms are. The horror comes from the fact that no one really knows.

4chan’s /x/ or Paranormal board is known for its propagation of esoteric and weird media, and is birthplace of most creepypasta that have taken the internet by storm. The Backrooms emerged randomly from an anonymous poster, using AI-generated image of an interior space bathed in yellow light.

Apparently, you reach the endless backrooms when you “noclip” – a video game term for leaving the boundaries set by the game developers – out of reality.

The Backrooms are supposedly endless and empty. Or are they?

In any case, the internet leapt with fascination at the idea of this liminal space where terrible things chase down curious, unwitting young people, and with the videos amassing millions of viewers it is no wonder why Hollywood continues to plumb the depth of the net for popular content to turn into franchises.

The original short film has surprisingly good production value for media made by high schoolers, so we are excited about what Parsons can cook up with a feature film budget and a serious horror production company at his back.

Here’s the original short film from Kane Pixels: