A24’s next horror flick will be directed by a 17-year-old over the summer holidays
A couple of years ago, it was almost impossible to open TikTok without coming across a number of POV videos displaying a seemingly normal everyday space, usually teaming with life, now eerily empty and paired with unsettling music.
This was the chilling trend of liminal spaces, partly inspired by ‘The Backrooms,’ an unnerving creepypasta (horror-related stories shared around the internet) image posted anonymously to a paranormal 4Chan board in 2019. The Backrooms featured an empty and endless maze of office spaces barely lit by a haunting yellow hue. Now, that space will be the setting of an upcoming A24 horror movie that will turn Kane Parsons’ nine-minute YouTube video from 2022 – inspired by the original image – into a feature film.
Under the alias Kane Pixels, the 17-year-old’s video turned the lore surrounding The Backrooms into a found footage short horror movie of the same name. In the film, set in 1996, a young filmmaker accidentally falls into the world via no clipping (a cheat in gaming that allows players to pass through usually impenetrable objects) and finds himself lost in the creepy office space within a parallel reality.
Running around this endless maze searching for a way out, he is chased by screeching entities and finds his way onto other levels. The short was incredibly popular upon its release, being described as “the scariest video on the internet,” and Kane was praised for his filmmaking skills at such a young age despite his lack of budget. The video now has 44 million views on YouTube and has inspired 15 sequels, all created by Kane.
Kane will work with A24 to take over directing duties over the summer holidays (not a bad way to spend it). The plot and cast are still set to be determined, although it’s been revealed that the script will be written by Roberto Patino – the Emmy-award-winning writer behind Westworld. James Wan, co-creator of The Conjuring, Saw and Insidious franchises, will be producing under his Atomic Monster production company alongside Michael Clear.
