Backrooms Delivers A24's Biggest Opening as 20-Year-Old Kane Parsons Wins Horror Praise
Updated
Updated · Daily Northwestern · Jun 3
Backrooms Delivers A24's Biggest Opening as 20-Year-Old Kane Parsons Wins Horror Praise
3 articles · Updated · Daily Northwestern · Jun 3
Summary
A24’s latest horror hit set the studio’s biggest box office opening, turning Kane Parsons’ feature debut from internet curiosity into a breakout theatrical success.
Parsons, 20, expanded his 2019 Reddit post and YouTube series into a film the review says sustains terror through empty liminal spaces, disorienting camerawork and sparse explanation.
Chiwetel Ejiofor plays Clark, a furniture store owner drawn into endless backrooms, while Renate Reinsve’s therapist Mary becomes the film’s emotional anchor and eventual survivor.
The story closes by rescuing Mary without explaining the phenomenon, reinforcing the film’s core horror idea that the backrooms do not just trap people but preserve and recreate them.
That mix of strong box office and critical praise positions Backrooms as a major original horror win for A24 and raises the prospect of a sequel.