Few stories in 2026 capture the changing landscape of Hollywood quite like Backrooms. What began as a viral internet horror concept created by a teenager on YouTube has become a certified box office phenomenon and one of the most talked-about horror releases of the year, breaking box office records for its studio and earning some of the strongest reviews of any genre film released in 2026.
The Story
Backrooms follows Clark, played by Chiwetel Ejiofor, the owner of a discount furniture store who has taken to living inside his own shop following an ugly separation from his wife. While in the basement of the store, Clark stumbles upon a strange interdimensional doorway that leads to a seemingly infinite maze of empty, unsettling spaces — some containing eerie piles of discarded objects — known in internet lore as “The Backrooms.” When Clark fails to return from one of his trips into this liminal nightmare, his therapist, Mary, played by Renate Reinsve, ventures into the endless space to find him, uncovering a chillingly surreal atmosphere populated by evil, unseen entities.
The film draws directly from the “liminal space” internet horror aesthetic that has captivated online audiences for years — anonymous corridors, flickering fluorescent lights, and the creeping dread of endless, human-less repetition. It’s a concept that resonated deeply with millions of internet users well before it ever reached movie theaters, and A24 recognized the storytelling potential early, greenlighting a theatrical adaptation of the phenomenon.
The Director: A 20-Year-Old Making History
Perhaps the most remarkable story behind Backrooms is its director, Kane Parsons, who created the original “Backrooms: Found Footage” web series at just sixteen years old, building a massive viral following on YouTube around the concept of exploring unsettling, infinite hallway environments stripped of any human presence. By the time production wrapped on the theatrical adaptation, Parsons was nineteen years old, officially becoming A24’s youngest director in company history — and by the time the film hit theaters, he had turned twenty.
This kind of internet-creator-to-studio-filmmaker pipeline has become an increasingly notable trend in Hollywood, and Parsons’ success with Backrooms stands as one of the most striking examples yet of a young online creator translating a purely digital phenomenon into a genuinely acclaimed piece of theatrical cinema.
Ratings Breakdown: Certified Fresh and Critically Praised
Backrooms has earned a strong critical reception since its release, landing solidly in Certified Fresh territory on Rotten Tomatoes.
Critic Score: The film’s Rotten Tomatoes score settled at 87% based on nearly 100 reviews, having climbed steadily from an initial 78% based on early reviews to a stronger, more stable score as additional critics weighed in. This places Backrooms comfortably among the better-reviewed horror releases of 2026, even if it falls short of matching the historic scores achieved by that year’s biggest critical horror darling, Obsession, which posted critic and audience scores in the mid-90s.
Audience Score: Audience reaction has been slightly more divided than the critical response. While many viewers have praised the film’s nightmarish atmosphere and immersive dread, others have expressed mixed feelings about the story’s more ambiguous, open-ended elements, particularly around its stranger, more surreal final act. Despite that split, the film has still performed strongly with general audiences, many of whom praised its ability to translate a purely visual internet horror aesthetic into a genuinely unsettling theatrical experience.
What Critics Are Saying
Reviews for Backrooms have frequently praised the film’s atmosphere and technical craft above all else. One widely cited review called the film’s opening seven minutes “among the most effective horror filmmaking of the year,” while another critic singled out a specific second-act sequence as likely to stand as “one of the most bone-chilling things you’ll see in a theater in all of 2026.” Reviewers have consistently praised Parsons’ command of mood and sound design, with one comparing his sensibility to the work of a young David Lynch, particularly citing his fascination with industrial, cosmic sound design and the eerie mysteries of electricity itself.
The film’s final act, in particular, has generated significant critical discussion, with several reviewers describing it as heavily indebted to Twin Peaks and Lynch’s broader body of work — a comparison that has been used both as high praise and, in some cases, as a gentle critique of the film reaching a bit beyond its own narrative clarity in its final stretch. One reviewer summed up this tension by noting that “when Backrooms works, it’s an arresting triumph and one of the strongest debut features in years,” implying that the film doesn’t always fully stick its landing, even as its highs are considerable.
What Audiences Are Saying
Audience reviews have echoed some of this same tension between admiration and confusion. Many viewers have praised the film’s nightmarish, immersive atmosphere, describing the experience of watching it as genuinely disorienting in the best possible way. However, audience discussion has also frequently touched on the film’s more ambiguous narrative choices, with some viewers actively debating what the story’s stranger elements are ultimately meant to represent.
Rather than being viewed purely as a weakness, this ambiguity appears to have fueled ongoing online discussion and debate, extending the film’s cultural conversation well past its opening weekend, in a manner similar to how cult properties like Twin Peaks generated years of fan theorizing and analysis.
Box Office: A Historic Debut for A24
Whatever the exact critical consensus, there’s no disputing Backrooms’ box office impact. The film opened to a staggering $81.4 million domestically, instantly becoming the best opening weekend in A24’s history — more than tripling the studio’s previous record holder, Civil War, which had opened to $25.5 million. In a single weekend, Backrooms became the second-highest domestic grosser in A24’s entire company history, trailing only slightly behind the studio’s previous box office leader.
This performance also made Backrooms the biggest original horror debut in box office history, a genuinely historic achievement for a film based on a YouTube web series and helmed by a director in his very early twenties. The film’s opening even outperformed early projections, which had estimated a $40 to $50 million debut — meaning Backrooms nearly doubled expectations once it actually reached theaters.
Part of a Historic Year for Horror
Backrooms’ success arrived hot on the heels of another massive 2026 horror hit, Obsession, which had crossed the $100 million mark in its own theatrical run just weeks earlier. Industry commentators have repeatedly grouped the two films together as evidence that 2026 has become a landmark year for horror cinema, with both films demonstrating that audiences are eager to show up for original, non-franchise horror concepts when the execution and word-of-mouth are strong enough.
Both films also share an interesting commonality: both were made relatively cheaply and both were driven by distinctive, unconventional creative visions — Obsession from a former YouTube sketch comedian, and Backrooms from a teenage web-series creator. This pattern has fueled ongoing conversations in the industry about how internet-native creators are increasingly finding real success translating their digital followings into genuine theatrical box office power.
The Cast Beyond the Leads
Alongside Chiwetel Ejiofor and Renate Reinsve, Backrooms also features Mark Duplass, Finn Bennett, Lukita Maxwell, and Avan Jogia in supporting roles. Reinsve, an Oscar nominee for her performance in Sentimental Value, has drawn particular praise for grounding the film’s more surreal elements with a genuinely human emotional throughline as Mary searches for her missing patient inside the nightmarish maze.
Should You Watch Backrooms?
For horror fans, particularly those already familiar with the liminal-space internet horror aesthetic that inspired the film, Backrooms is an easy recommendation. Critics have praised its atmosphere and technical filmmaking so consistently that even viewers who end up frustrated by its more ambiguous final stretch are likely to find the overall experience worthwhile. It’s a film built to unsettle and disorient, and on that front, nearly every review agrees it succeeds.
Viewers looking for a horror film with clean, tidy narrative answers by the credits may find themselves more divided, given how much of the film’s final act leans into abstraction over explanation. But for audiences willing to sit with that ambiguity, Backrooms offers one of the more genuinely unique theatrical horror experiences of the year.
Where to Watch
Backrooms is currently playing in theaters following its record-breaking debut. Given the film’s heavy reliance on immersive sound design and atmosphere, critics have specifically recommended experiencing it in a theater setting rather than waiting for a home release.
From Internet Phenomenon to Mainstream Cinema
The success of Backrooms also says something interesting about how internet culture is increasingly shaping mainstream entertainment. The original “liminal space” aesthetic that inspired the film existed almost entirely as a grassroots online phenomenon for years before any studio got involved, built through community-driven creepypasta writing, fan art, and amateur found-footage videos exploring the unsettling emotional resonance of empty, familiar-but-wrong spaces like abandoned malls, empty office buildings, and endless motel hallways.
Parsons’ original web series tapped into that aesthetic early and effectively, and A24’s decision to back a full theatrical adaptation reflects a growing recognition among major studios that internet-born horror concepts can carry enough built-in audience goodwill to justify significant investment. Given the film’s massive opening weekend, that bet has paid off in a big way, and it’s likely to encourage other studios to look more seriously at adapting similarly popular internet horror phenomena in the years ahead.
What Comes Next for Kane Parsons
With Backrooms now standing as A24’s biggest opening weekend in company history, Kane Parsons has instantly become one of the most closely watched young directors working today. Given the film’s box office performance and largely positive critical reception, further installments exploring the Backrooms universe seem like a strong possibility, and industry observers will be watching closely to see how Parsons approaches a follow-up, particularly given how much critical conversation has centered on the ambiguity of the film’s ending. Whether he chooses to expand and clarify that mythology or continue leaning into abstraction will likely shape how his next project is received.
Final Verdict
Backrooms stands as one of 2026’s most historically significant horror releases, breaking box office records for A24 while earning broadly positive reviews for its atmosphere, sound design, and technical craft, even as its ambiguous final act has divided some audiences. As the feature debut of a director still in his early twenties, it represents one of the most remarkable filmmaking origin stories of the year.