A24 is turning one of the internet’s creepiest legends into a full-blown horror movie. The studio has released the first trailer for “Backrooms”, starring Chiwetel Ejiofor and Oscar-nominated Renate Reinsve.
Directed by Kane Parsons in his feature debut, the film is based on Parsons’ viral YouTube found-footage series. It follows a group of people who stumble into a mysterious, endless maze of yellowed, empty office spaces hidden behind the walls of a retail outlet — a space that seems to exist outside reality itself. As they search for a way out, the characters encounter increasingly terrifying, otherworldly forces that make escape uncertain.
The story specifically centers on a therapist (Reinsve) trying to find a missing patient who vanished into this bizarre dimension, with Ejiofor’s character drawn into the labyrinth as the stakes get higher. The screenplay, by Will Soodik, expands on the original online creepypasta legend first posted on 4chan in 2019, which depicted a young filmmaker getting lost in a strange, alternate dimension.
Joining Reinsve and Ejiofor are Mark Duplass, Finn Bennett, Lukita Maxwell, and Avan Jogia, with producers including James Wan, Shawn Levy, and Michael Clear. The film is co-financed by Chernin Entertainment and produced alongside 21 Laps Entertainment and Atomic Monster.
Backrooms hits theaters May 29 — a film that asks one terrifying question: what if the place behind the walls you never notice isn’t just empty… and you might never get out?