'Backrooms': Everything you need to know about liminal horror

EuroNews · 🇫🇷 public France · May 25, 2026 · 1013 words · By David Mouriquand

Liminality and Psychology Horror Genre Trends Internet Culture to Cinema

headphones Listen to the eFinder podcast briefing

Generate a natural audio summary of this story

Daily briefing

What to know about Liminality and Psychology

Ever been in an empty corridor which seems to stretch on forever, or found yourself in a deserted room that feels "off"?

Claims checked 11

Techniques found 2

Topics 3

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left0%

Center100%

Right0%

6 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Ever been in an empty corridor which seems to stretch on forever, or found yourself in a deserted room that feels "off"?

Why it matters

An upcoming film taps into "liminality", an important concept in architecture, psychology and anthropology.

Common ground

Here's everything you need to know about 'Backrooms'.

Perspective signals

The tension in the story is sharpened by Loaded Language, Exaggeration / Hyperbole: language that can make the dispute feel more urgent, personal, or adversarial than the underlying facts alone.

Follow-up questions

What new context would change how readers understand this Liminality and Psychology story?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that His web series went viral and was viewed by hundreds of millions?
How does this story connect Liminality and Psychology with Horror Genre Trends over the next few days?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.euronews.com/culture/2026/05/25/from-creepypasta-to-hollywood-everyt…

psychologyPropaganda Techniques Detected

eFinder identified 2 propaganda techniques in this article. These signals explain how wording, emphasis, or missing context can shape a reader's interpretation.

warning

Loaded Language 90% confidence

Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.

Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.

Why it matters: Recognizing loaded language helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

warning

Exaggeration / Hyperbole 80% confidence

Overstating facts or claims to create a stronger emotional response.

Why it matters: Recognizing exaggeration / hyperbole helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 11 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 4

verified Verified By Reference 4

help Insufficient Evidence 2

schedule Pending 1

check_circle

Claim 1: “His web series went viral and was viewed by hundreds of millions.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources state the series went viral, with one source specifying over 197 million views and another mentioning over 190 million views.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — The Backrooms are a fictional location originating from a 2019 4chan thread.The viral videos have been credited with igniting a surge in Backrooms content and taking the concept into the mainstream. P…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Backrooms

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — The series collectively garnered over 197 million views and is credited with lifting ‘The Backrooms’ from obscurity into the mainstream.It is scheduled to be released in theaters on May 29, 2026, and …
https://www.comicbasics.com/the-backrooms-isnt-real-but-the-…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — A24 is developing "The Backrooms," a horror film based on Kane Parsons' viral YouTube series that has amassed over 190 million views, with the 19-year-old...
https://www.perplexity.ai/page/a24-taps-19-year-old-kane-par…

check_circle

Claim 2: “The film adaptation [of Exit 8], directed by Genki Kawamura”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources, including a Wikipedia entry and interviews, confirm Genki Kawamura directed the film adaptation of 'Exit 8'.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Exit 8 is a 2025 Japanese mystery psychological horror film directed by Genki Kawamura, who co-wrote the screenplay with Kentaro Hirase, based on the 2023 ...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exit_8_(film)

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Feb 5, 2026 · As someone who has seen the movie- this trailer uses almost all the horror parts lmao. It really isn't a horror movie, ...
https://www.facebook.com/neonrated/posts/official-trailer-fo…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Apr 8, 2026 · Opening on Friday, April 10, is Genki Kawamura's psychological thriller Exit 8, based on the Kotake Create video game of the same name, ...
https://edwarddouglas.substack.com/p/exit-8-director-genki-k…

verified

Claim 3: “The term "liminality" refers to a transitory state and comes from the Latin root "limen", meaning "threshold."”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

Wikipedia and academic/psychology sources confirm liminality comes from the Latin 'limen' meaning 'threshold' and refers to a transitory state.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — In anthropology, liminality is the quality of ambiguity or disorientation that occurs in the middle stage of a rite of passage, when participants no longer ...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liminality

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — The term derives from the Latin word "limen," meaning "threshold," symbolizing the point of transition from one existence to another. Anthropologist Arnold ...
https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/psychology/liminalit…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — May 30, 2025 ... from the Latin word “limen,” meaning “threshold.” In the context of spaces, a liminal ... It's derived from the Latin word “limen,” meaning “ ...
https://www.instagram.com/p/DKR4tmXuzGb/

help

Claim 4: “David F Sandberg’s Lights Out, the Philippou brothers’ Talk To Me and Bring Her Back, as well as Markiplier’s Iron Lung as examples of successful online-to-theatrical chiller shifts.”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was provided in the search results to verify the specific claim regarding these individuals as examples of online-to-theatrical shifts in this context.

check_circle

Claim 5: “Exit 8 is the Japanese psychological horror based on the 2023 video game of the same name”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources confirm 'Exit 8' is a Japanese psychological horror film based on the 2023 video game of the same name.

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — Events in the year 2023 in Japan.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2023_in_Japan

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — Japan is a 2023 Indian Tamil-language action comedy and heist film written and directed by Raju Murugan. It is produced by S. R. Prakash Babu and S. R. Prabhu under Dream Warrior Pictures. The film st…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japan_(2023_film)

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — Monster (Japanese: 怪物, Hepburn: Kaibutsu; lit. Monster) is a 2023 Japanese coming-of-age psychological drama mystery thriller film directed, co-produced, and edited by Hirokazu Kore-eda from a screenp…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monster_(2023_Japanese_film)

+ 3 more evidence sources

verified

Claim 6: “The Backrooms phenomenon stems back to one image, anonymously posted in 2019 on 4chan Creepypasta”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

Wikipedia and web search results confirm the Backrooms phenomenon originated from a 2019 4chan thread.

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — Backrooms is an upcoming American science fiction horror film directed by Kane Parsons in his feature-length directorial debut and written by Will Soodik. It is based on Parsons' web series and inspir…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Backrooms_(film)

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — Backrooms is a semi-anthological web series created by American YouTuber and filmmaker Kane Parsons. An adaptation of the "Backrooms" creepypasta, the series primarily revolves around Async, a fiction…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Backrooms_(web_series)

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Backrooms are a fictional location originating from a 2019 4chan thread. One of the best known examples of the liminal space aesthetic, the Backrooms are usually portrayed as an impossibly large e…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Backrooms

+ 3 more evidence sources

verified

Claim 7: “Directed by 20-year-old YouTuber and VFX artist Kane Parsons – aka Kane Pixels – Backrooms is the adaptation of an internet ‘creepypasta’ which he previously explored in a series of YouTube videos.”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

Wikipedia and multiple web sources confirm Kane Parsons (Kane Pixels) is the director, he is a YouTuber/VFX artist, and the film is an adaptation of the Backrooms creepypasta he explored in his web series.

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — Kane Parsons (born 2005 or 2006), known online as Kane Pixels, is a film director, visual effects artist, YouTuber, and composer known for his web series Backrooms based on the online fiction of the s…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kane_Parsons

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Oldest View is a mystery thriller web series created by American YouTuber and filmmaker Kane Parsons. Production on the series began in January 2023, shortly after his Backrooms series entered a t…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Oldest_View

+ 3 more evidence sources

check_circle

Claim 8: “A24, the studio behind Moonlight, Everything Everywhere All At Once and Marty Supreme, picked up the project, thereby making Parsons the youngest director to ever sign with them.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources confirm A24 is the studio producing 'Backrooms' and that Kane Parsons is the youngest director to sign with them.

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — A24 Films LLC, commonly referred to as A24, is an American independent entertainment company specializing in film and television production, as well as film distribution. They are best known for distr…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A24

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — A24 is an American independent film production and distribution company based in New York City. It launched in August 2012, released its first film, A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III, in F…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_A24_films

+ 3 more evidence sources

verified

Claim 9: “The film follows therapist Dr. Mary Kline (Renate Reinsve – Sentimental Value, and the recent Palme d’Or winner Fjord) as she ventures into an otherworldly dimension – the titular Backrooms - in search of her missing patient, failed architect Clark (Chiwetel Ejiofor).”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

Wikipedia and multiple web sources explicitly list the cast as Renate Reinsve as Dr. Mary Kline and Chiwetel Ejiofor as Clark, and describe the plot involving a therapist searching for her patient.

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — Presumed Innocent is an American legal thriller anthology television series created by David E. Kelley and starring Jake Gyllenhaal, based on the 1987 novel of the same name by Scott Turow. The book w…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presumed_Innocent_(TV_series)

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — Renate Reinsve (Norwegian: [rɛˈnɑ̀ːtə ˈræ̀ɪnˌsveː]; born 24 November 1987) is a Norwegian actress. Educated at the Oslo National Academy of the Arts, she began her career on stage at Trøndelag Teater …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renate_Reinsve

+ 3 more evidence sources

schedule

Claim 10: “It is released at the end of May in the UK, Netherlands, Poland and Italy, while French, Spanish and German audiences will have to sit tight until next month.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

help

Claim 11: “Then again, we did get 2018’s Slender Man”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was provided in the search results to verify the release of a film titled 'Slender Man' in 2018.

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.