Backrooms: The horror beneath everyday liminal spaces in Kane Parsons’ debut feature

Daily Maverick · 🇿🇦 public South Africa · Jun 09, 2026 · 791 words · By Sam Spiller

Horror Genre Conventions Cinematic Quality Internet Culture Transition to Film

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What to know about Horror Genre Conventions

Everyone has experienced a liminal space at some point: An empty corridor at an airport, a dimly lit street at night, or a school playground obscured by fog.

Claims checked 11

Techniques found 1

Topics 3

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left0%

Center75%

Right25%

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

What happened

Everyone has experienced a liminal space at some point: An empty corridor at an airport, a dimly lit street at night, or a school playground obscured by fog.

Why it matters

It’s a location that, by all descriptions, is unremarkable yet invokes a strong sense of unease.

Common ground

New film Backrooms is full of unease, but it’s far from being unremarkable.

Perspective signals

The tension in the story is sharpened by Loaded Language: 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 Horror Genre Conventions story?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that Backrooms continues the trend of YouTubers and content creators spearheading theatrical projects to great success (see Chris Stuckmann’s Shelby Oaks, Markiplier’s Iron Lung, and, most recently, Curry Barker’s Obsession)?
How does this story connect Horror Genre Conventions with Cinematic Quality over the next few days?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-06-09-backrooms-the-horror-beneath-…

psychologyPropaganda Techniques Detected

eFinder identified 1 propaganda technique in this article. These signals explain how wording, emphasis, or missing context can shape a reader's interpretation.

warning

Loaded Language 80% 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.

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 6

info Single Source 2

verified Verified By Reference 1

schedule Pending 1

help Insufficient Evidence 1

info

Claim 1: “Backrooms continues the trend of YouTubers and content creators spearheading theatrical projects to great success (see Chris Stuckmann’s Shelby Oaks, Markiplier’s Iron Lung, and, most recently, Curry Barker’s Obsession).”

SINGLE SOURCE

While evidence confirms Curry Barker directed 'Obsession' and Kane Parsons directed 'Backrooms', there is no specific evidence in the provided results confirming Chris Stuckmann's 'Shelby Oaks' or Markiplier's 'Iron Lung' as part of this specific trend or their current status, although the general existence of these creators is known.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — This is a list of notable directors and their first commercial cinematic films, listed chronologically by release date. Many of the listed filmmakers, including Orson Welles, directed earlier works th…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_directorial_debuts

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — A YouTuber film, also known as a YouTuber movie, is a feature film in which one of the stars or producers is a YouTuber. After YouTube was founded by Chad Hurley, Steve Chen, and Jawed Karim in 2005, …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/YouTuber_film

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web search NEUTRAL — Christopher Michael Stuckmann is an American YouTuber, filmmaker, author, and film critic. Stuckmann has over 2 million subscribers and over 791 million views on the platform as of December 2025.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Stuckmann

+ 2 more evidence sources

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Claim 2: “The film follows Clark (played by Chiwetel Ejiofor), a down-on-his-luck furniture store owner who attends regular sessions with his therapist, Dr Mary Kline (Renate Reinsve).”

CORROBORATED

Wikipedia, TIME, and other web results confirm Chiwetel Ejiofor plays Clark (a furniture store owner) and Renate Reinsve plays his therapist, Dr. Mary Kline.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Backrooms is a 2026 American science fiction psychological horror film directed and co-scored by Kane Parsons in his feature-length directorial debut, and written by Will Soodik. It is based on Parson…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Backrooms_(film)

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Chiwetel Umeadi Ejiofor (born 10 July 1977) is a Nigerian-British actor. He is the recipient of various accolades, including a British Academy Film Award and a Laurence Olivier Award, in addition to n…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiwetel_Ejiofor

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Robert Bobroczkyi (Hungarian: Bobróczky Róbert; born 17 July 2000) is a Romanian–Hungarian actor and former basketball player. Standing 2.31 m (7 ft 7 in), he has drawn attention for his exceptional h…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Bobroczkyi

+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 3: “Adapted from a web series of short videos, helmed by said videos’ creator, and distributed by A24”

CORROBORATED

Multiple independent sources (Wikipedia, ResetEra, India Today) confirm the film is directed by Kane Parsons, adapted from his own web series, and distributed by A24.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Backrooms is a fictional location invented in a 2019 thread on the imageboard website 4chan. The Backrooms are usually portrayed as an impossibly large extradimensional complex of empty rooms, acc…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Backrooms

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Backrooms is an American science fiction analog horror web series created by Kane Parsons, based on the "Backrooms" creepypasta. Presented largely as found footage, the series follows a fictional orga…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Backrooms_(web_series)

+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 4: “Parsons and writer Will Soodik”

CORROBORATED

Wikipedia and IMDb confirm Will Soodik is the writer for the film.

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web search NEUTRAL — Will Soodik, also known as William Bromell, is an American screenwriter. He is best known for writing Kane Parsons's psychological horror film Backrooms, starring Chiwetel Ejiofor and Renate Reinsve.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Will_Soodik

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web search NEUTRAL — Will Soodik is a screenwriter and producer. He worked on multiple drafts of the screenplay for the film Backrooms, directed by Roberto Patino, and ultimately received full writing credit for the proje…
https://kane-pixels-backrooms.fandom.com/wiki/Will_Soodik

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web search NEUTRAL — Writer ; Renate Reinsve in Backrooms (2026). Backrooms. 6.9 ; Westworld (2016). Westworld. 8.4 ; Ash vs Evil Dead (2015). Ash vs Evil Dead. 8.4 ; Borgia (2011).
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm5829994/

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Claim 5: “Backrooms marks the feature film directorial debut of Kane Parsons who, over the past few years, has produced a series of online shorts about the subject”

CORROBORATED

Wikipedia, AOL, and Rotten Tomatoes all confirm that 'Backrooms' is the feature directorial debut of Kane Parsons and that he created the preceding web series.

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web search NEUTRAL — "Backrooms" is the feature directorial debut of young visual effects prodigy Kane Parsons, who previously developed the concept into a "Backrooms" webseries for YouTube.
https://www.aol.com/articles/backrooms-trailer-viral-interne…

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web search NEUTRAL — A startlingly assured feature debut from director Kane Parsons, Backrooms bends the liminal spaces that have haunted the internet for years into a horror film that's as mesmerizing as it is terrifying…
https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/backrooms

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web search NEUTRAL — Backrooms is a 2026 American science fiction psychological horror film directed and co-scored by Kane Parsons in his feature-length directorial debut, and written by Will Soodik. It is based on Parson…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Backrooms_(film)

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Claim 6: “Clark enlists the help of his assistant manager Kat (Lukita Maxwell) and her boyfriend Bobby (Finn Bennett).”

CORROBORATED

Wikipedia and Fandom wiki confirm Lukita Maxwell plays Kat. TikTok and Fandom confirm Finn Bennett plays Bobby.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — This is a list of American films that are scheduled for release in 2026. Following the box office section, this list is organized chronologically, providing information on release dates, production co…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_American_films_of_2026

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web search NEUTRAL — Lukita Maxwell as Kathrine "Kat" Taylor, Clark's employee and Bobby's girlfriend[9]. Avan Jogia as Naren Warne, an Async explorer of the Backrooms[13]. Robert Bobroczkyi as Pirate Clark, a monstrous e…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Backrooms_(film)

+ 2 more evidence sources

verified

Claim 7: “even having composed the film’s score with Canadian musician Edo van Breeman.”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

Wikipedia and Apple Music confirm the score was composed by Kane Parsons and Canadian musician Edo van Breeman.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Backrooms (Original Soundtrack) is the film score to the 2026 science fiction psychological horror film Backrooms directed by Kane Parsons in his feature-length directorial debut. Parsons also co-scor…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Backrooms_(soundtrack)

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Edo Van Breemen is a Canadian musician and composer from Vancouver, British Columbia. In 2026, Van Breemen co-scored the film Backrooms along with its director, Kane Parsons.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edo_Van_Breemen

+ 3 more evidence sources

schedule

Claim 8: “This review was first published on Pfangirl.”

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.

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Claim 9: “what he delivers with the help of cinematographer Jeremy Cox”

CORROBORATED

Two independent web sources explicitly name Jeremy Cox as the cinematographer for the film.

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web search NEUTRAL — Parsons and cinematographer Jeremy Cox play not only with some smartly staged POVs but also with visual language, shooting an important section of the film through Bobby’s grainy VHS lens. And they st…
https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/backrooms-chiwetel-ejiofo…

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web search NEUTRAL — That instinct made him the ideal cinematographer for Backrooms, the feature adaptation of Kane Parsons’ viral YouTube sensation and A24’s highest grossing film to date. A project born from YouTube myt…
https://ashotmagazine.com/jeremy-cox-on-backrooms-and-why-pr…

help

Claim 10: “Building nearly 3,000 square metres worth of sets, instead of relying on CGI”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found in the provided search results regarding the specific size of the sets (3,000 square metres) or the lack of CGI.

info

Claim 11: “Backrooms is in cinemas now, having debuted on 29 May.”

SINGLE SOURCE

One source (TIME) mentions a date of May 29, 2026, but there is no broad corroboration across multiple news sources for the specific debut date of May 29.

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.