A24's Backrooms wows early critics

A24’s *Backrooms* looks like more than a clever internet adaptation now. After early critic screenings this week, the reaction was broadly enthusiastic — not just “that was creepy,” but genuine surprise that Kane Parsons’ first feature lands as a full movie and not a stretched-out meme. That matters because *Backrooms* was always a risky bet: a viral horror idea, a very young director, and a concept built on mood more than plot. But the buzz says A24 may have pulled off exactly the kind of horror swing studios keep chasing and rarely nail. ### What is *Backrooms* again? It started as internet folklore — the idea that you could “noclip” out of reality and end up in an endless maze of yellow rooms, buzzing lights, and wrong-feeling emptiness. Parsons turned that into a hugely popular YouTube horror series, and A24 picked it up for a feature with Chiwetel Ejiofor and Renate Reinsve. The studio lists a May 29, 2026 theatrical release, with the setup involving a strange doorway in a furniture showroom basement. (slashfilm.com) ### Why were people skeptical? Because internet creepypasta adaptations usually hit one of two walls. Either they over-explain the thing and kill the mystery, or they stay so abstract that the movie never becomes more than vibes. *Backrooms* also puts a lot on Parsons fast — Variety noted when the project was announced that he was the youngest director in A24 history, and he’s still only 20 now. That can read as exciting or as a giant flashing risk sign. (variety.com) ### So what are critics actually praising? Mostly the atmosphere, the imagery, and the fact that it apparently feels distinct. The early reactions collected by /Film, ComingSoon, JoBlo, and Parade all circle the same idea: this is unnerving, visually confident, and more mature than some people expected from the source material. A few reactions mention pacing issues, which is pretty normal for mood-heavy horror, but the overall tone is that Parsons didn’t just preserve the online creepiness — he scaled it up. (variety.com) ### Why does A24 matter here? Because A24 gives this kind of movie permission to be weird. A more conventional studio version might have tried to turn *Backrooms* into lore soup — too much explanation, too many rules, too much “here’s the franchise bible.” A24’s brand, for better and worse, tells horror fans to expect mood, restraint, and a filmmaker-first approach. That makes the early praise more believable, because the movie people feared getting sanded down was always more likely to stay strange here. (slashfilm.com) ### Is this just one movie, or part of a bigger horror moment? It looks bigger than one movie. A24 is also tied to *Crystal Lake*, the *Friday the 13th* prequel series for Peacock, which now has an October 15, 2026 premiere date and stars Linda Cardellini as Pamela Voorhees. That means the company is sitting in two very different horror lanes at once — one born from internet-native dread, one from one of the oldest slasher brands in the business. (a24films.com) ### Why is that combination interesting? Because horror keeps rewarding both novelty and familiarity. *Backrooms* offers the “I haven’t seen this exact texture before” feeling. *Crystal Lake* offers instant recognition — Jason, camp, franchise memory, Halloween timing. Put those together and you can see the strategy: own the arthouse-concept lane and the legacy-IP lane at the same time. It’s like stocking both the weird new mask and the classic one before October even starts. (variety.com) ### What’s the catch? Early reactions are still early reactions. They’re useful for temperature, not proof. Plenty of horror movies peak at the first-wave buzz stage and then split audiences once regular viewers show up. And *Backrooms* is especially exposed to that, because liminal-space horror is powerful if you surrender to it and very thin if you don’t. ### Bottom line? (variety.com) The interesting part isn’t just that critics liked *Backrooms*. It’s that the praise sounds specific enough to suggest A24 didn’t merely adapt an online phenomenon — it may have turned one of the internet’s strangest horror ideas into a real theatrical contender, right as its broader horror slate stretches from experimental dread to Jason Voorhees season. (slashfilm.com)