Backrooms (web series)

Last updated
Backrooms
Backrooms (web series).webp
Genre Found footage
Analog horror
Science fiction
Created byKane Parsons
Inspired by The Backrooms
Written byKane Parsons
Directed byKane Parsons
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of episodes19 [lower-alpha 1]
Production
AnimatorKane Parsons
Original release
Network YouTube
ReleaseJanuary 7, 2022 (2022-01-07) –
present

Backrooms is a semi-anthological web series created by American YouTuber Kane Parsons. It is loosely based on the Backrooms. The series debuted in 2022 with the short film "The Backrooms (Found Footage)" which has over 60 million views as of July 2024. Parsons would expand his series to include eighteen more short films. The series is slated for a film adaptation with Parsons set to direct, alongside A24 producing, and as such has been on hiatus since January 2023.

Contents

The series revolves around Async, a fictional research institute that discovers the Backrooms (in-universe referred to as “the Complex”) and attempts to document and research it.

Development and themes

After making several Attack on Titan themed videos, Parsons was looking for "new things to do". He was in between projects and was inspired to create a found-footage style animation of the Backrooms after rediscovering a render he had saved some time prior. Parsons was vaguely aware of the Backrooms in terms of the original image and caption he saw on Instagram two years prior. [1] However, he was not aware of the community behind it. In an interview, he stated: "I came across the original image on my computer … and I just thought, huh, it would be interesting to see if I could go to my 3D software, Blender, and try to recreate a scene in this environment,". [2] He would use Blender to create a test animation of a chair in the Backrooms being thrown and hitting a wall. The shot would later be used in the first video of the series. [1] Parsons would use Blender alongside Adobe After Effects to create the first video. It would take Parsons a month to complete the short. [3]

He would expand the concept into a series shortly after posting the first video. There, he would establish plot points such as Async, a fictional research facility that discovers the Backrooms in the late 1980s and actively researches in it. Various character animations included in these later installments would require the utilization of motion capture suits. [4]

Michael Dobuski of ABC News would describe the themes of the series as "It's a slow burn story focusing on both the politics of Async and the United States government, as well as the otherworldly, confusing functions of the Complex, or The Backrooms." [2]

Reception

Reception for the series has been mostly positive. The first video of the series received positive reviews from critics. WPST called it "the scariest video on the Internet". [5] Otaku USA categorized it as analog horror, [6] while Dread Central and Nerdist compared it favorably to the 2019 video game Control . [7] [8] Kotaku praised the series for exercising restraint in its horror and mystery. [9] Boing Boing 's Rob Beschizza predicted that the Backrooms, like the creepypasta Slender Man and its panned 2018 film adaptation, would eventually be adapted into a "slick but dismal 2-hour Hollywood movie." [10]

Parsons said he had "no idea" there had been an existing fan community behind the original Backrooms legend, and recalled being surprised to see comments on his first video from people saying "You're doing the Backrooms wrong. What is this?" or "There's supposed to be smilers on level one." [lower-alpha 2] He said that this continued until eventually "people almost forgot about the old one" and his version had "sort of been adopted" by fans. [1] For his work on the series, Parsons would receive a Creator Honor award from The Game Theorists during the 12th Streamy Awards. [11] [12] The series' installments have garnered a collective total of over 100 million views. [13]

Episodes

No.TitleDirected byWritten byLengthOriginal release date
1"Found Footage"
Kane ParsonsKane Parsons9:14January 7, 2022 (2022-01-07)
In 1991 while filming a short film, a cameraman phases into the ground and suddenly finds himself in the Backrooms. While examining a wall covered with graffiti, he hears a sound behind him and turns to see a creature that begins to pursue him. The cameraman escapes to a lower floor, experiencing various architectural anomalies before being led back up. He is then pursued by another creature. He hides from it in a narrow wall gap leading to a steep slope, at which point the creature charges at him, grabbing him and causing him to drop his camera down the chute, which phases back into reality.
2 [lower-alpha 3] "Mar_11_90_ARCHIVE.tar"Kane ParsonsKane Parsons2:49January 7, 2022 (2022-01-07)
A opened .tar archive displays images of the Complex and redacted personnel. [14]
3"The Third Test"Kane ParsonsKane Parsons1:46January 13, 2022 (2022-01-13)
On July 2, 1988, the Async Research Institute conducts the third test of their “Low-Proximity Magnetic Distortion System”. A robotic narrator explains that in April of that year, a press conference was held where the vice director of Async, Ivan Beck, stated the goal of the project was to address the growing housing and storage crisis.
4"First Contact"Kane ParsonsKane Parsons1:58January 17, 2022 (2022-01-17)
On October 17, 1989, Async performs the sixth test of the Low-Proximity Magnetic Distortion System. The test results in the opening of a gateway into the Backrooms.
5"Missing Persons"Kane ParsonsKane Parsons2:37January 28, 2022 (2022-01-28)
Reported missing person cases begin to skyrocket shortly after the opening of the Threshold (the name given to the gateway created by Async in First Contact). While on a routine expedition, Async employees discover a body sitting against a wall covered in a dark growth.
6"Autopsy Report"Kane ParsonsKane Parsons2:37February 23, 2022 (2022-02-23)
An autopsy is conducted on the body found in "Missing Persons". The medical examiner determines that growth is a malignant form of hay bacillus. The examiner asks Ivan Beck where the body came from.
7"Informational Video"Kane ParsonsKane Parsons8:01February 12, 2022 (2022-02-12)
On February 29, 1990, Async employee Peter Tench gets separated from his group in an expedition. After desperately searching for his group, he finds his way back to the entrance only to find an observation room that was absent when he initially entered. He accesses the room, which sounds an alarm.
8"Motion Detected"Kane ParsonsKane Parsons4:07March 11, 2022 (2022-03-11)
In 1990, Async sets up motion-activated cameras in the Complex. A compilation video is made from all available recordings. One features a dark mass peering from behind a distant wall.
9"Prototype"Kane ParsonsKane Parsons1:33March 28, 2022 (2022-03-28)
In 1982 Async tests a prototype of the Low-Proximity Magnetic Distortion System. The machine is activated before concluding shortly after.
10"Pitfalls"Kane ParsonsKane Parsons14:04May 1, 2022 (2022-05-01)
While on a routine expedition in the Complex, Async researcher Marvin E. Leigh falls into a hole when attempting to cross a room containing deep pits (later referred to as "Room 14D") after being requested to record an unknown anomaly. While examining his new surroundings, Marvin hears a distant yell. He advances towards the source of the sound, leading him to a house at the end of a residential street, where he discovers that the source of the sound was not a person, but a creature that begins to pursue him. Marvin manages to escape with the assistance of his colleagues.
11"Report"Kane ParsonsKane Parsons6:21May 20, 2022 (2022-05-20)
Higher-ups at Async review the footage recorded by Marvin in "Pitfalls". Startled by the existence of a hostile lifeform in the Backrooms, they seal off access to the portion of the Complex where the creature was documented.
12 [lower-alpha 3] "9780415263573"Kane ParsonsKane Parsons0:34May 20, 2022 (2022-05-20)
Black and white highway surveillance footage shows a car disappearing into the road.
13"Presentation"Kane ParsonsKane Parsons8:26June 25, 2022 (2022-06-25)
Async proposes plans for the potential commercialization of the Backrooms. On May 8, 1990, a meeting with the Department of Energy is abruptly interrupted when a distressed Peter Tench, revealed to have traveled forward in time, finds his way back to the observation outpost.
14 [lower-alpha 3] "_recording014"Kane ParsonsKane Parsons2:32December 8, 2022 (2022-12-08)
Over a phone call, a higher up at Async questions Ivan Beck about an unknown employee found at the Threshold outpost. The employee is implied to be Peter Tench.
15"Found Footage #2"Kane ParsonsKane Parsons13:23August 21, 2022 (2022-08-21)
A woman falls into the Backrooms and stumbles upon a car that phased into the Backrooms before crashing into a wall. Following bloodstains left by the driver, she is led to a room full of dark plant-like growth. A creature then emerges from the growth and begins to chase her. She is cornered in a room before glowing green cracks form in the walls around her.
16 [lower-alpha 3] "home_27647.mov"Kane ParsonsKane Parsons3:26August 22, 2022 (2022-08-22)
A compilation of inconspicuous VHS recordings and pictures are shown before attention is given to a painting in the background of one of the photos.
17"Reunion"Kane ParsonsKane Parsons13:12December 8, 2022 (2022-12-08)
On May 25, 1990, Async reopens access to room 14D. After being deemed safe to enter, numerous researchers go to the room and begin work on covering the holes in the floor. Meanwhile, three researchers, including Marvin, and Mark (who is armed), are sent out to assess the room leading to room 14D, which is far larger and mostly unlit. The three are ambushed by a man who reveals himself to be Tench, lamenting that Async faked his death and deceived his family. Mark requests armed assistance, stating his group was being held hostage, before being shot by Peter.
18"Overflow"Kane ParsonsKane Parsons1:39December 24, 2022 (2022-12-24)
On August 2, 1972, a machine system experiences a power overload. A green glow gradually fills an office room, and attention is given to a document clipped to a bulletin board, which displays the signature of Ivan Beck.
19"Damage Control"Kane ParsonsKane Parsons14:03January 30, 2023 (2023-01-30)
After shooting Mark Blume, Tench flees and exits the premises of the facility. The next day, Async holds a meeting where they provide context to the events that happened the day before. It is confirmed that after Tench went missing in the Complex, Async faked his death to avoid suspicion and that after he was found alive, they kept him in the facility while they worked to reintegrate him. However, during this, Tench, who was in a declining mental state, sneaked back into the Complex where he would be found by Mark's group. It is then revealed that after escaping the facility grounds, Tench was found dead, seemingly from falling and bashing his head into a rock.

Film adaptation

After publishing The Backrooms (Found Footage), Parsons was approached by several studios for a feature-length adaptation. He initially pitched the idea as a comic serialization as opposed to a feature length film. In February 2023, A24, who successfully bid on the film, announced that work had begun on a film adaptation of the Backrooms based on Parsons' videos, with Parsons directing. Roberto Patino is set to write the screenplay, [15] while James Wan, Michael Clear from Atomic Monster, Shawn Levy, Dan Cohen, and Dan Levine of 21 Laps are set to produce. [16] [17]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Four out of the 19 episodes are unlisted on Parsons’ main YouTube channel.
  2. ↑ "Smilers" is the name given to a malevolent creature in some iterations of the Backrooms. Similarly, a "level" is a concept created by Internet users describing different subsections of the Backrooms.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Unlisted on Parsons’ main YouTube channel

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blender Foundation</span> Non-profit organization responsible for the development of Blender

The Blender Foundation is a Dutch nonprofit organization (Stichting) responsible for the development of Blender, an open-source 3D content-creation program.

Found footage is a cinematic technique in which all or a substantial part of the work is presented as if it were film or video recordings recorded by characters in the story, and later "found" and presented to the audience. The events on screen are typically seen through the camera of one or more of the characters involved, often accompanied by their real-time, off-camera commentary. For added realism, the cinematography may be done by the actors themselves as they perform, and shaky camera work and naturalistic acting are routinely employed. The footage may be presented as if it were "raw" and complete or as if it had been edited into a narrative by those who "found" it.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Slender Man</span> Fictional supernatural character

The Slender Man is a fictional supernatural character that originated as a creepypasta Internet meme created by Something Awful forum user Eric Knudsen in 2009. He is depicted as a thin, unnaturally tall humanoid with a featureless white head and face, wearing a black suit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A24</span> American independent entertainment company

A24 Films LLC, commonly referred to as A24, is an American independent entertainment company that specializes in film and television production, as well as film distribution. The company is based in Manhattan.

Ben Drowned is a three-part multimedia alternate reality game (ARG) web serial and web series created by Alexander D. Hall under the pen name Jadusable. Originating as a creepypasta based on the 2000 action-adventure game The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask and published by Hall from 2010 to 2020 with a hiatus in-between, the series is known for creating many of the current common tropes and themes of creepypasta and for subverting themes from The Legend of Zelda series. The series concluded on October 31, 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Creepypasta</span> Horror-related media shared around the Internet

A creepypasta is a horror-related legend which has been shared around the Internet. The term creepypasta has since become a catch-all term for any horror content posted onto the Internet. These entries are often brief, user-generated, paranormal stories that are intended to frighten readers. The subjects of creepypasta vary widely and can include topics such as ghosts, cryptids, murder, suicide, zombies, aliens, rituals to summon entities, haunted television shows, and video games. Creepypastas range in length from a single paragraph to extended multi-part series that can span multiple media types, some lasting for years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">21 Laps Entertainment</span> American production company

21 Laps, Inc., doing business as 21 Laps Entertainment, is a film and television production company founded and run by filmmaker Shawn Levy. The company is best known as the producers of Stranger Things, and exclusively distributes content through a partnership with Netflix. It has also produced films like Arrival, Free Guy, The Adam Project, Cheaper by the Dozen, The Spectacular Now, Real Steel, and the Night at the Museum franchise. The companies' name originates from the number of laps Levy's oldest daughter ran in a jogathon when she was 5 years old. In addition to the logo, the icon is supposed to represent a race track.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SCP Foundation</span> Online collaborative writing project

The SCP Foundation is a fictional organization featuring in stories created by the SCP Wiki, a wiki-based collaborative writing project.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ari Aster</span> American filmmaker

Ari Aster is an American filmmaker. Having garnered some initial recognition for the short film The Strange Thing About the Johnsons (2011), he became best known for writing and directing Hereditary (2018), Midsommar (2019), and Beau Is Afraid (2023), all of which were released by A24. His films have been noted for their unsettling combination of horror, dark comedy, and depictions of graphic violence. In 2018, he co-founded the production company Square Peg with Danish producer Lars Knudsen.

The Russian Sleep Experiment is a creepypasta which tells the tale of 5 test subjects being exposed to an experimental sleep-inhibiting stimulant in a Soviet-era scientific experiment, and has become the basis of an urban legend. Many news organizations, including Snopes, News.com.au, and LiveAbout, trace the story's origins to a website, now known as the Creepypasta Wiki, being posted on August 10, 2010, by a user named OrangeSoda, whose real name is unknown.

<i>Hazbin Hotel</i> American adult animated musical television series

Hazbin Hotel is an American adult animated musical comedy television series created by Vivienne "VivziePop" Medrano. The series revolves around Charlie Morningstar, princess of Hell, on her quest to find a way for sinners to be "rehabilitated" and allowed into Heaven, via her "Hazbin Hotel", as an alternative to Heaven's annual "Extermination" of souls due to Hell's overpopulation. The series is produced by SpindleHorse Toons in collaboration with A24, Amazon Studios, and the animation studio Bento Box Entertainment.

<i>Local 58</i> YouTube horror web series by Kris Straub

Local 58 is a horror web series created by cartoonist Kris Straub. The series is a spin-off of Straub's Candle Cove creepypasta. Currently hosted on the YouTube channel LOCAL58TV, each video in the series is presented as footage of a fictional public access television channel located in Mason County, West Virginia named Local 58, with the call sign WCLV-TV, created in the late 1930s, which is continuously hijacked over a period of decades with a series of ominous and surreal broadcasts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Backrooms</span> Fictional location

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 extradimensional expanse of empty rooms, accessed by exiting reality.

<i>X</i> (2022 film) American film directed by Ti West

X is a 2022 American slasher film written, directed, produced and edited by Ti West. It stars Mia Goth in dual roles: a young woman named Maxine, and an elderly woman named Pearl. The film also stars Jenna Ortega, Martin Henderson, Brittany Snow, Owen Campbell, Stephen Ure, and Scott Mescudi. Set in 1979, the film follows a cast and crew who gather to make a pornographic film on an elderly couple's rural Texas property, but find themselves threatened by the homicidal couple.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zalgo text</span> Digital text modified to appear frightening or glitchy

Zalgo text, also known as cursed text or glitch text due to the nature of its use, is digital text that has been modified with numerous combining characters, Unicode symbols used to add diacritics above or below letters, to appear frightening or glitchy.

<i>Channel 5</i> (web series) American media company & web channel

Channel 5 is an American digital media company and web channel, billed as a "digital journalism experience." The show is a spinoff of the group's previous project, All Gas No Brakes, which was itself based on the book of the same name. The channel is hosted by Andrew Callaghan and has amassed 2.2 million subscribers as of December 2022. Similar to the format of All Gas No Brakes, the show features man on the street interviews as well as longer-form documentary film. The show is first broadcast via Patreon with content later added to their YouTube channel. An affiliate channel, Channel 5 Clips, showcases humorous cuts from the longer content.

Analog horror is a subgenre of horror fiction and an offshoot of the found footage film genre, said to have originated online during the late 2000s and early 2010s with web series such as No Through Road, Local 58, Gemini Home Entertainment, and Marble Hornets.

<i>Gemini Home Entertainment</i> YouTube horror web series

Gemini Home Entertainment is a horror anthology web series created by Remy Abode and periodically released on a YouTube channel of the same name. It is regarded as a foundational analog horror series. The main series, also known as the Full Boxset, is ongoing. Further videos have also been released since as part of the spin-off series Library.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jane Schoenbrun</span> American filmmaker (born 1987)

Jane Flannery Schoenbrun is an American director, screenwriter, and producer who began working in the film industry in the late 2010s. Prior to their directorial debut in 2018, Schoenbrun produced feature-length fiction films, documentaries, and short films.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Padilla, Anthony (2023). "I spent a day with BACKROOMS CREATOR KANE PIXELS". Youtube.
  2. 1 2 Dobuski, Michael (November 6, 2022). "The Backrooms: Horror storytelling goes online". ABC News.com. Archived from the original on November 8, 2022. Retrieved 17 June 2023.
  3. ↑ Lloyd, Andrew (March 29, 2022). "The Backrooms: How a Creepy Office Photo Became an Internet Bogeyman". Vice . Archived from the original on November 30, 2022. Retrieved November 30, 2022.
  4. ↑ Rogers, Reece (May 11, 2022). "How to 'No-Clip' Reality and Arrive in the Backrooms" . Wired . Archived from the original on July 10, 2022. Retrieved November 30, 2022.
  5. ↑ Russell, Erica (17 January 2022). "'The Backrooms' Viral Horror Short Explained". WPST. Archived from the original on 31 January 2022.
  6. ↑ Dennison, Kara (7 February 2022). "See Attack on Titan Through the Eyes of Backrooms Director Kane Pixels". Otaku USA . Archived from the original on 7 February 2022.
  7. ↑ McAndrews, Mary Beth (14 January 2022). "'The Backrooms' Is A Found Footage Nightmare Freaking Out The Internet". Dread Central. Archived from the original on 31 January 2022.
  8. ↑ Anderson, Kyle (March 22, 2022). "TERRIFYING BACKROOMS SHORT FILM IS ALSO SUPER IMPRESSIVE". Nerdist . Archived from the original on December 31, 2022. Retrieved February 11, 2023.
  9. ↑ Walker, John (April 4, 2023). "The 4Chan Creepypasta That's Taking Over The World (And You May Not Even Realize It)". Kotaku . Retrieved April 10, 2023.
  10. ↑ Beschizza, Rob (1 February 2022). "Explore The Backrooms in this short found-footage horror flick". Boing Boing . Archived from the original on 1 February 2022.
  11. ↑ Tinoco, Armando (December 4, 2022). "YouTube Streamy Awards 2022 Winners List: Charli D'Amelio, MissDarcei, MrBeast & Cooking With Lynja Among Victors". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on December 6, 2022. Retrieved January 12, 2023.
  12. ↑ "Teenage creator Kane Parsons will direct a Backrooms horror movie". 9 February 2023.
  13. ↑ Goslin, Austen (February 8, 2023). "Viral horror video The Backrooms will be a movie from A24 and its 17-year-old director". Polygon . Archived from the original on February 11, 2023. Retrieved February 11, 2023.
  14. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0L8SM32ENI&list=PLVAh-MgDVqvDUEq6qDXqORBioE4Yhol_z&index=2
  15. ↑ Fuster, Jeremy (February 6, 2023). "YouTube Horror Hit 'The Backrooms' to Be Made Into A24 Feature Film by Its Teenage Creator". TheWrap . Retrieved March 13, 2023.
  16. ↑ Grobar, Matt (February 6, 2023). "'The Backrooms' Horror Film Based On Viral Shorts By 17-Year-Old Kane Parsons In Works At A24, Atomic Monster, Chernin & 21 Laps". Deadline Hollywood . Archived from the original on February 6, 2023. Retrieved February 6, 2023.
  17. ↑ Burton, Carson (February 7, 2023). "YouTube Horror Series The Backrooms Is Getting Turned Into a Feature Film". IGN . Archived from the original on February 11, 2023. Retrieved February 11, 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.