19-year-old influencer Kane Parsons to direct A24 movie ‘The Backrooms’
A24 has hired its youngest director ever, 19-year-old horror influencer Kane Parsons, who is set to helm The Backrooms.
The science-fiction horror will be based on Parsons’ YouTube series of the same name. He created and directed his own series as a found-footage horror project. As of 2025, the page has amassed 190 million views across 22 videos. The latest addition, ‘Static Dead End,’ was added to his channel three months ago.
The series is inspired by an alternative reality made only of abandoned office space in a post-capitalistic society, painted in a dreadful dystopian light. Disturbing creatures stalk the beige-painted corridors. The origins trace back to creepypasta in 2019, urban myths told as terrifying stories that circulate widely on the internet.
Parsons has previously teased the news on Instagram, sharing a photograph of a dark, eerie office building on February 2nd. He pinned the post to his profile, and captioned it ominously, “More soon…”
Chiwetel Ejiofor of 12 Years a Slave and Renate Reinsve of The Worst Person in the World will lead the cast, though plot specifics are being closely kept under wraps. Reinsve has previously worked with A24 on A Different Man, starring Sebastian Stan.
Stranger Things‘ Shawn Levy will produce for 21 Laps alongside Dan Cohen and Dan Levine, with James Wan and Michael Clear doing so for Atomic Monster. Alanya Glasthal will steer for Atomic Monster, with Judson Scott executive producing for them alongside White.
Previously, Far Out ranked the top ten best A24 horror offerings. Ari Aster’s Hereditary took number one spot. Far Out described the movie as “a game-changer when it comes to the contemporary horror genre, 2018s Hereditary brought brains to the classic horror tale, with the story itself not too extraordinary, but the execution, revolutionary.” Parson can only hope to join the ranks.
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