Mark Duplass, Finn Bennett, Lukita Maxwell and Avan Jogia have joined the cast of “The Backrooms,” the upcoming sci-fi horror film from A24, Atomic Monster, The North Road Company’s Chernin Entertainment and 21 Laps Entertainment.
The film also stars Chiwetel Ejiofor and Renate Reinsve with a screenplay written by Will Soodik.
Production begins this week in Canada, with Chernin Entertainment co-financing alongside A24. Both serve as co-studios on the film.
The science-fiction horror film is based on 20-year-old Parsons’ own YouTube series of the same name, which he created and directed as a found-footage horror project. The movie adaptation’s plot is being kept under wraps, but Parsons marks the youngest director in A24 history.
“The Backrooms” traces its origins back to a 4chan creepypasta in 2019 and involves an alternate reality that consists of nothing but an endless maze of abandoned office space, with stark fluorescent lighting and beige-painted corridors that either lead to nowhere or hide disturbing creatures that wander throughout.
In January 2022, Parsons released a short film based on the meme, presented as a VHS tape from the 1990s filmed by someone who managed to find their way into the Backrooms and is now forced to flee from the creatures inside. The video, which has over 190 million views, sparked a series on Parsons’ YouTube channel Kane Pixels, building a backstory around a shadowy organization that opened a dimensional portal into the Backrooms.
The film is produced by Shawn Levy, Dan Cohen and Dan Levine for 21 Laps Entertainment, along with Chris Ferguson for Oddfellows Pictures and Roberto Patino. James Wan and Michael Clear are producing for Atomic Monster, with Judson Scott serving as executive producer and Alayna Glasthal overseeing for the company. Chris White, who brought the project to Atomic Monster, will also EP.
Duplass is repped by CAA. Bennett is repped by Sequel Management UK and CAA. Maxwell is represented by CAA, Myman Greenspan Fox Rosenberg Mobasser Younger & Light and Trademark Talent. Jogia is repped by CAA, Berwick & Kovacik, The Characters Talent Agency and Jackoway Austen Tyerman.
