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After overtaking “Marty Supreme” to become A24’s highest-grossing film to date, “Backrooms” will be available to stream on HBO Max starting Sept. 25.
Starring Renate Reinsve (“Sentimental Value,” “The Worst Person in the
World”) and Chiwetel Ejiofor (“12 Years a Slave,” “Dirty Pretty Things”), director Kane Parsons adapted his popular web series about liminal spaces for a wide audience. Ejiofor plays a furniture-store owner in deep therapy with Dr. Mary Kline, played by Reinsve. Will Soodik penned the script.
“As an atmospheric freakout, ‘Backrooms’ is extraordinarily effective,” Variety‘s chief film critic Owen Gleiberman wrote in his positive review, noting that Ejiofor was “the perfect presence to have at the center.” He also compared Parsons’ fixation for mood and “cosmic sound design” to the late David Lynch.
The success of “Backrooms” is particularly notable because Parsons made the film when he was just 20. To date, the film has grossed $330 million worldwide on a $10 million budget. It opened with an impressive $81 million domestically and was released back in theaters July 3 with an extra 15 minutes of bonus footage.
In an interview with Variety, Parsons explained that “‘Backrooms’ has always been planned to be more of a series that goes outside the confines of this film,” with no intention of leaving YouTube behind despite the wide success of his world on the big screen.
“For people who are into it, I’ve got a contract, and I got a hold at my end,” he continued. “That means I am definitely not done with ‘Backrooms.'”
