Mark Duplass Signs Up For A24’s The Backrooms
One of the internet’s most haunting urban legends is headed to the big screen, and it’s bringing some serious talent with it. The Backrooms, a highly anticipated sci-fi horror film from A24, Atomic Monster, 21 Laps, and Chernin Entertainment, has added Mark Duplass, Finn Bennett, Lukita Maxwell, and Avan Jogia to its growing ensemble. They’ll be joining previously announced leads Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave) and Renate Reinsve (The Worst Person in the World).
Production on this potentially future cult horror is set to begin this week in Canada. The film marks the feature directorial debut of 19-year-old Kane Parsons, a rising star in visual effects and storytelling who first terrified audiences with his viral YouTube series under the name Kane Pixels.
What Are The Backrooms?
If you’re unfamiliar, The Backrooms originated from a viral creepypasta posted to 4chan in 2019. It described a surreal, liminal dimension made up of endless yellow rooms, flickering fluorescent lights, damp carpet, and a constant low hum of dread. The setting became an internet sensation, inspiring countless memes, mods, and horror fiction.
Parsons took that concept and elevated it with cinematic finesse. His YouTube series portrays an alternate dimension discovered by a secretive research group called ASYNC, which opens a portal to this nightmarish space in the late 1980s. The original short follows a young filmmaker who glitches into this strange reality and begins exploring its eerie, maze-like corridors—soon discovering he may not be alone.
While the film draws inspiration from those shorts, the feature will be a fresh narrative, with a script penned by Roberto Patino (DMZ, Westworld). Plot specifics remain under wraps, but audiences can expect a blend of analog horror, corporate sci-fi, and existential dread.
With its spine-chilling concept, rising talent, and high-profile production team, this movie is generating major buzz. Horror fans are eager to see how the viral mythology will translate to the big screen. If done right, this could be a genre-defining experience that blends internet folklore with cinematic terror in a truly unforgettable way.
Mark Duplass Adds a Sinister Edge
The addition of Mark Duplass to the cast is particularly intriguing. Best known to horror fans as the unsettling lead of the Creep films, Duplass has earned a reputation for delivering quiet, unpredictable menace. In Creep (2014) and its 2017 sequel, he portrayed Josef, a charming yet deeply disturbed man who lures videographers into his twisted games of manipulation and murder.
Duplass’s understated performance turned what could have been standard found-footage fare into something uniquely disturbing—his presence in The Backrooms suggests the film may tap into similar psychological territory.
Joining him are:
- Finn Bennett (True Detective: Night Country), known for portraying emotionally complex, morally ambiguous characters.
- Lukita Maxwell (Shrinking), bringing fresh energy and vulnerability.
- Avan Jogia (Zombieland: Double Tap, Now Apocalypse), who continues his genre streak with another horror-inflected role.
Behind the Scenes: A Horror Dream Team
The film brings together some of the biggest names in modern genre filmmaking:
- A24 (Hereditary, The Witch) and Chernin Entertainment are co-financing.
- Roberto Patino is producing, alongside:
- James Wan and Michael Clear of Atomic Monster (The Conjuring Universe)
- Shawn Levy and Dan Levine of 21 Laps (Stranger Things)
- Alayna Glasthal is overseeing the project for Atomic Monster, with Judson Scott serving as executive producer.
With a viral origin, a wildly creative young director, and a powerhouse team of producers and performers, The Backrooms is shaping up to be more than just a creepypasta adaptation—it could be a defining horror film of this decade.
Are you ready to no-clip into the nightmare?
The movie is coming from A24, be prepared for a new scary movie. More on this film when we have it
