Backrooms horror film sparks fan Easter‑egg hunt amid mixed critical response

A24 released the horror film Backrooms in June 2026, adapting the viral “liminal spaces” meme that originated from a 2019 4chan image and Kane Parsons’ YouTube series. The movie incorporates dense callbacks—exact wallpaper patterns, timestamps, props and hidden symbols—that fans quickly began mapping, treating each room as a puzzle tied to the original internet lore.

The production kept its budget under $10 million and achieved surprising US box‑office numbers for a low‑budget horror title. However, French critics argued the adaptation failed to translate the viral phenomenon to the big screen, describing it as a “wet bomb” that collapses under heavy procedural mechanics and melodramatic storytelling, and noting that the film’s atmosphere felt more tired than terrifying.