The new Backrooms trailer suggests it could finally be the horror film that accurately captures the essence of creepypasta.

      A24 has unveiled the final trailer for Backrooms, and if you haven't been paying attention to this one, now is the time to start. The film will hit theaters on May 29, and its backstory is unlike anything else set to premiere this year. It originated from a single anonymous photo shared on a paranormal message board in 2019 and evolved into one of the internet's most frightening urban legends.

      From a 4chan post to an A24 feature film

      In 2019, an individual posted a picture on 4chan’s paranormal board depicting a vast, vacant yellow-lit carpeted room. It looked somewhat familiar yet difficult to pinpoint, which is exactly the intended effect. These types of settings are referred to as liminal spaces, and the Backrooms became the internet's definitive representation of this idea.

      The mythology is straightforward yet impactful. If you accidentally “no-clip” out of reality, a term drawn from video game glitches where characters pass through solid objects, you find yourself in an infinite labyrinth of yellow rooms, damp carpet, and buzzing fluorescent lights, devoid of exits and rationality.

      Kane Parsons

      From that singular image, an entire subculture blossomed across YouTube, TikTok, Reddit, and Roblox. Dan Erickson, the creator of Severance, has noted that the Backrooms influenced the acclaimed Apple TV series.

      Here’s what the new Backrooms trailer reveals

      The latest trailer expands the universe significantly. It showcases the yellow rooms and fluorescent lights, which are essential, but it also introduces the Poolrooms, a popular fan-created extension of the Backrooms filled with flooded, tile-lined areas featuring eerie, dreamlike illumination.

      The trailer reveals that multiple ordinary individuals enter the Backrooms together for the first time, which alters the dynamic significantly compared to Parsons’ YouTube series. There’s also a brief, perplexing shot of a seagull that somehow glitches its way in, embodying the absurd and uncanny elements that make the Backrooms mythology so engaging.

      The film follows a peculiar doorway that appears in the basement of a furniture showroom. When a therapist’s patient vanishes into a dimension beyond reality, she must venture in after him.

      Chiwetel Ejiofor (The Life of Chuck, Doctor Strange) stars as Clark, the furniture store owner who first uncovers the portal. The role of Dr. Mary Kline, the therapist who follows him, is played by Renate Reinsve. The supporting cast includes Mark Duplass, Finn Bennett, Lukita Maxwell (Shrinking), and Avan Jogia.

      Why horror fans should give this internet adaptation a real chance

      The Backrooms isn't the first internet urban legend to transition to film. Slender Man was adapted into a movie in 2018, and the outcome was largely viewed as disappointing. However, the Backrooms feels distinct, partly because the individual adapting it is the same person who has already demonstrated the ability to do it justice on a modest budget without studio support.

      The film is directed by Kane Parsons, known online as Kane Pixels, who transformed a chilling internet concept into one of YouTube’s most popular horror series.

      Critics who have seen the premiere early have been enthusiastic. The film has already been described as “wholly unique and original” and “the best creepypasta adaptation yet.” For a film that hasn't even been released yet, that's an impressive start.