Kane Parsons, the director of the A24 hit Backrooms, has explicitly stated that he does not consider his debut feature to be a horror film. Speaking during a panel at the Zurich Summit on Saturday, Parsons described the genre classification as a “framing device” adopted for marketing convenience rather than creative intent.
Parsons explained that labeling the film as horror was the “path of least resistance” from a marketing perspective. The director shared plans to skirt such specific genre labels with his future projects, signaling a departure from traditional categorization for his upcoming work.
With a $400 million global gross, Backrooms ranks as A24’s biggest theatrical release ever. TheWrap notes that alongside Focus Features’ Obsession, which earned $519 million worldwide, Backrooms has been considered a load-bearing moment for the horror genre’s popularity among moviegoers.
Parsons adapted the feature from his viral Backrooms web series, a collection of found-footage videos that traverse caverns of uncanny interior design. The source material’s internet origins contributed to its initial viral spread before the theatrical adaptation. Despite the film’s massive reach, Parsons has pushed back on industry narratives regarding its future. After the release, he denied reports that he was in development on a sequel or searching for a screenwriter, telling Puck and The Ringer that such rumors seemed “hallucinated. ” The director remains focused on his current creative direction, which intentionally avoids the horror label he once accepted for Backrooms.