'Backrooms' Director Kane Parsons Distances Hit From Horror Moniker
Deadline • • entertainment
Key Points:
- Kane Parsons, director of the $400M hit "Backrooms," stated that he does not view the film as a horror project, despite it being marketed as such due to audience comfort and marketing convenience.
- Parsons expressed hope to avoid strict genre labeling in future projects, citing increased creative control moving forward.
- Industry leaders at the Zurich Summit credited "Backrooms" and similar films like "Obsession," originating from YouTube fandoms, with contributing to a $4.7 billion resurgence at the U.S. box office.
- Academy CEO Bill Kramer highlighted the new dynamic where fandoms transition from digital platforms like YouTube to theatrical experiences, signaling a hopeful future for the film industry.
- Sony Pictures Classics co-head Michael Barker compared this box office resurgence to historical cinematic inflection points, noting that current films reflect and resonate with contemporary societal fears and the expanded cinematic exposure of younger audiences post-pandemic.
