‘Backrooms’: What Critics Are Saying About A24’s Horror Film Directed by 20-Year-Old Kane Parsons

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May has been a major month for horror fans. Following the breakout success of Focus Features and Blumhouse’s Obsession, A24’s Backrooms is set to hit theaters Friday — and the reviews are now in.

The films also share a common thread: both are directed by rising young voices in the genre, with 26-year-old Curry Barker helming Obsession and 20-year-old Kane Parsons directing Backrooms. After online rumors questioned Parsons’ involvement in the film, star Mark Duplass quickly defended the filmmaker. “When I was there, Kane was 100% in control,” Duplass wrote on X Tuesday. “More so than many directors 3x his age.”

The film also stars Chiwetel Ejiofor, Renate Reinsve, Finn Bennett and Lukita Maxwell, with a script penned by Will Soodik. Horror leaders James Wan and Osgood Perkins are among the producers.

Backrooms follows therapist Dr. Mary Kline (Reinsve), who enters an alternate dimension after her patient disappears inside it. The film adapts Parsons’ viral YouTube series, which he launched as a teenager.