If you've been scrolling through YouTube late at night and stumbled onto a video of endless yellow hallways, flickering lights, and something lurking just out of frame, you already know the Backrooms. What started as a single eerie photo on 4chan in 2019 has become one of the internet's most enduring creepypastas — and now it's getting the A24 treatment. But before the film premieres on May 29, there's a near-perfect binge waiting for you on YouTube: Kane Parsons' original series that built the lore, the terror, and the rules of this nightmare dimension.
Parsons, a young filmmaker who essentially became the unofficial curator of the Backrooms mythos, released his first short in 2022. That video — following a man who "no-clips" out of reality after a simple stumble — spawned 22 more episodes, each exploring a different corner of the sprawling Complex. The series is a masterclass in horror-thriller storytelling, blending found footage, corporate training videos, and surveillance-style clips into a cohesive, unsettling universe. It's the kind of binge that demands you keep watching, even as the hairs on your neck stand up.
What Makes the YouTube Series So Addictive?
Part of the genius is how Parsons treats the Backrooms as a living, breathing ecosystem. There are countless levels, each more disorienting than the last, and creatures that seem designed to prey on human fear. The series doesn't just scare you — it makes you feel the hopelessness of being trapped in a place that shouldn't exist. The lore is deep, with hints about the mysterious Async Research Institute, which supposedly made first contact with the Backrooms in the late '80s as part of an experiment to solve storage and housing needs. But as the episodes unfold, Async's true motives become darker and more ambiguous.
For fans of sci-fi TV that demands a binge, this series is a perfect fit. It's not just a collection of scares — it's a puzzle box that rewards careful attention. The timeline spans from 1972 to the early '90s, with missing persons cases spiking around natural disasters, suggesting the Backrooms might be more connected to our world than anyone wants to admit.
How Does the Series Connect to the A24 Movie?
Marketing for the A24 film, starring Chiwetel Ejiofor and Renate Reinsve, has been deliberately vague about its ties to the YouTube series. But eagle-eyed fans have spotted visual callbacks — blue tape framing a threshold, a caveman cutout, and people "melting" into walls — that strongly suggest a shared universe. Parsons himself has confirmed in interviews that he has "a very specific timeline that this whole story abides by, the film as well." So while the movie might follow different characters in a different section of the Complex, it's the same nightmare.
If you're looking for a miniseries that delivers pure perfection from start to finish, this YouTube saga is it. Each episode builds on the last, creating a tapestry of terror that's as intellectually engaging as it is viscerally frightening. And with the film just weeks away, now is the perfect time to no-clip into the Backrooms and see what all the buzz is about.
Whether you're a horror veteran or a newcomer to creepypasta, Kane Parsons' series is a must-watch. It's a testament to how internet culture can shape mainstream storytelling — and a reminder that the scariest places are often the ones just a step away from reality.
