The future of filmmaker discovery just arrived, and it's wearing a backwards cap and has 12 million YouTube subscribers.
Kane Parsons, who is only 20 years old, directed The Backrooms for A24, which the studio is positioning as its biggest summer release. The LA Times profiles how the young filmmaker went from viral YouTube videos to directing a major theatrical horror film starring Renate Reinsve and Chiwetel Ejiofor. It's either the Gen Z auteur story Hollywood has been waiting for or a cautionary tale about giving massive budgets to 20-year-olds.
Parsons built his audience the new way - short films on YouTube exploring the internet-born "Backrooms" mythology, those endless yellow-wallpapered liminal spaces that became a viral sensation. His videos demonstrated genuine visual craft and atmosphere, catching A24's attention at a time when studios are desperate to tap into Gen Z audiences who get their entertainment from TikTok and YouTube rather than theaters.
What's fascinating is that A24 didn't just option his concept - they gave him the director's chair. That's a statement of confidence in a filmmaker who wasn't even born when The Blair Witch Project pioneered found-footage horror. Parsons represents something studios have been chasing: authentic connection to younger audiences who have largely abandoned traditional media.
The risk, of course, is enormous. Making viral YouTube videos is a completely different skill set than directing a feature with veteran actors and a theatrical release strategy. Plenty of YouTube creators have crashed and burned trying to make the leap. But A24 has a track record of nurturing new voices - they gave as his feature debut, and that worked out pretty well.
