- Backrooms director Kane Parsons is the latest YouTuber to helm a big-screen project
- The online video sharing platform has become a breeding ground for new horror filmmakers
- Parsons has given his thoughts on why this is so
The filmmaker of A24’s Backrooms film has given his thoughts on why YouTube has become the breeding ground for a new golden generation of horror creators.
Making his feature directorial debut with one of this year’s most interesting new films, Kane Parsons is no stranger to the online video sharing platform. In fact, the 20-year-old made a name for himself with a series of low-budget viral videos based on The Backrooms, aka the popular internet horror legend from which this A24-produced film and his own YouTube series are heavily inspired.
However, the budding filmmaker isn’t the only YouTube candidate Hollywood has recently banked on. From the Philippou brothers (Talk to me, Bring her back) and Zach Cregger (Barbarian, Arms), to Michael Shanks (Together) and Curry Barker (Occupation), the world’s biggest studios are using the Google-owned social media platform to unveil the next generation of nightmare-inducing storytellers.
Nor are they the only ones. Let’s Play — the collective term for content creators who record or live stream themselves playing video games — like Markus ‘Markiplier’ Fishbach have also found success with their film adaptations of horror games, such as Iron Lung. Additionally, some YouTube-based film reviewers, including Chris Stuckmann, have turned their hand to making their own crowd-funded horror films like Stuckmann’s Shelby Oaks.
With YouTube set to turn 20 later this year, you have to wonder why entertainment giants have been sleeping on the platform as a place to find the next big batch of talented creators. After all, it is not only the most popular online video sharing service, but also seen by many as the only place to pursue their ideas and bring them to life.
So what are Parsons’ thoughts on studios cracking down on horror-minded YouTubers — and why has it taken them so long to see YouTube as this hotbed of untapped talent?
“I haven’t been given the industry insight necessary to speak to the true depth of that conversation,” Parsons exclusively told me. “But I like to talk about YouTube as a means in itself, rather than a means to an end.
“Creatively, I am very satisfied financially [on YouTube]but you must appreciate that these [YouTube and the wider entertainment industry] are separate entities. You can’t grow the same self-sustaining engine on YouTube that you can in Hollywood, especially if you want to make things with the kind of budget we had on this film.
“If you don’t have those resources, the next best place to get visibility for a lot of people, myself included, has often been YouTube,” he continued. “It gives a very strong, immediate sense of having your finger on the pulse, you can engage with your audience in real time as soon as you put something online, and it’s been a very fun place to develop my understanding of my own art and build a relationship with my community.
“And I think major studios are aware of that,” Parsons added. “A common trait shared by many of these YouTube filmmakers is having an established contract with their audience and treating fans as if they’re a little more intelligent and aware than the average entertainment fan. So I can’t speak to why the studios are finally taking notice of us, but I’m glad they are.”
Backrooms is now out in cinemas worldwide. Before you watch it, check out ours Backrooms review and see why Parsons believes some film and TV adaptations have failed in their duty to fans of their source material.
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