Before the Backrooms 😱 #37
A creepy hidden gem from 2002 is back in the spotlight.
Welcome home, horror lover! 👋 We’ve ended up with a Backrooms heavy issue this week (all spoiler free, don’t worry).
Now a record-breaking director, Kane Parsons has been opening up about all the films that inspired his box office behemoth expanding all of our watch lists ten-fold. One in particular really stood out to me though, and you can scroll down to this week’s recommendation for more on that.
Before we get stuck in, a thank you to every single one of you reading today. Just by opening your Scream Society you are supporting it and it means the world. Now enough of the mushy stuff and back to the blood, brains and Backrooms.
Horror latest 🩸
🏢 A sequel to A24’s Backrooms could be happening after a record-breaking opening weekend. Director Kane Parsons is now seeking a screenwriting collaborator to work on a follow-up with, Deadline reports.
🎥 There’s an update on Obsession filmmaker Curry Barker’s next project, a horror-comedy titled Anything But Ghosts. Comedy star Chris Reinacher is the latest addition to the cast, alongside the previously announced Bryce Dallas Howard.
⛵ Widow’s Bay can now count Guillermo Del Toro among its die-hard fans. He called it the best streaming series in “a long time.” (Brb, just looking up prestidigitation in the dictionary).
🩸 Lionsgate has teased that Damien Leone’s next film away from the Terrifier franchise is “coming soon.” Plot details for Tortures of the Damned are being kept under wraps but it’ll see Leone teaming up with Sam Raimi, who is on board as a producer.
🦇 Sam Reid performed a one-night-only rock concert in character as Lestat de Lioncourt this week to promote AMC’s The Vampire Lestat (a.k.a Interview with the Vampire Season 3).
On the slab
A note from your editor ✨
Where better to watch the Backrooms than in a real-life liminal hellscape? I caught it at The Light cinema in Leeds (pictured) which understood the brief perfectly.
It was situated inside a shopping centre where the screens were split across three different levels accessible via an escalator, and it was such a vast space I only managed to get a sliver of it in the photo.
Plenty of people have been sharing the sprawling and often dated venues they caught the film at online too, and there’s certainly renewed appreciation for the tired office aesthetic. Will B&Q see sales of strip lighting and yellow wallpaper go through the roof now? Watch this space.
While I absolutely adored the film I agree with many reviews out there that if you’re not a liminal space lover, or if you’re totally unfamiliar with internet lore, this might be one you’re better swerving until you’re up to speed.
It has been a long time since I was as excited for a film as I was Backrooms and to my utter relief I loved every second of it.
Keep on screaming 😱,
Samantha
Horror bite 👄: Freaky Nikki’s look in Obsession was inspired by the Uncanny Valley TikTok trend.
To a friend, I recommend… 🎀🩸
Kane Parsons drew heavy inspiration for the visuals of his Backrooms movie from a little-known early noughties psychological horror starring Robin Williams.
He was talking about 2002’s One Hour Photo, which remains one of the most chilling and well-acted films I’ve ever seen and it arrived long before the Backrooms.
It follows a lonely department store worker called Seymour Parrish who spends his days in a booth developing photos.
He becomes fixated on a family who regularly bring in their pictures, and finds his fragile mental state spiralling out of control when he spots clues that they may be hiding something.
The fact One Hour Photo inspired a record-breaking horror more than two decades later will hopefully bring more attention to this criminally overlooked gem.
Trending 🔥
Gore hounds are all over the new red band trailer for Eli Roth’s Ice Cream Man.
At one point in the clip a group of kids remove a man’s scalp before scooping out his brain and serving it back to him in an ice cream cone,so that’s what we’re working with.
I’m calling it now that Terrifier fans will be obsessed with this one, but if blood and guts isn’t for you, do not hit play on that YouTube video. I repeat, do not.
Don’t miss… 📅
⛵ Cape Fear - Apple TV (Out now)
🟥 Insidious 1, 2 + 3 - Tubi (Out now)
😱 Scary Movie 6 - Cinemas (Out now)
🦇 The Vampire Lestat - AMC+ (June 7)
👽 Disclosure Day - Cinemas (June 10)
Kill some time 🔪⏰
🎨 Fancy winning some Backrooms wallpaper signed by Kane Parsons himself? Of course you do.
🚶♂️ It Follows director David Robert Mitchell is back with a story of a street that moves.
👶 Scream queen Samara Weaving’s hilarious anecdote about being a new mum.
🎥 The Scary Movie 6 promo team made Brenda her own Letterboxd account.
Most visited links from last week’s newsletter
Scream Society is written by me, Samantha King (you can call me Sam), a lifelong horror nerd and journalist.
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