Kane Parsons

2020–2021: Early work

In 2021, Parsons adapted the anime and manga series Attack on Titan into animated short fan films, which present the series' events in the style of historical war photography. The shorts were praised by various publications for their horror elements and faithfulness to the original series.^[10][11][12]

2022–present: Backrooms

Parsons became interested in the Backrooms,^[13] a fictional location which originated from a 2019 creepypasta.^[14][15] Parsons was disappointed in the quality of related Backrooms content that was circulating online at the time, stating "there was definitely no real presence of high fidelity content being made".^[13] He used Blender to produce a short film inspired by the Backrooms, which he released on his YouTube channel on January 7, 2022, under the name The Backrooms (Found Footage).^{[13][15][‡ 1]} The video grew in popularity^[13][14] and Parsons produced further installments in what became an ongoing web series.^[10] The series incorporates the fictional Async Research Institute, an MRI manufacturer and research lab which Parsons had originally conceived as the focus of an unrelated project.^[13][16]

Within a month of the release of Found Footage, Parsons was contacted by numerous studios regarding a feature film adaptation.^[17][18] He was scouted by Lucas Ford, an assistant at 21 Laps Entertainment in charge of "flagging interesting material and creators".^[10][19] Parsons' parents joined him for his initial Zoom meetings with studios.^[5] In February 2023, the film adaptation was announced as a joint production between A24, Chernin Entertainment, Atomic Monster, and 21 Laps Entertainment, with Parsons directing in his feature directorial debut.^[10]

The film, titled Backrooms, starring Chiwetel Ejiofor and Renate Reinsve, was released in May 2026^[20] to critical praise.^[21][22][23] Backrooms was also a commercial success,^[24] grossing $382 million worldwide.^[25] At 20 years old upon the film's release, Parsons became the youngest director to have a film open at number one at the North American box office,^[26][27] surpassing 27-year-old Josh Trank with Chronicle (2012).^[28] He also became the youngest director in A24's history.^[29][30] Media publications compared Parsons with Curry Barker—whose 2025 film Obsession played in theaters concurrently with Backrooms—and David F. Sandberg, as all three began directing short films released on YouTube before directing Hollywood feature films.^[31][32] The film had a special extended edition in theaters called Everything Must Go Edition with bonus footage. The bonus footage was also released on YouTube.^[33]

In May 2026, Parsons confirmed that the Backrooms web series would continue.^[17] In early June, Deadline Hollywood reported that Parsons was searching for a screenwriter to collaborate on a sequel to the film,^[34] though Parsons denied this. He expressed interest in developing a Backrooms television series.^[35]

2023–2024: The Oldest View

On March 18, 2023, Parsons began releasing his mystery thriller web series The Oldest View on YouTube.^{[‡ 2][36]} The series revolves around a YouTube vlogger named Wyatt discovering a staircase leading into an underground mall.^[36][37][38]

Feature film

Short films

Web series