It looks like YouTubers may be the next generation of Hollywood film directors.
Two new horror movies, Obsession and Backrooms, both directed by YouTubers, have grossed about $126 million and $109 million domestically, respectively. Considering Obsession carried a budget of $750,000 and Backrooms just $10 million, these indie films are rewriting box office history.
Another “Youtuber movie,” Iron Lung, grossed over $40 million domestically with just a $3 million budget.
The director of the Obession, Curry Barker, is a 26-year-old YouTuber who co-created his that’s a bad idea YouTube channel when he was just 18. Since then, he has built a following of 1.25 million subscribers.
Meanwhile, Backrooms director Kane Parsons is only 20-years-old. Parsons popularized the concept of the “Backrooms” after his YouTube video titled “Backrooms (Found Footage)” went viral, gaining more than 81 million views.
What’s Obsession about?
Obsession is a psychological horror that follows a shy, reserved character named Bear. Desperate to find the courage to ask out his close friend, Nikki, he visits a metaphysical shop to replace a crystal necklace she just lost. Instead, he discovers a supernatural trinket called the “One-Wish-Willow.”
From there, as Bear struggles to build up the courage to tell Nikki how he really feels, he takes the easy route and snaps the trinket in half, wishing that she will love him more than anyone else in the world. What happens next? You’ll have to find out…
I watched the movie about a week ago, and I’d give it a solid 8/10. The cinematography masterfully utilizes shadows and dark spaces, placing characters in dimly lit environments. Throughout the movie, the audience is left wondering where the character’s moral compass lies.
The movie has a 95% critics score and a 94% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.
What’s Backrooms about?
As A24 describes it: “A strange doorway appears in the basement of a furniture showroom.”
The concept of the “Backrooms” started as an urban legend on 4chan in 2019 that soon became a global YouTube phenomenon when Kane Parsons, known online as Kane Pixels, began creating viral short-form videos.
Backrooms has a critics score of 89% and an audience score of 74% on Rotten Tomatoes.
So, have you watched Obsession or Backrooms yet?
