How A24’s ‘Backrooms’ recreates the internet’s creepiest liminal space

Production designer Danny Vermette built an unnerving recreation of an internet ‘backroom,’ featuring tunnels to nowhere, musty props, and 37,000 square feet of wallpaper.

[Photo: Asterios Moutsokapas]

There’s a place that you’ve never actually set foot in, but your subconscious recognizes it. It’s a maze of hallways full of yellowed wallpaper, dingy cream carpet, and fluorescent lights—an amalgamation of all the in-between, liminal spaces that you’ve ever briefly occupied. Just looking at an image of it triggers a sense of déjà vu for some forgotten childhood doctor’s office, playdate, or store. This is the Backrooms, and it’s the playground where A24’s new surreal horror film takes place.

The Backrooms, which........

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