Youtubers redefine horror in cinemas and conquer Hollywood
Creators who started out producing videos for YouTube are transforming ideas born in the digital environment into horror phenomena on the big screen, even with a low budget. The most recently released works, "Backrooms: Um Não-Lugar", from May, and "Obsessão", which premiered in April, recorded resounding success at the box office, proving that simple ideas, sometimes created with a focus on the digital community, have narrative potential to become great franchises.
Criatividade em formatos de contar histórias se mostrou promissora em fundar enredos que prendam a atenção do público. The digital environment can function as a kind of laboratory: a narrative can be born as an independent video, gain millions of views, create theories among fans and only then reach the radar of major studios.
In "Backrooms", we explore an urban legend and a concept of digital horror (creepypasta) created in the digital world, derived from a parallel dimension or a flaw in reality. The central idea is that a person can, by accident, "cross over" our reality and become trapped in an infinite maze of empty and scary rooms.
The person responsible for popularizing the best-known version of the phenomenon was digital creator Kane Parsons, 20, who, as a teenager, began producing videos in the "found footage" style - a format that simulates archive images supposedly found - to explore that universe. The success caught the attention of the industry and paved the way for production focused on cinema.
"Backrooms" quebrou recordes e detém a maior bilheteria do estúdio A24, em apenas dez dias. The film surpassed the producer's works such as "Marty Supreme" and "Tudo em Todo Lugar Ao Same Time", and earned US$200 million (around R$1 billion) to date.
"Obsessão" repeats the historic feat, being the biggest success of the production company Focus Features. With a production budget of just US$750,000 (approximately R$3.8 million), the film exceeds US$200 million (approximately R$1 billion) at the worldwide box office. Furthermore, the work had "rare longevity" on the big screen, dropping just 7% in attendance in its fourth weekend.
A obra é de Curry Barker, 26, quem niciou sua trajetória fazendo curtas e esquetes de comédia no canal do YouTube "That's A Bad Idea". In 2024, he released the independent found footage film "Milk & Serial" on YouTube, produced with a budget of just US$800 (around R$4 million). The video went viral and catapulted his career.
Another case celebrated in recent years came from a duo who built a career on the internet: Danny Philippou and Michael Philippou, known for the video channel RackaRacka.
The Australian brothers hit theaters with "Talk to Me", released in 2023, a supernatural horror about a group of young people who discover an embalmed hand capable of allowing contact with spirits. On the website Rotten Tomatoes, responsible for gathering the opinions of specialized critics, the production has a 94% approval rating.
"Make Her Come Back" (2025), also by the brothers, has an 89% approval rating.
Horror, which has always depended on creating myths, found a new place to be born on the internet. Creators also seem to understand the power of a story to thrive.
Like every product that goes beyond the film and becomes part of pop culture, "Obsessão" and "Fale Comigo", for example, have a tangible physical element to win over the consumer public. On one side, a stick that breaks in half to make a wish come true. On the other, a sculpture of a hand that, when held in another, teleports its owner to the world of the dead.
These objects function as a kind of "signature" for the films: they are easy to recognize, reproduce and share, creating a connection that goes beyond the cinema experience. As well as other horror icons - like the Annabelle doll.
A curious object or a striking scene can take on a life of its own in videos, memes, theories and derivative products.
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Source: CNN