The Backrooms franchise refuses to be contained, much like the ever-expanding universe of reboots and sequels that we’ve all grown to love. About two and a half months after A24 released Kane Parsons’ Backrooms to theaters, where it became one of 2026’s biggest surprise hits, Parsons has returned to his roots, uploading horror shorts to YouTube. Because, you know, the theatrical experience just isn’t enough to satiate our hunger for content.
On August 18, “Everything Must Go” was added to Parsons’ YouTube channel, marking the first new short in the series since February of 2025. This footage previously played as a post-credits scene at some of the later screenings of Backrooms, because who doesn’t love a good Easter egg? In “Everything Must Go,” Async, the mysterious scientific organization at the heart of the Backrooms mythology, explores a new region of the Backrooms called the “Kelowna Branch,” where researchers stumble across an area with “Everything Must Go!” signs arranged in a room in bizarre patterns. Some of the signs are hanging so low they appear to fall through the floor, which is either a clever use of set design or a metaphor for the current state of the film industry.
Later, the researchers find a mannequin hand protruding from an area inside a wall, then explore a darkened area that resembles Cap’n Clark’s Ottoman Empire, the store that served as the key location in the Backrooms movie. After that, there is a very short cameo from a character you might recognize from the film, because nostalgia is a powerful tool in the world of franchise filmmaking. You can watch the new Backrooms short, “Everything Must Go,” below, and experience the thrill of discovering new content in a world where the lines between movies, TV shows, and YouTube videos are increasingly blurred.
The Never-Ending Story
Parsons, who is still only 21 years old, began his series of Backrooms shorts in early 2022. “Everything Must Go” is the 25th short in the series to date, a testament to the enduring power of the Backrooms franchise. Fueled by sensational word of mouth, the big-screen version of Backrooms wound up earning more than $390 million worldwide against a seven-figure budget, which is either a remarkable success story or a sign that the movie-going public is hungry for anything that’s not a superhero movie.
The Backrooms movie is not yet streaming on any major platform, but you can rent the film digitally, because who needs ownership when you can rent something for a limited time? According to the Backrooms wiki, this short will be included on the Backrooms Blu-ray set as well, because physical media is still a thing, apparently. You can also watch every Backrooms short to date here, because the Content Mines remain fully operational, and we need to keep feeding the beast.
The Future of Franchise Filmmaking
The release of “Everything Must Go” is a sign that the Backrooms franchise is here to stay, at least for the foreseeable future. With its unique blend of horror and mystery, the franchise has captured the hearts of audiences around the world, and it’s likely that we’ll see more shorts, movies, and possibly even TV shows set in the Backrooms universe. Because, as we all know, the key to success in Hollywood is to take a good idea and milk it for all it’s worth, until the audience is exhausted and the franchise is a shadow of its former self.
As the entertainment industry continues to evolve, it’s likely that we’ll see more franchises like Backrooms, which blur the lines between movies, TV shows, and online content. The rise of streaming platforms has created new opportunities for creators to experiment with different formats and styles, and the success of Backrooms is a testament to the power of innovative storytelling. However, it’s also a reminder that, in the world of Hollywood, nothing is ever truly original, and everything is fair game for a remake, reboot, or sequel. Somewhere, an executive is whispering, “Can this become a trilogy?” and the cycle begins anew.
Finn McFrame, celebrated satirical mastermind and self-proclaimed “Emperor of Irony,” started his illustrious career as a cinematographer, where his expertise in capturing every single frame of a squirrel stealing a baguette earned him accolades at obscure film festivals.
Born in the glamorous town of Boring, Oregon, Finn grew up with dreams of being a Hollywood director until he realized that satire, not cinema, was his true calling—or at least the one that let him sleep until noon.
Finn McFrame: changing the world, one satirical lens flare at a time.
