Kane Parsons, the director behind the upcoming A24 film Backrooms, has revealed that Valve's seminal puzzle-platformer Portal served as a significant creative inspiration for his work. Parsons, who first gained recognition for his web series and the viral found-footage short The Backrooms, stated that Portal is perhaps the strongest influence on everything he has created.
The architecture and atmosphere of the Aperture Science Enrichment Center, as depicted in the Portal games, have deeply embedded themselves in Parsons' subconscious. He described frequently dreaming of the location, noting its vast, seemingly endless interior that evokes a sense of bleakness and absurdity. "It feels like an eternal indoors that goes on in all directions, that is just absurd in its scope. So I think it's actually very similar to the Backrooms on that front," Parsons explained.
While both Portal games influenced him, Parsons identified Portal 2 as the greater inspiration. He pointed to the sequel's refined art direction and its "inherently comedic and absurd" premise as key factors in its impact. Specifically, Parsons recalled visual details like murals found on the walls within the Aperture facilities, which hinted at the presence of former human occupants. These elements, he noted, can be seen reflected in specific moments within the Backrooms film.
The thematic parallels extend beyond mere aesthetics. Like Aperture Science, the fictional Async Research Institute in Backrooms functions as an unregulated corporation that prioritizes research over human safety. Async's efforts to map the backrooms and create a stable portal, known as the Threshold, are central to the film's narrative, mirroring Aperture's own controversial research practices. The film adaptation also continues the narrative established in Parsons' found footage short, where a character falls into the backrooms, and features hints of previous explorers, similar to how Portal suggests a history of human presence within Aperture.
These connections to Portal have reportedly increased intrigue surrounding the Backrooms film, highlighting how a video game's world-building and narrative can inspire distinct creative mediums. The film aims to adapt one of the internet's most well-known creepypastas into a feature-length horror experience.