"Backrooms" and "Intrusive Thoughts" bring internet culture to the big screen

Two low-budget horror films created by lesser-known filmmakers have reached cinemas and achieved remarkable success in a short time. "Backrooms" and "Intrusive Thoughts" have risen among the year's most talked-about and most-watched films.

Two small horror films backed by filmmakers previously unknown to a wider audience have achieved surprising popularity in just a few weeks. "Backrooms" and "Intrusive Thoughts" have shot to the top of the year's most talked-about cinema releases and brought in considerably more revenue than expected.

Both films draw on the culture of a new generation online — phenomena and aesthetics that have spread across the internet and gathered devoted fan communities even before reaching cinemas. This has helped the films reach younger audiences who recognise this world as their own.

The success of low-budget horror films at the box office demonstrates that genre cinema can succeed without the backing of major marketing machinery, if the subject matter speaks powerfully enough to the contemporary internet generation. "Backrooms" and "Intrusive Thoughts" have proven that an original approach and a strong connection to modern internet culture can substitute for large budgets.