Creators of Backrooms-inspired liminal horror have been exposed to something far more terrifying than creepypasta fiction: takedown notices from their work. Users online are reporting that copyright claims have been issued against them by „A24 Films LLC,“ the production company behind one of this year’s biggest movies.
On the r/backrooms subreddit, user GnarlyNet detailed their experience, saying that their Backrooms-inspired artwork received a copyright strike on the commerce site Redbubble. GnarlyNet’s image design was derived from the original 2019 Backrooms image, not the movie, and other creatives are also feeling the brunt of A24’s enforcement. Indie team Davilkus Games (via Kotaku) says that it was hit with three copyright strikes this month over its own liminal horror game project, resulting in its Google Play developer account being banned from the platform.
In response to these complaints, Backrooms director Kane Parsons has said that he’s investigating the issue. „I’m looking into this. Should not be happening,“ Parsons wrote on the subreddit.
So what’s happening here? A24 is likely using an automated system that has resulted in mass copyright strikes being issued against users. While it’s within its legal right to protect the Backrooms movie, the genre itself does not belong to any one person, as there have been numerous fan projects, artwork, and video games inspired by this particular brand of creepypasta content.
A24 hasn’t won any fans either for its decision to sign a $75 million AI research partnership with Google’s DeepMind, with many film buffs and fans blasting the deal. Parsons also weighed in on the drama, explaining on his Discord server that „those resources“ would not be spent on Backrooms or any potential sequels. In case you missed it, Backrooms launched earlier this year and was a box office smash, making almost $375 million off of its $10 million budget. For his next project, Parsons is aiming to make a movie based on Valve’s Portal game.
.jpg?w=1024)
