Over the course of this year, we’ve had reason to celebrate at Nerdbot. We’ve seen lower-budget, independent filmmaking hit it big in theaters. It was hinted at a bit with Markiplier and Iron Lung. Then it was fully cemented with Curry Barker and Obsession, as well as Kane Parsons and Backrooms. It’s exactly what the film industry needs right now. It has helped the box office for 2026 become one of the best in history. It looks like it has Hollywood investors running scared.
A Conference of Dunces
The San Sebastian Film Festival’s Creative Investors’ Conference took place recently, with Raj Singh of Media Capital Technologies as one of the speakers. He quickly showed how out of touch and scared the money men in the industry are. He stated regarding Obsession and Backrooms, “And this was two black swan events happening at the same time, two movies in the same genre, more or less.” Then he stated that this success shouldn’t shake up how the industry looks at/for successes.
Sarah Schweitzman from CAA Media Finance had a similar take. She referred to the aforementioned movies as a “surprise.” “So next year, when we have something that’s completely different that’s a phenomenal success that nobody saw coming, people will immediately want to go to that place and say, ‘Oh, this is where the film business is moving.’ But it’s about the surprise of it.” Basically writing this off as a surprise fluke that shouldn’t change anything. Because surprises happen all the time and you can’t go chasing after each one.
Misunderstanding Horror
But there was an even more telling comment. Laura Austin-Little from Black Bear International stated, “I just don’t think you can disqualify any genre.” That was in reference to the horror nature of the recent successful movies. Then they started talking about the upcoming film Elsinore, which hasn’t been released yet. Odd to talk about the success of a film that hasn’t had a theatrical release. Yes, it’s had some festival showings and received praise, but that doesn’t mean people will turn out to see it.
The issue at play here is how dismissive the conference was of Obsession, Backrooms, and, by proxy, Kane Parsons and Curry Barker. People didn’t respond to these films just because they have horror elements to them. The response was because these were stories people wanted to see. Labelling these films as “horror” is reductive. It’s the same problem that Stephen King has faced as a writer. Yes, he writes horror, but his stories are about characters. Specifically, they tend to be about regular people put into horrible scenarios. But something like 11/22/63 wasn’t horror. Under the Dome wasn’t either. The Stand is a drama more than anything. And Salem’s Lot, while horror-inspired, is commentary about small towns and their misdeeds under the surface of everything.
Curry Barker, Kane Parsons, Markiplier Blew Up the System
Backrooms is just as much an unsettling mystery as it is a horror piece. Obsession is a human drama about desire. By just writing their successes off as horror, is what’s putting Hollywood into the bad spot that it’s currently in. Now, there is truth to the notion that the industry shouldn’t just be looking to YouTubers for future content. That’s where trend chasing comes into the picture, and that’s dangerous too. We don’t need production companies trying to churn out films about whatever viral “analog horror” piece of the month starts trending.
That being said, it should be looked at as a possible showcase of talent and storytelling. Is there someone making a legitimately compelling series that people want to watch? Does the creator have anything else going on that could be fit for the big screen? Those are valid questions and avenues to explore. But people like Raj Singh don’t want to look that way because it’s too far outside the established system. If you let the outsiders in, you disrupt everything. Look at what Markiplier did. He basically wrote, directed, financed, produced, and distributed his own film. He cut out virtually every part of the Hollywood machinery. Then, he got his film into major theaters. And on a budget of $3 million, the film grossed a little over $50 million. Hollywood doesn’t want that. They don’t want ANY part of that. It destroys their industry.
Telling Stories vs. Making Money
Artists want to make movies and tell stories. Production companies and distributors were supposed to help those movies reach other people. The hope would be that maybe this story would want to be viewed by others. Somewhere along the line, though, the dynamic shifted. It became less about people making stories. What it turned into was companies wanting to make movies that would make them money. You start getting films that no one really asked for but needed to get made to keep perceived profits rolling in. That’s how you wind up with sequels to projects that don’t need sequels.
Kane Parsons wanted to tell a story, so he did it himself and brought it to YouTube. People wanted to watch it, and they kept watching it. A24 offered him the chance to bring his story to theaters. He took the chance and delivered. That’s how it should be. That’s how it should continue to be, and there’s absolutely nothing that says it has to be horror-related. The idea that this investor group fixated on the horror element shows how out of touch they are. How afraid they are. It’s kind of ignorant too. In this year of unheralded box office success, we saw what turned people out into the theaters. How can you just ignore that?
The Next Big Thing
Christopher Nolan is his own brand of talent. He got to that level by making his own movies in his own distinct style. That’s why The Odyssey is doing so well. People know what to expect from a storyteller like him. How’s that any different than Kane Parsons? The only difference is people knew what to expect from him thanks to YouTube and not Hollywood. Find the untapped talent. Nurture it. Sort through the mess of content creators and don’t be afraid of the shit you have to dig through to find the good stuff. If you want success, you have to be willing to go outside the system. That’s where the original ideas are happening. You don’t have to be an investor to know that. Apparently, being an investor makes you ignorant of it.
