Horror Panel in Rome Hails YouTube-Born Directors Behind Obsession and Backrooms

Horror leaders at the MIA Market in Rome praised Curry Barker and Kane Parsons, two YouTubers who went on to direct the films Obsession and Backrooms. The panel, called "Fear Not: How Horror Is Rewriting the Film Market", was listed in the market's programme for Wednesday, 21 October, and was reported by The Hollywood Reporter.

The MIA Market runs from 19 to 23 October 2026 in Rome. It is a trade event where sales agents, distributors and TV buyers meet to decide which films and series reach screens, usually well after the deals are struck. This year's horror session was one of the more closely watched sessions on the schedule.

The numbers behind the praise are large. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Barker's Obsession has grossed more than $400 million worldwide on a budget of $750,000. That makes it the highest-grossing release in the history of Focus Features, the specialty label owned by Universal. Parsons' Backrooms has passed $350 million in global box office and is the highest-grossing film for A24 in a number of countries.

Andrea Romeo, founder and chief executive of Wonder Pictures, which released Backrooms in Italy, said her company now wants to find the next Kane Parsons and Oz Perkins. She also said she would like to find an Italian Kane Parsons, and that she would dream of a young female director.

Rachael Labes, manager of acquisitions and productions at IFC's Shudder, the streaming service for horror, was among the panellists. Peter Kuplowsky, who programmes the Midnight Madness showcase at the Toronto International Film Festival, also took part in the wider horror conversation. Jonny Bunning, digital marketing manager for the UK company Signature Entertainment, was another speaker.

Italian horror also got a mention. Roberto De Feo said that Paolo Strippoli's thriller The Spiral, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival, could be in the running for an Oscar. Venice and Toronto both sit on the autumn festival calendar, where buyers often pick up films that will not reach cinemas until the following year.

The panel was added to the programme in early October, and the official schedule described it as covering low-budget breakout hits and horror's wider cultural pull. For anyone who follows the box office, the story is a reminder of how far a small budget and a loyal online audience can travel. For everyone else, it is a look at how the people who buy and sell films are now planning around the genre.