Renowned filmmaker Steven Spielberg has appreciated the recently-released horror films Obsession and Backrooms, which have been garnering tremendous praise and generating massive revenue at the global box office.
"I'm so happy for them. I think it's so fantastic," he told Deadline during the screening of his upcoming sci-fi film Disclosure Day. Noting that he has seen Obsession but is yet to watch Backrooms, the Schindler's List filmmaker lauded the response to the films, made with limited budgets.
"I think it's great that they had basically very little money, especially Obsession had under $1 million, and the other film had maybe 10 or nine, and they're doing so well, and I just applaud them. I haven't seen Backrooms; I am going to see it when all this is over. But I have seen Obsession, and I loved it," he added.
Both films released on May 29. Starring Chiwetel Ejiofor and Renate Reinsve in lead roles, Backrooms, directed by Kane Parsons is based on a true story, borrows from the popular internet myth of The Backrooms. Clark Ejiofor), a furniture store owner, and Mary Reinsve), his therapist, discover a dimension of seemingly endless liminal spaces accessed through the basement of the store. The film has earned over $140 million at the global box office. It was also A24's top opening in over 30 countries, beating other major horror films like Weapons, Scream 7, Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 and Final Destination: Bloodlines.
Meanwhile, Curry Barker's Obsession follows the story of a youngster (Michael Johnston) who uses a novelty toy stick to make his longtime friend (Inde Navarrette) fall in love with him. However, what starts as a case of desire turns obsessive with dark and sinister repercussions.
It is eyeing a $250 million+ box office revenue, going by the current trends which is nearly 200 times its budget. It is already the highest-grossing feature in Focus Features history.