New Backrooms Inspired Horror Movie The Pools Officially Releasing This Christmas

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A new Backrooms-inspired horror movie is coming later this year.

As a huge horror fan, I’m really excited about The Pools coming out this Christmas! It seems like the creepy vibe of those ‘liminal spaces’ – you know, those unsettling in-between places – have been all over the internet lately, especially with the success of Kane Parsons’ Backrooms movie. That film has done amazing at the box office, bringing in $262.6 million already! But it looks like filmmakers are starting to explore this idea of horror in those strange, empty spaces even further, and The Pools seems like it’s going to be a big part of that.

I just got the scoop on a new horror flick called The Pools, and it sounds genuinely creepy! Rebel Raider Media and Grytt Picture Shows are behind it, and it’s clearly taking a page from the Backrooms playbook – specifically, the unsettling ‘Poolrooms’ level. The story centers on a teen who finds himself lost in this endless, watery labyrinth, desperately trying to escape while being hunted by something terrifying. Mark your calendars, horror fans – The Pools is scheduled to surface on December 25, 2026.

Check out the synopsis of The Pools below:

“The Pools” is a terrifying and suspenseful story that takes place in a bizarre world of interconnected swimming pools, waterslides, and flooded hallways. The setting is like an endless maze with strange architecture where reality feels distorted. As viewers explore, they encounter more mysteries than answers and struggle to find a way out.

Driven by the current fascination with eerie, empty places online and strange internet stories, “The Pools” tells the story of a teenager lost in a never-ending world of swimming pools, huge slides, and flooded hallways – a place where the buildings don’t make sense. As he explores this bizarre maze, reality starts to break down, and a hidden creature begins to hunt him. He must escape before he’s lost forever.

A new movie poster has been revealed, giving fans a glimpse of the strange and dreamlike locations—inspired by the online aesthetic known as ‘Poolrooms’—that the main character, a teenager, will explore.

Sasha Yelaun (known for Eyes in the Trees) and Galen Christy (Glass), with Alexander Kane (Breach) of Grytt Picture Shows, are producing The Pools. Rebel Raider Media is also a producer. The film offers a fresh take on the ‘Backrooms’ concept – an endless maze of horror – while still respecting its established story. According to Christy, The Pools will transform familiar childhood memories of swimming pools into something unsettling. Yelaun hinted that the movie will follow the main character on a compelling journey through this strange alternate world.

Galen Christy points out that pools are often linked to happy memories of childhood and a sense of security. However, when they’re empty, deserted, or vast, they can feel strangely disturbing. His work, ‘The Pools‘, explores this unsettling feeling and transforms it into a terrifying experience.

Sasha Yelaun felt the idea was instantly compelling due to its blend of adventure, intrigue, and scary survival elements, all set in a completely unique environment. As the main character delves further into the story, the world around them grows increasingly bizarre and frightening.

Even though The Pools is set in a world unlike any other horror film of 2026, including Backrooms, it shares a connection: Backrooms briefly showed the Poolrooms—a never-ending maze of water and tile. While the first movie only hinted at this area, The Pools seems ready to fully explore it. Focusing on a water-filled environment will allow the film to build on ideas from Backrooms while still creating its own distinct style of unsettling horror.

With six months until the movie comes out, there’s plenty of time for The Pools to share more details. This includes clarifying how it differs from Backrooms while still drawing inspiration from the original idea for its story. The film centers on one person trying to escape, which promises a very isolating and frightening experience, especially considering what’s chasing him. As more is revealed about the movie, we’ll get a better understanding of the new and unsettling world it creates.

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2026-06-16 18:22