A Southern California shopping mall appears to be seeing a surge in visitors thanks to the surprise box office success of the horror film "Backstage," as people seek out "edge experiences" similar to those depicted in the film.
Puente Hills Mall in Los Angeles is not unlike other once-thriving shopping centers that were bustling with shoppers before online shopping pushed these massive indoor malls out of business.
But now, thanks to a young Hollywood director with Southern California ties, the nearly empty mall has become the perfect place for fans of the new film to experience the same chilling thrills they get from watching the psychological thriller.
A Southern California shopping mall may be getting a new lease on life thanks to the surprise box office success of the horror film "Backstage." Photo courtesy of the Everett Collection. But now, thanks to a young Hollywood director with Southern California ties, the nearly empty mall is the perfect place to see it. Instagram/@makeupbytreenz
Since the film's release, people have flocked to the AMC theater in the mall to see it, filling social media platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and X with creepy videos and photos of the eerie hallways, taking their followers on a thrilling adventure.
«"Once one of the busiest shopping centers in the San Gabriel Valley, it now stands dim and empty, known for its abandoned storefronts, broken escalators, and eerily quiet hallways that still echo with the 2000s," one person captioned their TikTok video.
In the film Backstage, empty office spaces, abandoned shopping malls, and fluorescent-lit corridors are used to create a liminal space, which is described as "an in-between space that exists on the border between what was and what is yet to come.".
«"AMC, which really keeps this place alive, was the best place I could have seen 'Behind the Scenes.'"«
The mall has its own connection to the film industry, as it famously served as the setting for the Twin Pines Mall in the 1985 film Back to the Future.
Puente Hills Mall is not unlike other once-thriving shopping centers that used to be bustling with shoppers before e-commerce wiped them out. TikTok/@danyaszn
In the film, Doc Brown, played by Christopher Lloyd, demonstrates his time machine in a shopping mall parking lot. It's here that terrorists appear to pursue Doc, and Marty McFly, played by Michael J. Fox, escapes by driving the DeLorean at 88 mph, accidentally transporting himself back to 1955.
The mall has its own connection to the film industry, as it famously served as the setting for the Twin Pines Mall in the 1985 film Back to the Future. Everett Collection
Kane Parsons, the 20-year-old director behind the box office hit "Behind the Scenes," which grossed $118 million this weekend, is a former vlogger who lives with his parents in a quiet California suburb.