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01.04.2026 02:00 Against all odds, A24’s adaptation of The Backrooms actually looks like a proper elevated horror movie. Hell, it’s even got Oscar winner Chiwetel Ejiofor and Cannes favorite Renate Reinsve onboard. Judging from the film’s fist trailer, which combines The Backrooms creepypasta-born dread around liminal spaces, and A24’s slick horror aesthetic, you couldn’t tell that its director can’t even legally drink in the US yet. Yes folks, Kane Parsons is just 20.Parsons, AKA Kane Pixels, made a splash four years ago with his original Backrooms shorts, the first of which has amassed over 73 million views on YouTube. Those were relatively simple episodes created in Blender, but they did an admirable job of feeling genuinely creepy. Parsons has also dabbled in live action horror shorts with his series The Oldest Room. While Parsons certainly has a ton of internet clout behind him, he also has a strong eye for slow-burn horror. This trailer alone is making me feel uneasy about heading into my dimly lit basement office. He also won’t be the first internet creator to reach cinemas this year. Markiplier’s adaptation of the indie game Iron Lung was particularly notable, since he funded both the production and theatrical distribution on his own.The Backrooms joins Genki Kawamura’s adaptation of the game Exit 8 as another new horror film about spooky liminal spaces. It’ll be interesting to see how the two compare. The former started as 4chan stories and images around eerily empty buildings, while the latter was a game where you slowly walked through a repetitive Tokyo subway. There’s more room for Parsons to turn The Backrooms into a narrative of his own, whereas Exit 8 is somewhat restricted by the original game. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/tv-movies/the-backrooms-trailer-combines-creepypasta-dread-and-a24-prestige-horror-213602238.html?src=rss

01.04.2026 02:00 Toyota is teaming up with Daimler and Volvo to work on fuel cell technology. The Japanese company is signing on to the joint venture cellcentric that Volvo and Daimler launched back in 2020. Once it officially joins, Toyota and cellcentric will collaborate on managing the development and production of fuel cell unit cells. "We are deeply grateful for the opportunity to soon be joining Daimler Truck and Volvo Group as partners in building a hydrogen society," Toyota President and CEO Koji Sato said. "cellcentric which possess deep expertise in commercial fields together with Toyota ‘s over 30 years of fuel-cell development in the passenger car sector, can combine their strengths to deliver one of the world-leading fuel cell systems for heavy commercial vehicles."It's a move that runs counter to where the auto industry has been trending. Last year, Stellantis announced that it would end its hydrogen fuel cell development program. That's the company that owns brands including Chrysler, Citroen, Fiat, Jeep and Peugeot. GM also gave up on hydrogen in 2025. Even Toyota had rethought some of its commitment to hydrogen last year, pivoting to emphasize industrial applications rather than commercial ones.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/toyotas-still-trying-to-make-hydrogen-fuel-cells-happen-202237728.html?src=rss

01.04.2026 02:00 In a letter shared with Senator Ed Markey , Tesla admitted that its robotaxis are sometimes driven remotely by human operators, Wired reports. Competing self-driving car companies sometimes rely on human operators to tell robotaxi software how to get itself unstuck, but letting operators actually drive those cars remotely is more unusual."​​As a redundancy measure in rare cases … are authorized to temporarily assume direct vehicle control as the final escalation maneuver after all other available intervention actions have been exhausted,” Karen Steakley, Tesla’s director of public policy and business development, shared in a letter to Markey. In those situations, operators are reportedly able to take over Tesla's robotaxis when they're moving at speeds around 2mph or less, and then drive the car at up to 10mph if software permits it.Engadget has contacted Tesla to confirm the details shared in Steakley's letter. We'll update the article if we hear back.As Wired notes, that's a bit different than how other self-driving car companies handle human intervention. For example, Waymo's Driver software can call on human help — Waymo calls them "fleet response" — to offer context and answer questions to help it navigate complicated driving situations. The company claims these workers never drive the robotaxi themselves, but they are able to see the car's environment through its sensors to help it get unstuck. Self-driving car companies typically avoid remote operation, Wired writes, because technical limitations like latency and the limited perspective of a robotaxi’s sensors can make it hard to drive them easily and safely.Tesla's approach to self-driving has always cut against the grain, though. Whereas competitors continue to rely on a mix of radar and other sensors to navigate, Tesla has exclusively focused on using cameras for its Full Self Driving system. The company has also had to deal with a number of high-profile crashes related to FSD, which prompted a probe by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in October 2025.The company launched its robotaxi service in Austin, Texas in June 2025, in a limited capacity and with human safety drivers sitting in the driver's seat in case of emergency. Tesla is also reportedly testing rides without safety drivers in the same area, which might be why it has contingencies for remote operators to step in.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/teslas-robotaxis-are-reportedly-remotely-driven-by-humans-sometimes-200639550.html?src=rss

01.04.2026 02:00 TikTok and Cameo are teaming up to make it easier for TikTok users to request personalized videos. The two companies announced a new integration that makes Cameo accessible directly from TikTok for creators and fans. With the update, TikTok creators can add Cameo links directly to their videos and viewers can request a personalized clip without leaving the TikTok app. Creators who aren't currently on Cameo can also sign up for the service without having to onboard through Cameo. Up to now, Cameo has been known for its personalized videos from celebrities, but TikTok stars are "among the fastest-growing talent segments" on the app, according to the company. The new integration should make it easier for those creators to reach fans and promote their presence on Cameo.It's not surprising that Cameo would see TikTok creators as a potentially large untapped audience for its service. It's not as clear what TikTok is getting out of the arrangement. The company could have created its own Cameo-style feature for personalized shoutouts. The app already has several features that allow fans to interact with creators, including by sending virtual gifts in livestreams. Cameo didn't immediately respond to questions about whether TikTok gets a cut of the transactions made via its app or if there are differences in pricing structure between the two apps.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/tiktok-adds-in-app-cameo-integration-for-creators-195411895.html?src=rss