Blumhouse’s ‘Imaginary’ Teaser Trailer Plays Before ‘Five Nights at Freddy’s’

The Big Picture

• ‘maginary is a new horror film set to release on March 8, 2024, directed by Jeff Wadlow and starring Betty Buckley. It centers around a woman who discovers her abandoned imaginary friend in her childhood home.
• The teaser trailer for Imaginary is an immersive experience that plays with your senses, relying on eerie audio effects and quick, horrifying clips to successfully engage the audience.
• By cleverly attaching itself to the popular film Five Nights at Freddy’s and putting viewers in the protagonist’s shoes, Imaginary showcases innovative marketing and has the potential to become one of the best scary movies of 2024.

Sure, all ads tell you what to do in some capacity — buy this product, use this service, see this movie — but the teaser trailer for Lionsgate and Blumhouse’s new film Imaginary takes that a step further by literally telling you what to do. The result is immersive, making you feel like the protagonist in your own horror movie. Playing exclusively before Five Nights at Freddy’s (which you’ll want to see any way to know what everyone’s talking about — it’s killing it at the box office right now), grabbing your popcorn and getting to your seat early is a must so you can catch this special, spooky clip. With this terrifying teaser for Imaginary, the scares start before the opening credits even roll on the movie itself.

What is ‘Imaginary’?

Imaginary is a new film that’s set to release on March 8, 2024. Jeff Wadlow, who’s highly experienced in the genre, having directed horror films like Truth or Dare and Fantasy Island, as well as Kick-Ass 2, helms the movie. The movie will star the legendary Betty Buckley — a horror icon known for her roles in Carrie, Split, The Happening, and many, many more — as a woman who returns to her childhood home. There, she finds the imaginary friend she left behind — and let’s just say she’s not very happy to have been abandoned.

What Happens in the ‘Imaginary’ Trailer?

The Imaginary teaser is unique in that it plays with your senses and natural fear of the unknown. At the beginning, an eerie little girl’s voice instructs you to close your eyes. If you’re too chicken (like me) or rebellious (good for you) to actually do as instructed, well, they’ll do it for you, as the screen then goes black and more creepy noises begin to play. The child starts counting, an ominous music-box song starts playing, and there’s the pound of footsteps and the creak of a door in there, too. The reliance on audio is interesting and a risk that pays off — who isn’t a little afraid of the dark?

Around halfway through, you’ll be instructed to open your eyes. The effects make it so it looks and feels like you’re blinking, with the screen showing quick, horrifying clips from the film of terrified people and sinister-looking creatures.

It’s an interesting and effective marketing tool, both smartly attaching itself to Five Nights at Freddy’s and putting the audience in the position of the main character. It’s clear people are craving fresh, new horror experiences, with everything from the innovative Skinamarink to the adaptation of popular horror video games. If the creativity in its marketing is reflected by Imaginary as a movie, it could be a real contender for one of the best scary movies of 2024. We’ll just have to open our eyes and see. Check out a tiny glimpse of the teaser below.

If you’re too scared to head to the theater, Five Nights at Freddy’s is already available to stream on Peacock in the U.S.

​​​​​​​Watch on Peacock