The “Imaginary” trailer starts off innocently enough. With “Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me)” by The Temptations playing in the background, Jessica and her family move into their new home, where Alice meets her new friend, Chauncey, and does a scavenger hunt. When the game implores Alice to do “something that hurts,” she willingly plunges a nail into her arm. From that point on, it’s clear that Chauncey has sinister motives rooted in the supernatural. “You were always playing with your imaginary friend,” one character tells Jessica. “When the connection is severed, the entity becomes enraged.”
The trailer dropped online in November, but before it did, Lionsgate launched a theatrical campaign teasing “Imaginary” before screenings of “Five Nights at Freddy’s.” The promo featured a child’s voice saying, “Hi, wanna play a game with me? Close your eyes and use your imagination.” During the teaser, the screen stayed mostly black as menacing sounds played in the background, suggesting that one’s imagination can be a scarier place than actual images.
Jeff Wadlow insisted that even the full online trailer is just a glimpse at what “Imaginary” has to offer. “I’m so excited for people to see the trailer because it barely scratches the surface of our movie,” he told Fangoria. “There is so much more to show… But we’re holding it back, letting you fill in the blanks yourself.” The director went on to add, “Nothing is scarier than your own imagination.”
