Don't Breathe Teaser Is Snapchat's First 360-Degree Video Ad

Snapchat's 360-degree videos have now made their way into the movie marketing machine, as evidenced by Sony Pictures Entertainment's use of the technology to promote their upcoming thriller Don't Breathe. Starring Stephen Lang as a blind but very dangerous man whose house is broken into by a trio of hoodlums looking to make a quick score, the Fede Alvarez-directed film finds the teens systematically hunted by the man within the cluttered confines of his house.

The aim is to ramp up the tension by placing audiences in the suffocating environment along with the would-be thieves, and this 360-degree teaser video does that quite literally. We're a bit removed from having this kind of intimate experience for the duration of a film, but as Marketing Week reports, we're likely to see more teasers of this type in the near future.

Also starring Jane Levy, Daniel Zovatto, and Dylan Minnette, Don’t Breathe opens August 26th in the U.S. and continues its international rollout through early October.

Check out the teaser below, and be sure to use the controls to experience the immersive teaser in all 360 degrees of terror:

AvatarLabs, the digital agency behind the video, shared some particulars of its creation with us:

AvatarLabs began the creative process by identifying one of the most nerve-racking, edge of your seat scenes that would parlay well into an online interactive experience. One of the most gripping scenes in the film centers on the main characters being chased by a gun-wielding, blind murderer through a treacherous, pitch-black basement.
The director and studio wanted the experience to feel like exclusive additional footage or a lost scene from the film.
Unlike many 360° videos where viewers simply turn in place, AvatarLabs designed the innovative production to push beyond this limitation, allowing viewers to not only rotate their view 360°, but also move forward, providing a much more dynamic view of the terrifying scene and characters within.
The 1:30 piece was captured as one continuous shot, and in total darkness - the only light came from LEDs attached to the camera. This required intense rehearsal from the actors, and numerous takes.
As with any thriller, we knew that sound design would take the experience to the next level. We designed our mix using audio from the film, original music composition and sounds captured the day of the shoot. The resulting experience puts the viewer into the harrowing scene, giving him the unsettling sense of what it feels like to be hunted.

Here's the succinct official synopsis for Don't Breathe: